The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is funding a randomised control trial (RCT) to assess if and how adventure learning and mentoring positively influences young people who are at risk of violent offending or already involved in the Youth Justice System. The Positive Pathways group-based adventure learning and mentoring programme focuses on young people aged 15-17 years-old, who, after referral, will be randomly assigned either to the programme or a control group.
In the Positive Pathways programme group, young people will take part in both a local outdoor taster session and week-long residential adventure week, which will be complemented by a schedule of mentoring sessions and a celebration event. Throughout, young people will be supported by mentors.
Young people in the control group will not access adventure learning or mentoring as part of the trial, but will instead be provided with £50 of funding (described as an 'enhanced business-as-usual' approach).
Sheffield Hallam University is independently evaluating this programme. Across 2024 and 2025 this involved an initial cohort of 120 young people in a pilot trial. In Spring 2025, the project was approved for progression to a full efficacy trial involving an additional 760 young people. The evaluation aims to identify what effect group-based adventure learning and mentoring have on offending, social behaviour, emotional and wellbeing literacy, using an RCT-based, mixed methods evaluation.
The evaluation will report in early 2027.
