Young Offenders

A pre-evaluation assessment was conducted by the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) to examine the feasibility of different evaluation designs for assessing the efficacy of the Turnaround Programme. It was concluded that despite considerable efforts it would not be possible to deliver a randomised controlled trial (RCT) or quasi-experimental design (QED) evaluation of the Turnaround programme as it was not possible to establish an appropriate comparator or control group. It has therefore not been possible to assess the impact of Turnaround on reoffending rates, either nationally or at constituency level. The YEF report is available at: https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Turnaround-Evaluation-Pre-Evaluation-Assessment.pdf

However, evidence from an independent implementation and process evaluation of the Turnaround programme shows that, as of December 2024, only 7% of children who completed Turnaround interventions across England and Wales had offended as proven by a judicial decision or caution within 12 months of completion. This figure is published in the Turnaround Programme – Independent process and implementation evaluation report available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/turnaround-programme-independent-process-and-implementation-evaluation-final-report

A regional breakdown of offending outcomes for children who took part in the Turnaround programme based on programme management information has also been published by the Ministry of Justice, covering the period of January – December 2023. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/turnaround-programme-management-information