Breakthrough Mentoring
The Breakthrough Mentoring project is a feasibility study and pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) that will assess and evaluate the perceived helpfulness of the Breakthrough mentoring programme. It will also explore the feasibility of collecting data and estimating the parameters needed to design a definitive RCT. A qualitative process evaluation and a cost-effectiveness analysis are also being conducted. The key objectives are to determine:
- If it is possible to identify, recruit and randomise eligible students to intervention and control groups
- The acceptability of the intervention and trial procedures to schools, mentors and participants (mentees)
- Response rates at 6, 12, and 18 months follow-up
- The proportion of students randomised to the intervention that complete the mentoring programme
- What student characteristics need to be considered for either stratification or minimisation purposes in the randomisation process for a full scale trial
- Whether recruitment of sufficient numbers of secondary schools for a full-scale RCT is feasible
- What are the best primary and secondary outcomes to collect
- If it is possible to obtain permission for data linkage for long-term follow-up
The study is led by Professor Rona Campbell, managed by Dr Angela Beattie, both from the University of Bristol, in collaboration with Mr Steve Spiers, Breakthrough Mentoring Manager, South Gloucestershire Council and is funded by the National Institute for Health Research’s School for Public Health Research (NIHR SPHR; https://sphr.nihr.ac.uk/research/breakthrough-mentoring-2/.
