Ipswich Opportunity Area Impact Report

End Of Grant Report - September '19 With a population facing significant challenges including disengagement with education we have seen a 55.5% decrease in low well-being and a 55.6% increase in moderate well-being. Additionally, 66% of participants finished at or above the national well-being average, with another 28% within a meaningful range of the same.

“In terms of interventions, it is probably the best intervention I have encountered. This programme transforms students' lives”. SENDCo.

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NOISE SOLUTION

ABOUT NOISE SOLUTION

4

WHY WELL-BEING?

4

OUR APPROACH

4

THE EVIDENCE BASE

5

THE NOISE SOLUTION THEORY OF CHANGE

5

UNDERSTANDING SUCCESS

6

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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OBJECTIVE

7

GOALS

7

IMPACT MEASUREMENT & REPORTING

7

RESULTS

7

REFERRED PARTICIPANTS

8

SESSION METRICS

10

ATTENDANCE

10

COMPLETIONS

10

QUALITATIVE DATA

11

INDIVIDUAL DIGITAL STORIES

11

COMPETENCE

11

AUTONOMY

12

RELATEDNESS

13

PROGRESSION

15

WIDER IMPACTS

16

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SURVEY DATA

18

PROFESSIONAL RESPONDENTS

18

FAMILY RESPONDENTS

24

POPULATION IMPACT SUMMARY

28

STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE

29

SOCIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT

30

A CASE STUDY

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ABOUT NOISE SOLUTION Noise Solution is a social enterprise which delivers 1:1 music mentoring sessions (informed by motivational theory) that have been independently proven to improve well-being amongst a population labelled ‘hardest to reach’. Uniquely, mentoring is enhanced through a digital platform that enables participant, family and professionals to digitally interact with participant’s sessions. As well as contributing to well-being impacts, the platform also captures and evaluates well-being impact both qualitatively and quantitatively. This duality of approach solves issues of rigorous impact capture often experienced by third sector organisations.

Why well-being?

Whilst Noise Solution presents as a music project, our focus is on positively impacting on well-being. We focus on well-being because of overwhelming empirical evidence which proves that if we improve well-being we get better health, social, educational and engagement outcomes. By focusing on well-being we can effect change in all of these areas, which means our approach is applicable across a wide range of people.

Our approach Our approach is two-pronged. We have developed a digital sharing platform (that mirrors everyday social media experiences). It has been designed specifically to engage, compliment and reinforce an individualised 10-week mentoring program currently focused on music technology and beat-making (though we believe the options for widening the pedagogy to include other art forms or activities other than music are strong). We utilise both the benefits of personalised mentoring and a digital platform to connect and embed the impacts that the approach has by sharing participants success and encouraging external validation from those whose opinions the participant values. Additionally, all aspects of interactions within the platform are measurable and reportable within the platform. Importantly, the participants voice in the form of comments and video reflection is front and foremost driving the process, rather than being an added-on evaluation exercise postintervention.

The platform inclusively engages participants (often refusing or struggling with engagement), their families and professional keyworkers around a story of the participants success (strengths based). This digital sharing scaffolds reflection for participants and family and reinforces successes whilst also allowing us to measure the impacts on well-being. The platform builds in rigorous statistical analysis and comparison against nationally benchmarkable well-being data (SWEMWBS), developed by the NHS and Warwick and Edinburgh Universities.

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The evidence base Our methodology arises from £100k investment in research and development over the last 5 years, plus a twoyear Research Masters at Cambridge University. This research looked at the evidence underpinning the psychological needs which have to be supported to increase engagement, understand and increase wellbeing, and how to measure change meaningfully. For a deeper understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of the work, Simon Glenister MEd (CEO, Noise Solution) has published about Noise Solution’s work and the evidence base. You can read more here.

In 2016 The Social Investment Consultancy carried out a year-long external evaluation report, looking at our impacts. The evaluation found that Noise Solution was highly statistically significant in positively impacting on well-being amongst its population. These results have been consistently replicated since.

The Noise Solution Theory of Change Every Noise Solution session is informed by Self Determination Theory (SDT). This theory is a fantastically well evidenced framework for understanding how to intentionally impact on motivation and well-being. SDT states that ‘carrot and stick’ approaches where we try to ‘control’ people at best result in a short term gain in compliance that is rarely sustained. But, if we impact on people’s own motivation we see much more meaningful changes where the desire to do things differently is internalised and therefore much more likely to be sustained. Below is an outline of the three needs identified within SDT as being vital for well-being to flourish, and an explanation of how we’ve used them to inform Noise Solution’s intervention.

Autonomy - feeling agency, acting in accordance with one's goals and values. Autonomy is supported within the 1 ‘2’ 1 mentoring relationship as participants choose what is made, how it is made, what is captured and who it is shared with.

Competence - feeling able and effective. This is fostered within the sessions where music technology enables ‘quick wins’ that sound authentic, without stumbling against the barriers created by traditional notation-based approaches to creating music.

Relatedness - Feeling connected to those around you, a sense of belonging. This resides within the digital platform as participants share a record of their success that the important people in their life interact with, challenging negatively held labels for all. autonomy

competence

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Understanding success Success is individual, and it is important to recognise the small achievements alongside the transformational ones. Research shows that the imposition of pre-determined agendas on participants is counterproductive to engagement and impact on intrinsic motivation. Instead, Noise Solution creates a window of opportunity within which other organisations and individuals around a participant can re-engage with each other and acts as a catalyst for change to refocus negative trajectories into positive ones.

Progression is important to us. Around session five we start looking with the participant at what they would like to do post-Noise Solution. The participants preferred progression routes are fed to the supporting professionals through weekly Session Reports.

Overall, Noise Solution sees about 71% completion and 88% attendance amongst its population of prolific non-attenders, phobics and the hardest to engage. All of the population data is only drawn from those who have completed as it relies on start and end data. Clearly those who don’t complete don’t provide end data.

The 29% of those who don’t complete is made up of those who Noise Solution has not managed to engage with, but also those who move out of area or those who move on to other things before they have completed.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Objective Noise Solution was successful in an application to the Essential Life Skills programme for the Ipswich Opportunity Area for Lot 3 - 11-16 year olds. Initially Noise Solution was contracted to engage with 50 students; we were also granted an extension on the 1st July 2019 to engage with a further 13 students.

Goals The intention of this grant was to use the Noise Solution methodology to engage with students on roll at schools within the Ipswich Opportunity Area whose attendance was at or below 80%. Noise Solution intended to use its 1:1 music mentoring pedagogy supported by its bespoke digital platform to positively impact on well-being and internal motivation. We are not trying to fix people, we are creating the conditions within which they often choose to flourish.

Impact Measurement & Reporting Noise Solution measures its impact on well-being using the Shortened Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS). The SWEMWBS data is not designed to be used as an individual diagnostic tool, but a way of measuring impact at a population level. The sample size is too small to be able to extrapolate meaning from here but when combined with our other work (delivered in exactly the same way) we see high statistical significance of well-being impacts across a population of 100 plus. The data captured from the participant at the start and end of a set of sessions, and the ‘distance travelled’ is statistically analysed on individual and population levels (any change over 2 is considered to be meaningful). Alongside these quantitative data, Noise Solution captures an equal amount of qualitative data in the form of the Digital Stories which is created by each participant as well as reflective feedback sought from the Participant and other involved third parties. This document seeks to report on the impact data from this contract, giving a broad picture consisting of both quantitative and qualitative feedback.

Results The results from this grant show marked improvements in well-being amongst the population, with a decrease of 55.5% in low well-being and an increase of 55.6% in moderate well-being. Additionally 66% of participants complete their sessions at or above the national well-being average, with 28% of participants within a meaningful range of the same. This suggests Noise Solution has changed internal perceptions of well-being.

Qualitative feedback is also positive, with participants engaging or re-engaging with other activities and requesting further sessions with Noise Solution. Third party feedback is also positive from families and professionals alike.

The Social Return On Investment for this contract shows as £417,500 (calculated independently, see section on SROI).

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REFERRED PARTICIPANTS In order to maintain the confidentiality of participants referred we have reported on participants anonymously. Names of individuals referred to Noise Solution through this contract can be supplied, if required (assuming General Data Protection Regulation requirements are satisfied).

In total, 65 participants were referred to this contract. This is more than the contracted number because a number of participants either did not engage to begin with, or disengaged during the programme. This is in line with what we see in our other work, and is usual given the nature of the population we are trying to engage with.

2% 35%

Of these referrals, 63% were male and 35% female with 1% describing themselves as ‘other’.

63%

Male

Female

Other 20

15

We saw a spread of ages across the target age

10

range, most concentrated across the midpoint.

5

0

12

13

14

15

16

Age

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Participants home postcodes were spread across Ipswich and the surrounding area, in line with catchment areas for Ipswich schools. It is notable that we received no referrals for students living in north Ipswich (Westerfield Road, Tuddenham Road and the Henley area) and few in east Ipswich.

Referrals came from a variety of sources: Referral source

# of referrals

Westbourne Academy

15

Suffolk County Council

13

Ormiston Endeavour Academy

7

Stoke High School

7

Chantry Academy

7

Ipswich Academy

6

Raedwald Trust

4

Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation Trust

3

Other

3 65

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SESSION METRICS The session metrics for this contract are slightly misleading to report on, given that a proportion of the sessions are yet to complete due to the summer holidays. Noise Solution will be completing the remainder of the sessions over September and October but due to the restrictions with the reporting timeline these data cannot be included in this report (above in bold).

Attendance

22%

14% 5%

59%

Booked Cancelled Completed Attended Completed Absent

Attendance data currently shows attendance overall at around 60%, not including the sessions yet to take place (14%). If we look at the sessions not attended (22%) this reflects a nonattendance rate which is the same as Noise Solution sees elsewhere.

Amongst the reasons for non-attendance are difficulties in organising logistics with schools (no rooms available, no transport organised, students being away from school and Noise Solution not being informed). Working with and within schools was a challenge for this contract.

Completions The completion data is also slightly misleading, given the number of ‘on hold’ referrals we have currently. These are mostly due to referrals wanting to start or restart in

23%

23%

September after the holiday, and also due to referrals being paused due to other factors (such as participant not being quite ready to engage).

20%

The ‘did not complete' percentage of 20% broadly reflects what Noise Solution sees in other areas of its work. This is

34%

either due to participants not wanting to engage or, in a couple of cases, being uncontactable.

We intend to recommence the on hold sessions in

On hold No

Did not complete

Yes

September, and have done in a number of these cases.

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QUALITATIVE DATA Qualitative data for this report has been gathered from two sources: 1. Individual digital stories 2. Participant and third party feedback These data are gathered automatically within our platform; impact capture is an inherent part of the process.

Individual Digital Stories During each session the Noise Solution Musician captures moments of the participant being good at something using audio, video, photos and text. Together, participant and Musician use these media to cocreate an individualised digital story. The participant then chooses who to invite into their digital story, and these ‘community group members’ are encouraged to comment on what they have seen in an environment which is reflective of their own social media experiences but which is secure and controlled by us.

The individual digital stories are an integral part of our Theory of Change and have been explicitly designed to create an environment within which the three identified psychological needs identified in SDT theory (competence, autonomy, and relatedness) can flourish.

Competence

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In the examples above we can see the use of music technology to achieve ‘quick wins’ then using these successes as a foundation to build further success.

Autonomy

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Participants are given autonomy over when and where we meet them, the music they create, how this is created, what we capture for the digital story and who this is shared with.

The example on the right shows a Noise Solution Musician using the digital story to engage a participant before the sessions. The participant is then able to build relationships in a non-threatening space which they are in control of.

Relatedness

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The examples above show the use of the digital story to build relationships between people built on discussions around strengths, not problems. It provides an opportunity for the participant to redefine their identity (a process called ‘resignification’) whereby negative labels held by the participant are challenged and new positive labels are built. This can enable the participant to build or rebuild relationships from a position of building on and encouraging strengths.

Progression

These examples show the range of progression routes that participants can choose to follow.

Noise Solution has no agenda around which progression route a participant might choose to follow, but we do use the sessions and the digital story to act as a catalyst on to other things.

Two of the examples above relate to a participant who was about to move from his current school into Parkside PRU. Our Musician and the participant completed one of their sessions at Parkside, easing the transition and allowing the participant to build relationships with the staff from a position of strength.

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Wider impacts

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These are some of the reflections captured during or at the end of sessions. We can see that by impacting on well-being and internalising motivation participants are able to transfer these motivations to other domains in their lives.

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SURVEY DATA Alongside the well-being questionnaires, we also sent out two surveys: 1. Professionals named as ‘keyworkers’ in referrals.

2. Any family members associated with participants community groups.

Both surveys were broadly similar and were designed to gather feedback on Noise Solutions performance and the impact our work had on the participants we worked with. Surveys were sent out via email, using links unique to the recipient. This is something we are building in to the functionality of the platform.

Professional respondents At the time of writing we have received 7 responses from 21 surveys (33% response rate).

How clear was the information we sent you about our work and who was suitable? Did you understand what we were offering and to who? 0 = not at all, 5 = completely.

4 29%

“Yes, information was excellent and very clear about the overarching aims of the project and who would be an ideal candidate. It was also really informative to speak to Simon who outlined the process in more detail. I also found it extremely beneficial to speak about the needs of different students and

5 71%

whether they were suitable for the process.”

0

1

2

3

4

5

“Communication was very clear and showed clearly what the students would be doing.”

“The criteria for referrals were very clear and concise which was helpful. I was not completely aware of what the 10 sessions would involve and so was vague in describing this to young people I went on to refer.”

“Generic email sent then a follow-up phone call made to Simon who explained the offer further and answered any questions I had.”

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How easy did you find the referral process? 0 = not at all easy, 5 = simple.

“Would be good to have ability to print off referral form for school records?”

“The use of the secure online form was extremely helpful with saving time and additional resources. The form itself did not take long to complete.”

“Simple and clear referral form emailed the same day.”

“This is one of the most easiest referral forms to complete! It is simple to complete online and does not require copious amounts of information or lots of pages which need to be

0

1

2

3

4

5 100% 5

completed. It also allows you to be reflective and think about the individual and how this referral can support them to achieve their full potential.”

“Very simple and easy to fill in.”

Did Noise Solution respond quickly enough once you had made a referral? 0 = not at all quickly, 5 = very quickly.

“Super fast which was super impressive for school and pupil.”

“Noise Solution must have got in touch with the young people I referred really quickly as work seemed to start not long after.”

“Within a week of referral contact was made with the young person/family.”

“The response time was amazing, sometimes within the hour or the same day. I have never seen such a rapid response from an external agency/organisation!”

0

1

2

3

4

5 100% 5

“Always able to contact someone from Noise Solution.”

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How included did you feel in the whole process? 0 =. Not at all included, 5 = completely included.

“Felt aware at all stages on what was happening and who would be allocated to the case.”

“I was not aware that Noise Solution had contacted the young people I had referred in the first instance. The use of the online blog and invite into this was really helpful and I was able to keep up to date with what the young person was doing and how they were finding their Noise Solution sessions.”

“Regular updates and the ability to view the students work online made it easy to keep up to date with what they had

0

1

2

3

4

5 100% 5

been doing.”

“There is constant excellent communication between the organisation and us. The tutors have been fantastic and have communicated exceptionally well. Staff involved have enjoyed commenting on students' work and say that they have felt that it has enabled them to build up more effective relationships with students. It is also brilliant that you can contact anyone with any queries and Simon has been invaluable.”

“The regular emails on updates really helped."

In your opinion, are the students who engaged with Noise Solution more confident than when they started with us?

“Self esteem and self worth has increased. Attendance at school for one pupil increased. Pupil felt valued and able to be creative.”

Not sure 14%

“The young people I referred have not only thoroughly enjoyed the Noise Solution sessions, but have learnt that they are able to put themselves in new situations/

No 14%

work with new people and that this can be a positive experience. I would hope that this will allow them to feel more confident when trying new things in future.”

“My son finds it really difficult to engage with unfamiliar adults. I thought it may not work at all but Adam was

Yes 71%

brilliant with him, really patient and worked really hard to

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get on his level and find something he would be interested in. He couldn’t wait to do the next session and looks forward to trying out new skills.”

“The student is now at college, engaging with a variety of adults and peers and feeling more confident in their musical ability and their future in general.”

“It has been pleasing to see how some students have gained in confidence. We have had one student, who was having a difficult time within their personal life, and thrived on the experience of Noise Solution. The change in confidence was amazing. The majority of our students love it and cannot rate it highly enough!”

Are the students who engaged with Noise Solution more engaged in activities or learning than when they started with us?

“Greater engagement coming to school and with staff and also outside of school with peers and family.”

Not sure 14%

“Both young people I referred were not engaging in education when they were attending the Noise Solution sessions and due to it being early September I am unsure whether their engagement in learning has changed. However, one young person has been engaging more in activities outside of the home and without his parents which has improved his self-esteem.”

“My son is finding engaging really difficult due to autistic traits but with the right adult support it gives him

Yes 86%

confidence to open up to others.”

“Fully attending college now compared to poor attendance at high school.”

“Several students have been more positive about their learning and consequently, there has been a huge decrease in the number of behavioural incidents e.g. ‘sent outs’ etc. Additionally, students have also improved their levels with the majority of students either on or above target.”

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Has the attendance of the students who engaged with Noise Solution increased since they started with us?

“Yes evidence better attendance at school and brilliant attendance for noise solution sessions at school and at the studio.”

"Yes, we have had students whose

No, not at all 29%

attendance has transformed. For example, we had a student, who from September 2018 to January 2019, had failed to complete a full week of attendance and

Yes, a lot 43%

whose attendance was extremely low. With the intervention of Noise Solution his attendance increased by 20% which was extremely pleasing and he did full weeks.”

Yes, a little 29%

“Both of the young people I referred were not in education and have not yet started their new educational settings.”

“Son is home educated but will now be taught by alternative tuition service. He does not attend school.”

“Attended more revision sessions and most of their GCSE exams.”

“Students enjoyed the sessions and wanted to be in for them.”

In your opinion, are the students who engaged with Noise Solution now better at making positive decisions than they were before they started with us?

No, not at all 29%

“Possibly? Her mental health has improved which may have improved decision making.“ “We have had some students on the programme who would make the wrong

Yes, a lot 43%

decision e.g. if something was going wrong in a lesson, they would get up and storm out

Yes, a little 29%

of the room or students who will refuse to

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attend lessons. It is pleasing to see students think about the consequences of their actions. For example, we have had two students whose behaviour points decreased dramatically after starting the programme.”

“Several of the students are keen to join whole school music projects now.”

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your experience with Noise Solution?

“Your staff have been absolutely skilled and fantastic working with our Parkside pupils. Even for those pupils who struggled on occasion to engage they never ever gave up.... meant so much to the pupils and families ... thank you for such a wonderful provision.”

"The two young people I referred have very different presentations and difficulties. However, they both spoke of how their Noise Solution sessions were the highlight of their weeks. From hearing them talk about the sessions, it sounds as though the musicians at Noise Solution tailor the experience for each young person and their interests. I would not hesitate to refer someone again should the opportunity arise. Many thanks.”

“I’ve been really impressed with the patience of his tutor and ability to get him interested in something and teach him new skills when he won’t normally do anything you ask him.”

“Noise Solution was a fabulous outlet for a young person who felt socially and emotionally isolated to express themselves without judgement or criticism.”

“The staff are phenomenal. Nothing is too much trouble. They build up effective relationships with students and staff. The tutors are fab and clearly inspire our students. The support from Simon and Damien is also excellent and you feel confident knowing that you can email then with any queries or issues. In terms of interventions, it is probably the best intervention I have encountered. This programme transforms students' lives.”

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Family respondents At the time of writing we have received 9 responses from 32 surveys (31% response rate).

After our Musician got in touch to organise the sessions, how much did you understand about how everything worked and what was expected of you? 0 = not at all, 5 = completely.

“Ian made everything clear and offered lots of choices and options and he even managed to get my daughter to engage which was fantastic. There was never any pressure applied and several WOW things were taught. Sadly H didn't manage the full set of sessions due to her illness getting in the way.”

“You explained what Noise Solution was, who would be working with my child and the aim to use music to increase confidence and provide a new experience.”

4 33%

5 67% 0

1

2

3

4

5

“The whole process was very fast and easy to arrange. Our musician, Ian, gave us a call and we established a day and time that would work for us each week. Ian explained how the 10-week course was structured and asked what musical interests our son has.”

“Very concise and considerate of circumstances around learning a new subject. Very informative.”

How quickly did Noise Solution get the sessions in place? 0 = not at all quickly, 5 = very quickly.

4 22%

“Within a couple of weeks we had started”.

“The school contacted me to say they could be a place available, then I received an email from Noise Solution with dates and times of sessions.”

The day after speaking to the council regarding the Noise Solution application we got a phone call from them.

“The sessions started at the earliest point the sessions could fit into school programme.”

5 78% 0

1

2

3

4

5

How included did you feel in the whole process? 0 = not at all included, 5 = completely included.

“Because of H's anxiety I was able to sit in and participate in the sessions if needed, over a couple of sessions I moved away to allow her confidence to grow. The blogs and e-mails were a really good way of keeping me up to date with what was happening, and the fact that I could respond was also good. The communication and effort of Ian was fantastic, especially when things started to slip, he was very patient and understanding.

My daughter is in a slightly better place now and has said she wished she had of completed the sessions.”

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"The blog is a fantastic idea, not only can you see your child’s progress, you can share with other family members and also your child can be reminded of what they’ve achieved in the sessions.”

4 22%

"The whole process was very friendly and accommodating.”

“The blogs meant I could see how the sessions went and these were uploaded on the day of the session.”

5 78% 0

1

2

3

4

5

In your opinion is the participant more confident than when they started with Noise Solution?

“This is really hard, she was at rock bottom and had been for sometime, however, watching her engage and laugh with Ian was fantastic. As I said, she didn't manage to finish the sessions, but wishes she had.”

“Possibly more confident to engage with an adult.”

“My son has become much more confident in his music ability and has enabled him to see a future attending college to further his education in music.”

Not sure 11%

“He is much more confident in himself and able to express his views better.”

“Our son was struggling with anxiety related to his autism and we were finding it very difficult to get him to leave the Yes house, even to attend things that he enjoyed. Noise Solution 89% was structured so that the first 5 sessions were at our home.

Yes No Not sure This worked very well, and [participant] enjoyed working with our musician, Ian. [Participant] trusted Ian and enjoyed the time they spent together. This made it made it easier for the final 5 sessions which were held in the studio. We also attended an open day at the studio, so [participant] was familiar with the environment. We initially had a couple of anxiety issues with [participant] resisting leaving the house to attend, but as the course progressed these fell away, and [participant] looked forward to the sessions. [Participant]’s confidence has definitely improved from the work he has done with Noise Solution.”

“She is now finding it easier to engage with others and try new experiences. Her experience with Ian opened new door to music and it many benefits.”

“Absolutely more confident. Even on a bad day it lifted his confidence.”

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Is the participant more engaged in activities or learning than when they started with Noise Solution?

“Again, this is complex, She has been a school refuser for about a year. We finally have some mental health support in place and an EHCP being implemented, so only time will tell.”

"We haven’t finished yet and have just had a long summer break so too early to say.”

Not sure 22%

“My son has become more tolerant of social situations, I have seen an amazing improvement and has talked about being involved in activities if it involved music.” “[Participant] has continued to turn to what he has learnt at Noise Solution, often getting his laptop and keyboard out to practice chords, and to show friends what he has learnt. He has even occasionally preferred doing this to playing Xbox!!!”

Yes 78% Yes

No

Not sure

“She explores music and playing instruments within the home independently with confidence.”

“He has more confidence in his abilities and himself.”

Has the participants attendance at school (or other education) increased since they started with Noise Solution?

“Not at school for the last year but have just got agreement to start with a tutor.”

“My child is now home educated, so difficult to answer this question.”

No, not at all 33%

“Attendance was 0%!”

“His attendance used to be 47% and now is 92%. We think that is a combination of elements.

Being in a supportive foster placement and changing schools but Noise Solution definitely helped too.” “[Participant] had been out of school for a year and a half prior to attending Noise Solution due to anxiety around his autism. We have found him a place at Parkside Academy and he is now 2 days into school life. Hopefully this will continue.”

Yes, a lot 56% Yes, a little 11% Yes, a lot No, not at all

Yes, a little

“He has also changed schools”.

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“Participant no longer attends Parkside and is slowly integrating back to Ipswich Academy with various support.”

“This is a hard one to answer as a definitive as he suffers from mental health issues that get in the way of his ability to focus ... but if not able to attend school environment will work alone having some confidence in what he is doing.”

In your opinion, is the participant now better at making positive decisions than they were before they started with Noise Solution?

“My son has a much more positive out look with regards to his abilities in all aspects, he has become much more determined to achieve the required exams in order to attend college.”

Not sure 22%

"[Participant] just seems calmer, and more self confident, which can only lend itself to making more positive decisions.”

“Beginning to value the importance of education and how to manage her anxiety and social interaction.”

No 11%

Yes 67%

“He has been able to make more informed choices since participating in Noise Solution.”

Yes

No

Not sure

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your experience with Noise Solution?

“Just want to say thank you so much for the opportunity, we just wish she would have been in a better place to be able to participate fully.”

“He’s really enjoyed it even though he didn’t want to take part at first. Now he looks forward to his sessions.

Adam has been really good and patient at finding something to interest or engage him.”

“It has been a fantastic opportunity and experience for my child and I hope it continues to be accessible for all children. Our tutor was so approachable, understanding and obviously knowledgable about music. Over the sessions it became visible to see my child’s confidence grow.”

“Thank you and he really enjoyed his sessions.”

“Our experience with Noise Solution has been fantastic, my wife and I enjoyed the positive changes that it has had in terms of [participant]’s attitude to learning and his self confidence. We would thoroughly recommend our musician Ian, and Noise Solution to anyone. [Participant] will be continuing to work with Noise Solution at the iRock sessions. Thank you.”

“Great experience and opportunity to meet such a wonderfully talented and inspirational tutor. [Participant] found his approach to learning so beneficial and the tailored methods that he used to engage with her were

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sensitive and calm. His insight of coping mechanisms with anxiety was demonstrated so thoughtfully and was encouraging. She sincerely appreciated that he didn’t give up on her, in a way which wasn’t forceful nor demanding but supportive, calm and with positive understanding and value of her needs and abilities. Ian helped [participant] start a journey with music, which she really enjoys and I’m sure will continue. Many thanks for everything Ian.” “I would like to add that Dan was able to work around my child’s needs as rearrange sessions should his health mean he couldn’t participate as planned! I am so thankful and great full that he was given this opportunity.”

POPULATION IMPACT SUMMARY SWEMWBS is a population analysis tool rather than an individual diagnostic. It is designed to measure changes in populations’ subjective levels of well-being. Whilst SWEMWBS scores can give an individual view it is more useful to view the data to assess the organisations impact at a macro level.

SWEMWBS (start)

SWEMWBS (End)

100

100

75

75

77.8

72.2 50

50

25

25

22.2 0

5.6 Low

Moderate

High

16.7 0

Low

5.6 Moderate

High

From the population level data we have for this contract we see: •

A 55.5% reduction in low well-being, and

•

A 55.6% increase in moderate well-being.

We know that impacts on well-being are well evidenced to increase health, social, educational and engagement outcomes. These wider impacts can be evidenced in the digital story highlights above.

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BEFORE

AFTER

6%

13% 28%

19%

66%

68%

Above

Meaningful

Below

Above

Meaningful

Below

Because responses to SWEMWBS have been collected at a sample size of 60,000 we are able to extrapolate a ‘national well-being average’ score which we can compare ourselves against. After a ten-week intervention with this population we see 67% of participants at or above the national well-being average, with an additional 28% within a meaningful range of the same.

Statistical Significance The sample size for this Grant Agreement is too small to be able to make any claims around statistical significance. However, the statistical analysis for this contract is as follows: Mean Start

20.44

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Mean End

P Value

25.28 p<0.0001

% Confidence

>99.99%

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% Meaningful Positive Change

Statistically Significant?

72.2% Yes

Range Effect

.50 or more Large effect

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Social Return On Investment Whilst the impact data above tells a compelling story in and of itself, when combined with the qualitative data from the Digital Story from the participant and those around them, we see and demonstrate in multiple ways significant shifts in well-being. Shifts that we know lead to improvements in health, engagement and social outcomes. All of these data can be combined to give some indications of financial savings made to the wider system through investment in Noise Solution.

In 2018/19 a team of Health Economists from Costello Medical in Cambridge rigorously conducted an 8 month long Social Return On Investment study on a typical Noise Solution intervention. The brief for this piece of work was to take an extremely conservative, evidence-based view on what we can realistically financially claim due to a Noise Solution intervention.

With this conservative brief in mind, the Noise Solution Social Return On Investment study calculates that Noise Solution returns a 334% return on any investment With 190% of that return being in the first year. The study draws on peer reviewed evidence around impacts on family and services to calculate that return figure of 334%.

The total investment for this contract was £125,000, meaning that it is reasonable to assume that Noise Solution returned £417,500 to families and ‘the system’ distributed across various domains as outlined below:

You can view the Social Return On Investment study by following this link: https://issuu.com/noisesolutionuk/ docs/sroi_report_final_july

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A CASE STUDY This case study was written by a SEND Coordinator at a secondary school in Ipswich, and gives a more indepth look at the impact of Noise Solution on one of their students.

Before Noise Solutions Student A was in Year Ten and about to embark on his GCSE studies. His first term in Year Ten was difficult. A major barrier was attendance and Student A only managed one full week and that was the first week of the new academic year. From the second week of September to the second week in January, Student A had at least one day off a week and in some cases, two or three days. Furthermore, there was also periods of prolonged absence e.g. five days. Although there were some absences which were authorised, the vast majority were not authorised. There were also days of school refusal.

Student A also lacked engagement with his learning. Due to his attendance, he was missing work and consequently, he struggled to catch up and lost motivation. His report in the Autumn Term indicated that his progress was a concern in all of his subject areas as he was working well below his target grades.

Furthermore, his report also indicated that he was showing a lack of effort towards his studies.

Linked in with his lack of engagement and poor attendance, Student A’s behaviour was also becoming more problematic. There were several occasions when he was sent out of lessons or moved to another classroom due to poor behaviour. Additionally, he was displaying increasingly defiant behaviour. For example, there were occasions when he refused to leave the classroom after being sent out. His behaviour become impulsive and this was demonstrated when he became angry about certain situations. Rather than trying to resolve the situation or listen to advice, he would grab his belongings and walk off site.

The impact of Noise Solution From the very start of the intervention, it was clear that there was a change in Student A. Firstly, his attendance improved dramatically. Before Noise Solution, Student A had failed to attend school for a full week (apart from the first week of the new academic year). With this intervention, Student A managed to attend for seven full weeks without taking one day off which is a remarkable achievement. Consequently, his attendance improved dramatically. Prior to the intervention, his attendance was around 42%. Within a short space of time, his attendance had increased to 59%.

Academically, there was also a major change. Student A’s confidence had grown and this had an impact on his achievement. In the Spring Term, there was a marked improvement in his academic performance. There was an increase in his effort levels and his grades. For example, prior to starting the programme, Student A was working towards a grade one in Science. Within a term, his Science grade was a 2.3.

Finally, it was clear that there was a significant change in behaviour. There was a massive decrease in the number of behavioural incidents logged on SIMS. There were very few ‘sent outs'. It was also pleasing to note that Student A became more responsible and started to make the right decision rather than act impulsively.

Conclusion This case study illustrates the power of Noise Solution and how this programme can have a clear and definite impact, not just on attendance, but also on behaviour, engagement in learning, resilience and character.

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For more information on the methodology used within this report please contact us: Noise Solution C.I.C. Hunter Club 6 St Andrews Street South Bury St Edmunds Suï¬&#x20AC;olk IP33 3PH

(01284) 771156

info@noisesolution.org

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