Case study: Understanding school needs for alternative qualifications

About the client

ASDAN is an education charity offering a wide range of flexible and inclusive qualifications and programs. Known for promoting personal effectiveness and life skills, ASDAN caters to learners who may not thrive in traditional academic environments.

The brief

ASDAN needed market research to better understand the needs of schools and learners regarding personal development qualifications. The goals were to uncover how schools approach personal development, barriers to adoption of ASDAN’s qualifications, and opportunities for new offerings.

Our approach

We conducted in-depth interviews with 29 school representatives, including current ASDAN users, lapsed users, and non-users. Participants included senior leaders and specialist practitioners from mainstream schools, alternative provision settings, and SEND departments across the UK. The study explored existing personal development programs, barriers to adoption, and the perceived value of qualifications like CoPE and AoPE.

The end result

The research identified the factors that drive strong loyalty among current users as well as some barriers to wider adoption. We used our strong understanding of the current education landscape, including funding issues and performance metrics like Progress 8 to delve into the issues schools currently face. Our final report delivered insights which are guiding ASDAN’s strategy for its qualifications portfolio.

“The work Insightful Research did met our brief, got to the people who matter, and gave us thoughtful recommendations on how to enhance our offer. This work will help us shape the key messaging to make sure our offer is compelling and relevant to those we seek to serve.”