Evaluation
Select the bars below to view evaluations of projects and approaches conducted in partnership with South Tyneside Council.
Best Start in Life Evaluation
Children and families in South Tyneside have high levels of need, with some children and families being particularly disadvantaged. The practice members of our team have worked with local people to develop a new approach to helping children and families. This approach:
- Brings together the different professionals that support children and families into one team
- Identifies key people in schools to help children who have mental health difficulties
- Trained young people who want to volunteer to help school-aged children how to live healthier lives.
We wanted to know if this new approach makes a difference for children and families. To find this out, we worked closely with children and families who live in South Tyneside and the people who provide services. Together we :
Look at important health information that is already collected by services in South Tyneside and see if the health information changes after the service has been introduced in the borough
- Talked to the professionals and volunteers who deliver the service as well as the children and families who use the service and ask them what they think about the help that is provided
- Looked at how much the service costs and what the benefits are that come from the service
We have used this information to make the service better for children and families in South Tyneside. We also used the information to improve other types of services in this borough.
Relevant resources:
Best Start in Life Evaluation Report
South Tyneside Best Start in Life Alliance – NIHR School for Public Health Research NIHR SPHR
Fuse Research Event – How can we give our communities the Best Start in Life?
Public Mental Health
South Tyneside is one of the 20% most deprived local authorities in England and many health indicators are worse locally than the national averages. South Tyneside Council were a grant recipient of the Better Mental Health Fund (BMHF) following a successful bid to government. The funded projects were selected specifically to meet the mental health needs that have been shown to be the causes of poor mental health and represent a particular risk to local populations.
Relevant resources:
ResearchGate – South Tyneside Better Mental Health Evaluation Report
Evaluation of Warm Spaces in South Tyneside
In the winter of 2022, in response to the cost-of-living crisis, South Tyneside Council launched the Warm Spaces (now known as Welcoming Places) scheme. The aim of this scheme was to support residents to stay warm while avoiding rising heating costs, avoid social isolation, and provide support, advice and signposting as needed. A wide range of local venues joined the scheme. These were community spaces, council buildings including family hubs and libraries, and local businesses. An independent academic evaluation was undertaken to explore the views and experiences of those involved in the Warm Spaces/Welcoming Places. This was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Local Authority Short Placement Award for Research Collaboration. This briefing summarises the evaluation findings.
Relevant resources:
Evaluation of Warm Spaces/Welcoming Places in South Tyneside Report
Healthy Homes (South Tyneside Council) Evaluation
The home, and housing itself, remain key determinants of health. Poor housing conditions are often experienced by the most vulnerable in society and can exacerbate the problems they face. Such damaging relationships can take many forms, but are particularly related to housing hazards and issues such as fuel poverty. The Healthy Homes service is an advice and signposting-based programme that attempts to address people’s home-related health needs.
The research aimed to explore the benefits of the Healthy Homes services via the following objectives: 1) The creation of a data capture tool to highlight financial benefits of the advice and interventions given 2) The completion of qualitative interviews to explore service user experiences, and 3) The development of a strategy and potential outcome measures for future, larger-scale evaluations of housing advice services. A mixed methods evaluation was undertaken.
HH Evaluation Final Report 150224
South Tyneside Social Navigators Evaluation
Financial difficulties are a common cause of stress and anxiety and impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing. The impact can be particularly severe if people have to cut back on essentials, such as heating and eating.
The Social Navigators in South Tyneside work with residents experiencing financial hardship to identify and address the underlying causes of their financial difficulties, such as social isolation, communication difficulties, lack of employment, difficulties accessing health and welfare services, and lack of practical skills, including cooking, home hygiene and selfcare.
The findings of the evaluation provide an understanding of how Social Navigators impact on financial stability and the health and social wellbeing of clients accessing the service, informing the future development and recommissioning of the service. The evaluation also makes recommendations for how to apply and adapt this approach to other local authorities.