Research and evaluation

Research and Evaluation is an important part of the Letterbox Club. Since the programme began in 2007, there have been regular reports conducted to assess its impact.

Letterbox Club evaluation reports to date:

Letterbox Club Purple Pilot Evaluation Report 2016

A University of Leicester School of Education evaluation report in to the Letterbox Purple pilot in 2016 for children aged 3 to 5. Funded by BookTrust.

Download the full Letterbox Club Purple Pilot report

Letterbox Club Scotland Evaluation Report 2013

The evaluation of the impact of the Letterbox Club in Scotland consists of a number of case study interviews with some of the children and foster carers that participated in the 2013 pilot. 

Authors Dr Moira Leslie and Dr Andy Hancock, University of Edinburgh

Download the full Letterbox Club Scotland report

The Letterbox Club in Wales, Evaluation Report 2009-2011

An evaluation of the impact of the Letterbox Club initiative in Wales incorporating data collected during the Pilot Study undertaken across 2009-2010, along with further data collected in 2011.

Authors Rose Griffiths and Dr Chris Comber, University of Leicester School of Education.

Download the full Letterbox Club in Wales Evaluation Report

University of Leicester School of Education, Letterbox Green 2010: An Evaluation of the Letterbox Club Pilot for Children in Secondary School. Booktrust, 2011

Published September 2011, this report assesses the impact of the pilot for children in secondary school Year 7/8, which ran from July to December 2010. Sixty children aged 11-13 were enrolled across 11 local authorities in England, Northern Ireland, Wales. Funded by the Siobhan Dowd Trust

Download the full Evaluation of the Letterbox Club Pilot

Winter, K., Connolly, P., Bell, I. and Ferguson, J. (2011) An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Letterbox Club in Improving Educational Outcomes among Children Aged 7-11 Years in Foster Care in Northern Ireland, Belfast: Centre for Effective Education, Queen's University Belfast.

Independent evaluation of the Letterbox Club in Northern Ireland. Research was carried out on 268 children from the 2009/10 programmes by the Centre for Effective Education at Queen's University Belfast. Funded by Fostering Network Northern Ireland.

Read more about this evaluation and download the full report

 

Winter, K., Connolly, P., Bell, I., and Ferguson, J. (2011) An Independent Evaluation of the Letterbox Club Northern Ireland. Centre for Effective Education, Queen's University Belfast.

This report summarises the findings of the full Queen's University report (above) on the effects of the Letterbox Club on the reading and maths scores of looked-after children ages 7-11 in foster care, focusing specifically on children in Northern Ireland. Funded by Fostering Network Northern Ireland.

Read more about this evaluation and download the full report

University of Leicester School of Education, Letterbox Extra: Evaluation Report 2009 to 2011. Booktrust, 2011.

A report on the impact of the pilot programme of Letterbox Club parcels for children aged 7 to 11, working below National Curriculum Level 1. Now referred to as Letterbox Yellow. Funded by Booktrust.

 

University of Leicester School of Education, The Letterbox Club in Wales: Report on the Outcomes of the Pilot in 2009 and 2010. Booktrust, 2011.

Summary of the Letterbox Club Pilot Study undertaken in Wales. During 2009, 760 children aged 7 to 11, together with their families, were enrolled in the Letterbox Club, across all 22 local authorities. Funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, via Basic Skills Cymru.

 

University of Leicester School of Education, Evaluation Report: Letterbox 2009 N.I. Pilot Study. The Fostering Network Northern Ireland/Booktrust, 2010.

This report presents the findings of the Letterbox Club Pilot Study undertaken in Northern Ireland, which involved a total of 159 children, with their families, during 2009. Funded by Fostering Network Northern Ireland, through the Fostering Achievement scheme.

Download the full 2009 N.I pilot study report

University of Leicester School of Education, The Letterbox Club: 2007 to 2009 Final Evaluation Report. Booktrust, 2010.

Summary of the main findings on the impact of Letterbox Club 2007-2008, involving 50 local authorities in England and over 1,500 children with their foster families. DCSF funded.

 Download the full 2007-08 evaluation report

University of Leicester School of Education, The Letterbox Club: Evaluation Report Part One. Booktrust, 2009.

Summary of the main findings for 2007, the first year of the national pilot involving 22 local authorities in England and over 500 children and their foster families. DCSF funded.

 Download the evaluation report part one

You can also view reports by other organisations that talk about Letterbox Club in our news views and press section, view reports