AWARE: Steps for Schools

Phase 1: preparation

January - July 2022

1. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

All schools involved in the programme will need to complete an MoU.

This document outlines what will be required of schools participating in the programme, along with our responsibilities and commitments. It involves an agreement completed by a member of the senior leadership team, agreeing to particular aspects of the trials such as randomisation, the provision of data, and participating in all necessary phases of the trial.

It is expected that MoUs will be completed within two weeks of receipt, and no later than the end of April 2022

2. Data sharing agreement

As we will be asking you to share information about your staff and pupils, we will ask a member of the senior leadership team to read and sign the data sharing agreement.

This outlines which data the school will need to provide to the Education for Wellbeing team, how the data will be processed, and who will access the data.

Please note, this will need to be returned before the sharing lists of pupils in delivery groups and staff (Step 4).

It is expected that Data Sharing Agreements will be completed within two weeks of receipt, and no later than the end of April 2022.

3. Holding training dates for school staff

As schools will only be notified of their programme allocation after Phase 2 (once all baseline data has been collected), we will need schools to hold all of the training dates for their hub.

If you are participating in the AWARE project then your school could be allocated to deliver The Guide. This will involve releasing up to six members of staff for one day of training:

• London 

• Birmingham 

• York

• Liverpool

• Exeter

4. Sharing lists of pupils in delivery groups (and corresponding staff)

Pupil lists will need to contain three Year 9 classes.

The Key Contact will need to share lists of all pupils who will be taking part in the programme. Pupil Lists will need to be organised by delivery group, i.e. the name of the class in which they will receive the programme, e.g. PHSE_1.

We will also need to know the member of staff who will be delivering the programme to each group, and the name and contact details of the school’s safeguarding lead. Please download the Pupil List Instructions to help you complete this stage. 

Pupil Lists should be returned to the data team in Manchester by 15 July 2022 at the latest.

5. Sending information to parents/carers

An AWARE information sheet will need to be sent out to parents and carers. This provides an overview of the project and includes an opt-out consent form if parents/carers do not want their child’s data to be used, as well as a privacy notice detailing the legal basis for processing data for the project.

Please email wave3aware@annafreud.org to get the latest version of this parent/carer sheet.

Opt-out consent forms will be returned directly to the evaluation team. We will not collect or hold any data on pupils who have opted-out, but they will still be able to participate in any interventions being delivered at your school.

Phase 2: baseline data collection

May – Early October 2022

1. Completing the current mental health provision survey

The Key Contact will fill out a questionnaire about the mental health and wellbeing provision that is already taking place in your school.

The current mental health provision survey should be completed no later than 7 October 2022.

2. Completing staff and pupil surveys (Time 1)

Staff and pupils will need to complete online questionnaires. Questionnaires for pupils will consist of several different mental health and wellbeing measures, while staff will be asked about their knowledge and understanding of mental health.

Staff questionnaires will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. A link to the questionnaire and a password will be provided by the evaluation team via email to each individual member of staff.

Staff surveys should be completed no later than 7 October 2022.

A computer room will need to be booked for pupils for one lesson (between 30 - 60 minutes) in order for them to complete their questionnaires.

To help introduce the survey we have created a pupil survey pack and PowerPoint presentation for primary schools working with us on another part of the programme. These resources are geared towards younger pupils, but may also be helpful for you and your Year 9 groups. The glossary and FAQs in the Pupil Survey Pack could be particularly useful.

Our data team in Manchester will send you a list of passwords for pupils to access their questionnaires. Opt-out pupils will not complete questionnaires.

All pupil surveys must be completed by 7 October 2022.

Phase 3: delivery training

October – December 2022

1. Receiving news of allocation

Immediately after October half-term we will contact schools to inform them of the group they have been allocated to. This will either be a mental health/wellbeing intervention, or the Usual Practice group. YAM or The Guide A link to book onto relevant training dates (depending on your allocation) will be sent to schools and will appear in the “Staff members attending training” section below once allocations are complete. 

Usual Practice Schools allocated to the Usual Practice group will not be required to deliver a mental health intervention during the project (June 2022 – January 2024). These schools will complete other aspects (e.g. staff and pupils completing surveys) and will be compared to those delivering the mental health/wellbeing programmes, helping us examine the effects of each intervention. Following final follow-up data collection in January 2024 and completion of the project in March 2024, schools will be offered up to five staff places on a mental health and wellbeing training. A menu of training and dates will be sent to the school to choose from.

2. Staff members attending training (not applicable for Usual Practice schools)

There will be two training sessions available in each hub for The Guide, and schools will be able to choose which session their staff members attend. If preferable, staff members can be split over both training sessions – this reduces the number of staff needing to be released from school at one time. YAM is delivered by an external mental health professional and therefore teachers will not need to be trained.

If your school is allocated to deliver The Guide, all staff who will deliver the intervention are required to attend a 1 day training:

• London 

• Birmingham 

• York

• Liverpool

• Exeter

Links to the relevant booking will be provided in this section of the website and by email once allocations are finalised.

3. First payment

Schools that have completed baseline data collection and (where applicable) sent members of staff onto allocated training will be invited to invoice £300 in January 2023.Invoices should include the name of your school, bank account name and number, and this reference: Schools – Education for Wellbeing.

Please send invoices to Wave3AWARE@annafreud.org. 

 4. Reporting potential adverse events

When investigating the impact of new programmes, it is standard practice to monitor any ‘potential adverse events’ that take place. An adverse event is defined as any negative psychological, emotional or behavioural occurrence, or sustained deterioration in a participant. We do not necessarily think these events will happen, however, it is important to record these. An adverse events procedure will be circulated and explained to all participating schools. 

Phase 4: delivery

January – March 2023

1. Intervention delivery (not applicable for Usual Practice schools)

YAM will be delivered by external mental health professionals over a six week period between January – March 2023. Sessions will be between 45 – 60 minutes long, the length of a standard lesson in your school’s timetable.

The Guide will be delivered by school staff over a six week period between January – March 2023. Sessions will be between 45 – 60 minutes long, the length of a standard lesson in your school’s timetable.

Where possible, all delivery groups who are taking part in the evaluation should be taught by staff who have attended the training session.

Delivery of both of these programmes will need to be completed by no later than 31 March 2023.

Phase 5: initial follow-up data collection

February – June 2023

1. School staff completing implementation surveys (not applicable for Usual Practice schools)

If your school has been allocated to The Guide, staff who have been delivering the programme will be required to complete a survey about the ways in which the curriculum was delivered. We will ask about staff opinions on the programme, exact details about when and how delivery took place, and whether or not any of the materials were adapted.

This information is important as delivery of school-based programmes can vary between teachers, and these variations may influence the effects of the programme on pupils’ outcomes.

2. Completing finance survey (not applicable for Usual Practice schools)

A member of the finance team at your schools will need to share some financial information so we can work out how much the interventions cost to deliver.

3. Completing staff and pupil surveys (Time 2)

All of the school staff and pupils who have been taking part in the programme (including in Usual Practice schools) will repeat Step 2 of Phase 2.

This data will be very important for our evaluation as it will allow us to compare pupils who have received an intervention with pupils in the Usual Practice group to see if the interventions have made a difference.

Phase 6: final follow-up data collection

January 2024 – March 2024

1. Completing staff and pupil surveys (Time 3)

Once again, all of the school staff and pupils taking part in the programme (including in Usual Practice schools) will repeat Step 2 of Phase 2.This will allow us to see if there are any longer term effects of the interventions.

2. Sustainability surveys (not applicable for Usual Practice or YAM schools)

As well as finding out about the effectiveness of the different AWARE interventions, we are also interested in the sustainability of these types of educational initiative and whether or not the interventions continue to be delivered in schools.   There are no right or wrong answers! If you are no longer delivering an intervention at this stage, this will not affect your participation in this research. We are just interested in hearing about what schools do once the formal delivery period is over.

3. Final payment

Schools completing all requirements will be invited to claim the remaining £700 following completion of Final Follow-Up Data Collection in January/February 2024.

4. Intervention training offered to Usual Practice schools – after March 2024

After completing all phases of the project, Usual Practice schools will be able to send up to five members of staff onto a mental health and wellbeing training. A menu of training and dates will be sent to the school to choose from.