Case Study: Childnet schools research

Childnet is a leading charity whose mission is to work with others to make the internet a great and safe place for children and young people. One of the ways they do this is through providing resources for teachers and schools.

The brief

Childnet were looking to improve and refresh their flagship Digital Leaders programme which launched in 2015. They commissioned Insightful Research to understand more about the appeal of the programme amongst those who took part, and the barriers to engagement amongst those who had not. The ultimate aim was to identify potential programme improvements which may help to widen participation in the programme.

Our approach

We carried out a number of qualitative depth interviews amongst a wide-ranging group of schools. These spanned primary and secondary, state and independent schools, and users and non-users of the Digital Leaders programme.

Through the interviews, we sought to gain an insight into the current context of online safety education in schools; perceptions of the Digital Leaders programme; successes amongst user schools; and barriers to engagement in non-user schools.

The end result

At the end of the project, we delivered a comprehensive research report and debrief session to the team. Our report included information about the current landscape for online safety education in schools and how this differs between key stages, setting and UK nation. Our report also included a number of key, practical recommendations for the team to consider. This wide-ranging set of recommendations included suggested improvements to the design and structure of the programme to better meet school needs, insights and recommendations into pricing, and quick wins that the team could take with communications and promotion of the programme to inspire and engage teachers.

“We commissioned Insightful Research to help us gain an understanding of our audience needs, understand what works well and what needs to change. Jill was very approachable, clear in communicating the methodology, provided regular updates and delivered the findings sensitively but with a helpful emphasis on the areas for focus. The report delivered exactly to our needs and requirements.”

Childnet