Big Brothers Big Sisters Programme — Evaluation of Year 1
We have just finished the evaluation of the first year of the Big Brothers Big Sisters programme — a partnership between Oxford Hub and Oxfordshire County Council to support children in Oxfordshire. The programme is based in the US mentoring scheme Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and it provides long-term mentoring and support to children who may benefit from extra individual attention and access to activities.
During our first year, Big Brothers Big Sisters supported 24 volunteers to take out 26 children in Oxfordshire on a regular basis. Children were referred from different departments across Children’s Services, with a third of them living in kinship foster care with their grandparents and an additional third being subject to Child Protection plans.
Big Sibling volunteers have done lots of activities with their Little Siblings, including swimming, going to the cinema, playing in the park, or walking the dog. During the year, they collectively organised 345 outings, with activities happening on average every 10 days for each child (the programme is set out to happen weekly, but the slightly lower frequency reflects holiday and outings missed due to holidays, health or other commitments). Here’s a summary of the types of outings:
- Sports & Wellbeing . This includes any activities where children had an opportunity to be active, from playing badminton or swimming, to more low-key activities such as walking the dog by the river.
- Arts & Culture. This includes activities such as visiting museums, going to the theatre, and doing arts and crafts projects together.
- Academic support. This includes doing homework, supporting school projects and going to the library to borrow books.
- Recreation. This category includes a variety of outings where there is no other specific purpose other than relationship building and having fun!
There have been two main unintended outcomes from the programme that are worth highlighting. Firstly, Big Siblings have provided support for the whole family, with carers’ feedback emphasising the importance of the scheme in providing families with headspace and extra support. Secondly, Big Siblings have proactively arranged for children to benefit from additional extracurricular opportunities, whether on a regular basis or during the school holidays. This includes theatre clubs, sports activities, horse riding lessons, residential holidays and numerous summer opportunities through the VIP+ programme.
