Email grassroots@bi.team to express interest or find out more.
Alternatively, book a call with us directly - if you are a member of SLT or could arrange for a member of SLT to join you on a call about this project click here to schedule a conference call with us right now.
Summary
We invite mainstream state secondary schools in your region to take part in an exciting new trial of a programme that empowers pupils to build positive social relations in school.
Participating schools will receive:
EITHER the Grassroots programme (for free!) OR £750
Plus £500 if your school is invited to participate in a case study e.g. interviews and focus groups
Access to the full Grassroots curriculum (which reduced pupil conflict by up to 60% in the US) after the trial
The opportunity to work with the YEF and EEF to build groundbreaking evidence on what works to reduce bullying and conflict in schools
50% chance of receiving free, fortnightly visits from a trained facilitator, who would support a group of pupils to spread positive social behaviour in your school
What?
We are conducting the first ever UK trial of the Grassroots programme. The programme aims to reduce bullying and conflict in schools by empowering a group of approximately 30 pupils to positively impact their peers. All Year 7-10 pupils complete a survey which is used to identify a group of around 30 Year 7-9 students, and a small number of Year 10s, who, between them, are able to represent the whole student body. These Year 7-9 pupils form the ‘seed group’ and attend 10 fortnightly sessions to create bespoke activities to reduce conflict at school. The Year 10s act as the group's occasional 'special advisers'.
During these sessions, Grassroots facilitators will support pupils to:
Identify areas for improvement in student interactions
Generate possible solutions (e.g. activities they might do)
Provide opportunities for action
Make initiatives visible to others
A large US study found that this intervention (which has now been adapted to suit UK schools) reduced student conflict by up to 60%. Pupils felt empowered by these sessions and initiated activities like challenging themselves to model prosocial behaviours, sharing positive messages using posters and social media, and sharing wristbands with students who had taken a stance against bullying.
How and When?
The trial will begin in September 2023 but the number of school places is limited so sign up today!
We are testing the impact of Grassroots using a randomised controlled trial (RCT). This means that the schools taking part in the trial will be randomly allocated to either be in the intervention or the control group.
Schools in the intervention group will receive the programme in the 2023-2024 school year.
Schools in the control group will receive £750 to participate in the evaluation activities but will otherwise continue with their usual practices next year and not implement Grassroots. They will receive access to the curriculum at the end of the trial.
What are the benefits to my school?
By participating in this study your school will receive:
EITHER the Grassroots programme (for free!) OR £750
An additional £500 if your school is invited to participate in a case study e.g. interviews and focus groups
The opportunity for your school to work with the YEF and EEF to build groundbreaking evidence on what works to reduce bullying and conflict in schools
Access to the Grassroots curriculum (which reduced pupil conflict by up to 60% in the US)
50% chance of receiving free, fortnightly visits from a trained facilitator, who would support a group of pupils to spread positive social behaviour in your school
For more information, please click here.
Regions
In order to be eligible for the Grassroots project, your school needs to be in (or within reachable driving distance from) one of the following regions:
Barking and Dagenham
Barnet
Barnsley
Bexley
Birmingham City Council
Blackburn with Darwen
Blaenau Gwent Council
Bolton
Bradford
Brent
Bridgend County Borough Council
Bromley
Bury
Caerphilly Council
Calderdale
Camden
Carmarthenshire Council
Ceredigion
City of Cardiff Council
City of Westminster
City of Wolverhampton
Coventry
Croydon
Doncaster
Dudley metropolitan borough
Ealing
Enfield
Greenwich
Hackney
Hammersmith and Fulham
Haringey
Harrow
Havering
Hillingdon
Hounslow
Islington
Kensington and Chelsea
Kingston
Kirklees
Knowsley
Lambeth
Leeds
Leicester
Leicestershire
Lewisham
Liverpool
Manchester
Merthyr Tydfil Council
Merton
Monmouthshire Council
Neath Port Talbot Council
Newham
Newport Council
Oldham
Pembrokeshire
Powys
Redbridge
Rhondda Cynon Taff Council
Richmond
Rochdale
Rotherham
Salford
Sandwell metropolitan borough
Sefton
Sheffield
Shropshire
Solihull metropolitan borough
Southwark
St. Helens
Staffordshire
Stockport
Stoke-on-Trent
Sutton
Swansea Council
Tameside
Torfaen Council
Tower Hamlets
Trafford
Vale of Glamorgan Council
Wakefield
Walsall metropolitan borough
Waltham Forest
Wandsworth
Warrington
Warwickshire
Wigan
Wirral
Worcestershire
Meet the Team
The Grassroots programme is being delivered by a team of experts in both behavioural insights and education
from the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT).
Anna Bird
Project Oversight
Anna is a Principal Advisor in the Education team at BIT. Prior to working at BIT, Anna was the Head of Research at the Social Mobility Commission and led research on youth welfare for the Department of Work and Pensions. Anna also worked at a global research consultancy.
Kathryn Atherton
Project Lead
Kathryn is a Senior Advisor in the Education team at BIT. Prior to joining BIT, she was a postdoctoral neuroscientist at the University of Oxford examining the neural mechanisms of learning and memory. Kathryn was also a school teacher.
Callum O'Mahony
Project Associate
Callum is an Associate Advisor in BIT’s Education team. He has worked on a range of research projects aiming to improve outcomes in education with partners including DfE, Nesta and the Education Endowment Foundation. Prior to this, Callum trained as a school teacher.
Julia Ryle-Hodges
Project Associate
Julia is an Associate Advisor in the Education team at BIT. Prior to joining Julia spent five years as a school teacher and was a research assistant in the Psychology Department in the University of Oxford, where she evaluated the impact of early language interventions in schools.
This trial of Grassroots is funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and the Youth Endowment Fund.
The Grassroots programme will be evaluated by IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society.