research report

Commissioning services for children, young people and families : a study of the dynamics in six local authority areas (Research report no. DCSF-RR133)

Report of a research project in which 'audience insight' research with practitioners of children’s commissioning was carried out to establish an evidence base for the design, planning and delivery of a Commissioning Support Programme. Six local authority areas were used as case studies to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of commissioning, particularly those pertaining to leadership, partnership and locality working.

Evaluation of CEOP ThinkUKnow internet safety programme and exploration of young people's internet safety knowledge

The ThinkuKnow (TUK) programme is managed by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and is part of its programme to reduce the harm caused by those individuals that seek to abuse children and young people through the misuse of technology. This research aimed to explore young people‘s understanding and awareness of messages from the CEOP TUK Internet safety programme, whilst also exploring young people‘s Internet use and risk taking behaviour.

An investigation into the effectiveness of Sacro's supported accommodation services in Glasgow, from a stakeholders perspective

Report of a study which examined a sample of eight users perceptions of the effectiveness of Sacro's supported accommodation service in Glasgow. It was found that the service was seen as contributing to a reduction in re-offending and enhanced community safety and served as a stepping stone for offenders to independent living.

Missing Out. A report on children at risk of missing out on educational opportunities

This report aims to highlight characteristics of good practice, raise issues and suggest further ways of improving the overall performance of pupils. As well as revealing some good practice, the findings highlight a number of issues including a lack of consistency and clarity across Scotland in identifying, measuring, and tackling underachievement for the lowest-attaining pupils.

A hospital or a home? Findings from themed visits to NHS and private sector wards for people with learning disabilities

The Commission undertook a themed visit to all learning disability in-patient units during the 2007-08 visiting programme. The Commission visited 39 facilities across Scotland from 25 October to 7 November 2007. Prior to the visits, health boards were asked to provide some information about the wards in their areas.

Staff were asked a series of questions about the people living in the ward on the day of the visit and about how care and treatment was provided. Commission staff met with individual patients and some relatives and carers.

Are alcoholism treatments effective? : the Project MATCH data

Project MATCH was the largest and most expensive alcoholism treatment trial ever conducted. The results were disappointing. There were essentially no patient-treatment matches, and three very different treatments produced nearly identical outcomes. These results were interpreted post hoc as evidence that all three treatments were quite effective. We re-analyzed the data in order to estimate effectiveness in relation to quantity of treatment.