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Prior evidence on mentoring schemes shows benefits but also highlights that effects can be small, short-lived, and dependent on implementation quality. The study addresses limits of conventional evaluations by lacking a suitable control group and providing limited follow-up. Young people were interviewed at three time points and analysed via thematic analysis, focusing on skill development, self-confidence, motivation, and aspirations.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/centre-for-education-research-and-practice-unlocking-potential-programme-impact-study/621046/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/centre-for-education-research-and-practice-unlocking-potential-programme-impact-study/621046.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Angel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-20",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why does the study avoid using a control group to evaluate the programme?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The participants of Unlocking Potential are diverse and face exceptionally challenging personal circumstances, making a suitable comparable control group impossible.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How were participants interviewed across the programme timeline?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Participants were interviewed at three time points: at round 1 (1st national event, face-to-face), round 2 (2nd national event, two months in, face-to-face), and round 3 (one week after completion, telephone interviews).",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What are the main methodological limitations of this study?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The lack of a control group and no follow-up after completion limits firm conclusions about lasting impact. The study also relies on self-report data from a small self-selecting sample.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},621046,1792464897,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":144},687207412472,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Centre for Education Research and Practice  \nas feedback from the athlete mentors. The 2012 report found that 85% of the young people completed the programme. All those who completed the programme were reported to have demonstrated that they had developed personal traits, such as determination, which had been identified by the young person as an area important to them in which they wished to improve ( DKHL Trust 2012) . The data used in the DKHL Trust report was primarily collected as part of the programme to help the young people reflect upon their journey through the programme. It is therefore likely to be influenced by a positive bias as neither young person nor mentor would feel encouraged to report negative effects during the self-reflection exercise. Furthermore, the DKHL Trust report does not evaluate the features of the programme which were most instrumental in helping the young people, or follow-up after completion of the programme. This paper aims to explore the success of the 2013 programme using data which are independent from the programme materials.  \nPrevious research has shown that mentoring schemes have had a positive impact in a range of areas including education/work, mental health, physical health and behaviour (DuBois & Silverthorn, 2005) . The relationship between the mentor and youth has been found to be crucial and most likely to promote positive outcomes when it is close, consistent and enduring ( Rhodes and DuBois , 2006) . The closeness of the relationship depends upon the compatibility of the mentor and the young person in their personalities and interests. The mentor’s ability to empathise with the young person along with shared expectations or goals for the relationship also improves closeness (Spencer, 2006; Bernier & Larose, 2005; Madia & Lutz, 2004) . The consistency of the relationship has been found to be better if there is regular contact. Regular contact may result in more positive outcomes somewhat indirectly by facilitating a closer relationship between mentor and young person (Rhodes et al , 2006) . The duration of the relationship also impacts on the outcome of the intervention, with the greatest benefits being evident in relationships that lasted for more than a year (Grossman & Rhodes, 2002) . Positive outcomes are achieved through well implemented programmes. Mentoring schemes benefit from on-going training of mentors, structure to the mentoring relationship and concrete expectations for both parties, inclusion of caregivers and the wider community, and monitoring of the schemes effectiveness. Whilst some mentor programmes have had a demonstratively positive impact on the young people participating, research does indicate that poorly implemented programmes have little benefit and can even have adverse effects (DuBois, Holloway, Jeffery, Valentine, & Cooper, 2002) . Analysis of data from several mentor interventions reveals that the effect size for positive outcomes is generally small and short-lived (Aseltine, Dupre, Lamlein, 2000; Eby, Allen, Evans, Ng, & DuBois, 2008) .  \nGiven the research evidence suggesting that mentoring interventions do not always have a positive impact, it is of interest to investigate the impact the Unlocking Potential has on its participants. The first of the three desired outcomes form Unlocking Potential, ‘development of skills and knowledge’ is self-evident through the young person’s completion of the social project, but the success of the other two aims is not so transparent. Is there an improvement in selfconfidence, motivation and aspirations arising from a result of the programme and, if so, do these improvements remain after the programme has concluded? The literature discussed so far has evaluated the success of mentoring interventions by comparing outcomes of the mentored group with a control group – made up of youths in similar circumstances who have not been mentored. However, the young people who take part in the Unlocking Potential programme a","cbCaibtGsHdu8cvJ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibtGsHdu8cvJ","pdf",1040701,18,"English","# Method\n## Interview rounds and data analysis\n# Findings and limitations","[{\"question\":\"Why does the study avoid using a control group to evaluate the programme?\",\"answer\":\"The participants of Unlocking Potential are diverse and face exceptionally challenging personal circumstances, making a suitable comparable control group impossible.\"},{\"question\":\"How were participants interviewed across the programme timeline?\",\"answer\":\"Participants were interviewed at three time points: at round 1 (1st national event, face-to-face), round 2 (2nd national event, two months in, face-to-face), and round 3 (one week after completion, telephone interviews).\"},{\"question\":\"What are the main methodological limitations of this study?\",\"answer\":\"The lack of a control group and no follow-up after completion limits firm conclusions about lasting impact. The study also relies on self-report data from a small self-selecting sample.\"}]","Centre for Education Research and Practice - Unlocking Potential Programme Impact Study | PDF",45]