Our impact

A key priority for Ardoch is to build the evidence base that shows the impact of our work.

The learning from monitoring and evaluation our programs helps us to learn and improve the programs, thus further deepening the impact.

This is essential for achieving Ardoch’s strategic priority to deepen Ardoch’s impact for more students through meaningful, evidence-based programs.

To read more about our impact see our most recent impact reports below:

2023 Impact Report

2022 Impact Report

Our Outcomes

Ardoch uses an outcomes framework across all our programs to measure the impact of our work.

In each of our programs we seek to make a positive impact on one or more of the following factors that support positive educational outcomes:

Confidence
Aspiration
Wellbeing
Social skills
Engagement in Learning

Together, the goals under each of these factors represent our Outcomes (CAWSE) Framework. Read through the sections below to learn more about each of the CAWSE outcome areas and the impact of our programs, as evidenced through our evaluation against the Framework.

Confidence

Confidence means: Children and young people believe in their abilities. They have the courage to take risks, take on challenges and learn from these experiences. They demonstrate an awareness of their own strengths and personal identity. They have a strong sense of self-worth, self-awareness, and a positive self-image.

“It has made me feel more confident in myself and made me believe more in what I can do” Student, Literacy Buddies

“Having someone who gives of their time to come and work specifically with some students on their reading means so much to some children. They feel important and that increases their confidence, which in turn, increases their effort and achievement.” Teacher, Education Volunteers

2023 confidence outcomes:

92% of teachers agreed the Mock Interviews program had contributed to increased overall confidence for students.
84% of teachers agreed that the Broadening Horizons Program has increased overall confidence in students.
71% of students agreed that participating in the Writer in Residence program increased their confidence to try new things.
68% of students agreed that participating in the Literacy Buddies program has increased my confidence in with writing.

Aspiration

Aspiration means: Children and young people understand themselves, build their experiences and achievements, and develop their capabilities. They consider opportunities in learning, work, and future pathways with the belief that these are accessible to them. They have a sense of hope and optimism about their lives and the future. They understand how personal strengths, interests and characteristics influence career decisions, and demonstrate an awareness of their own personal qualities in relation to building their aspirations.

“It has given them the opportunity to understand that there are wide scope of opportunities available.” Teacher, Pathways

“It has opened their eyes to a wider choice of career paths that they didn’t know existed. Students are now discussing different options to careers and career pathways including law and being chefs.” Teacher, Literacy Buddies

2023 aspiration outcomes:

93% of teachers agreed the Literacy Buddies program for participating students has contributed to higher aspirations for themselves.
91% of teachers agreed the Industry Visits program had given students a strong sense of what working in specific careers involves, and whether those careers might be a good fit for them.
70% of students agreed that participating in Learning through Lunch gave them greater awareness of possible jobs or careers that are open to them.
67% of students agreed that Speed Careers gave them a greater awareness of possible jobs or careers that are open to them.

Wellbeing

Wellbeing means: Children and young people develop the capabilities necessary to thrive, contribute, and respond positively to challenges and opportunities in life. They manage their emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing. They can identify activities that improve their wellbeing, show enthusiasm for wellbeing activities, and understand the factors that contribute to building their resilience.

“The good strategies. I was stressed the night after and I used one of the strategies and it worked well.” – Year 4 Student, Broadening Horizons: Wellbeing

“I think having the volunteer work consistently with only 2 students with behavioural needs has had really positive impacts for those students and their sense of wellbeing and belonging. He has built good rapport with these students and has helped build on their emotional literacy.” Teacher, Education Volunteers

2023 wellbeing outcomes:

69% of teachers agreed that working with an Education Volunteer has contributed to students having a higher resilience to educational setbacks.
70% of teachers agreed that the Writer in Residence program contributed to students physical and mental health through participating in creative activities.

Social Skills

Social skills means: Children and young people understand themselves and others, and manage their relationships, lives, work, and learning effectively. They demonstrate empathy for others, work effectively in teams, and handle challenging situations constructively. Children and young people develop the necessary interpersonal skills to form and maintain healthy relationships, to prepare them for their potential life roles as family, community, and workforce members.

“This was interesting and fun, I liked how it challenged me but also helped me with my social life.” – Student, Literacy Buddies

They speak with growing confidence each week and it has been wonderful to watch their conversational skills develop as they feel they have something to say and share with an adult who values their thoughts and ideas.” – Teacher, Education Volunteers

2023 social skills outcomes:

100% of teachers agreed that the Literacy Buddies program contributed to increased verbal and non-verbal communication skills for students.
92% teachers agreed the Mock Interviews program had contributed to increased verbal and non-verbal communication skills for students.
75% of students agreed that participating in Numeracy Buddies has helped me know how to talk to new adults.
63% of students agreed that participating in Learning through Lunch increased their skills in connecting, communicating and interacting with new people.

Engagement in Learning

Engagement in learning means: Children and young people are interested and actively participate in learning. They develop a range of dispositions and skills that facilitate learning and can transfer and adapt what they have learnt from one context to another. They value education and learning and understand its importance for future pathways. They strengthen their engagement through student voice, agency, leadership, and increasingly seek to resource their own learning.

“Engagement for students has increased as they are willing to take risks and have a go, knowing that they have a volunteer to check in with” Teacher, Education Volunteers

“I have students who come to school every day because they wanted to participate in the program. I have students who engage more and complete set tasks.” Teacher, Numeracy Buddies

2023 engagement in learning outcomes:

100% of teachers agree that Writer in Residence resulted in an increased willingness to participate in creative activities.
77% of teachers agreed that working with an Education Volunteer has contributed to students’ engagement in learning.
67% of students agreed that they were more willing to participate in literacy activities after participating the Literacy Buddies Program.
63% of students indicated that the Pathways program made them more motivated to do additional learning that will help me to succeed in my future career.

Measuring our impact

During 2023, Ardoch implemented an enhanced Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework (MELF). This framework continues to focus on the key elements that we know make a difference to children and young people’s ability to reach their potential:

Confidence
Aspirations
Wellbeing
Social Skills
Engagement in Learning

Ardoch’s MELF focuses on ensuring we can clearly connect the design and implementation of our programs to the outcomes achieved, whilst constantly looking for ways to improve.

Expanding our data collection to include teacher interviews, student and volunteer focus groups, and more child-friendly survey options, has enhanced our understanding of the impact of our programs. Improved analysis and reporting tools have resulted in a more comprehensive picture of our impact. This is already enabling us to better understand how we can continue to improve and expand Ardoch’s work.

Continuous improvement, quality and child safety are important themes that cut across all our work and are embedded in our evaluations. In 2024, we will refine our student surveys, expand the number of student focus groups and introduce the Most Significant Change story collection approach to gain further insights. Listening to students is critical to Ardoch and creating more opportunities to hear from them is a key priority in 2024.

From time to time, and with the support of funders who understand the value of measuring our impact, Ardoch undertakes external evaluations of our programs.

Ardoch is working to streamline our processes to ensure that, as well as improving our impact, we can be as cost-effective as possible, to maximise the use of our funds, time and resources to deliver more projects to the children and young people who need them most.