Suffolk Family Carers Project Evaluation

Charity Fundraising Ltd were commissioned by Suffolk Family Carers to evaluate the achievements, outputs and outcomes of the Big Lottery Fund Reaching Communities funded BOOST 4 Young Carers Project, towards the end of year two of a three year project. The aim of the BOOST 4 Young Carers Project is to offer age-appropriate support groups, information and respite activities to Suffolk’s most vulnerable Young Carers, especially from remote rural areas and ethnic minority communities; meeting their identified learning, life skills, emotional and social needs, helping them make an effective transition to functioning younger adulthood.

Charity consultants used a variety of means to evaluate the project including:

• Analysis of activity evaluations
• Analysis of self-reporting data
• Questionnaires with parents
• Questionnaires with young carers
• Interviews with project staff
• Interviews with partner organisations
• Facilitating focus groups with young carers and young adult carers

Following the information gathering, we produced an evaluation report detailing how outcomes had been met and suggestions of areas to address in year three of the project.

“A friendly and inclusive approach. Kathryn took time to understand our organisation and worked pro-actively with us to produce a positive report. It was good to see a ‘hands on’ approach to gathering information to inform the evaluation. Kathryn did an excellent job and was good to work with.” –Julie Thurston, Young Peoples Services Manager