Evaluation Title

Arts Mentoring for Released Prisoners: An Evaluation Project - interim report

Type of evaluation

Data type Qualitative and Quantitative

Evaluation Focus Impact of programme, Improved model of delivery, Progression Routes

Key indicators Completion rates, Employability, Programme completion, Reducing offending, Self-Esteem, Well Being

Methodologies Control Group, Data analysis, Interviews, Observation, Pre and post programme measures, Questionnaires

Summary of evaluation

An interim report on the evaluation of the Koestler Trust's mentoring scheme. The evaluation concerns both the implementation and effectiveness of the mentoring scheme, and employs both qualitative and quantitative methods, including direct observation of mentoring sessions and hour-long, face-to-face interviews with both mentors and mentees.
The implementation part of the research focuses on the meaning of the scheme for mentees, their perceptions as to the quality of its delivery, and any procedural obstacles that have been encountered. The effectiveness part of the research focuses on whether, and the extent to which, the mentoring scheme is delivering its intended outcomes.

Project description

The Mentoring Scheme aims to innovate a model of arts input, shaped to the needs of individual offenders, that empowers them through the transition from prison to community. Its project objectives are:
 To develop a high-quality, replicable model of arts mentoring for offenders.
 To create a pool of professionals from different arts fields trained and experienced in supporting individual offenders.
 To engage a reasonably representative sample of offenders in the arts mentoring.
 To ensure that the arts mentoring addresses the transition from prison to community.
 To ensure that the offenders’ needs are met holistically by integrating the arts mentoring with other resettlement services.
 To focus the mentoring on continued participation in the arts, while also supporting wider benefits. To commission a thorough independent evaluation of the project pilot which includes the views of users.

To disseminate the findings to contribute to improved policy and practice.

Key Quote

Mentees report that their emotional well-being (e.g., their self-esteem) and their achievement motivation is rising thanks to their participation in the scheme. This is also confirmed in interviews with mentors and in their reports to the Koestler Trust.


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Arts Alliance Evidence Library