Boys’ Development Programme

The programme 

The Boys’ Development Programme (BDP) is a targeted, manualised, school-based, one-to-one social and emotional learning programme delivered by Future Men, a Black-led charity based in London. It supports boys at risk of disengagement or exclusion from school by developing social and emotional skills, including emotional regulation, communication, conflict management and positive identity. Boys receive 12 weekly one-hour sessions with a trained practitioner during the school day, with content tailored to their needs. The programme was delivered in eight secondary schools across Wandsworth, Southwark and Lambeth between September 2023 and July 2025. 

Why did we fund this evaluation?  

We know from the YEF Toolkit that, on average, the impact of targeted social and emotional learning interventions on preventing violence and offending is likely to be high. They can also be effective at improving school engagement, reducing behavioural difficulties, and building and maintaining relationships. However, we have low confidence in the estimate of the average impact on violence, and we currently lack robust evidence from a UK context. The evaluation of BDP aimed to contribute to build UK evidence and test whether a 12-weeks intervention delivered to boys at risk of disengagement or exclusion from school could improve engagement with school and their behavioural difficulties.  

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) funded a randomised controlled trial of BDP, involving 486 boys across eight secondary schools. The study also included an implementation and process evaluation using interviews to explore how children, Future Men staff and school staff experienced the programme. The study took place between October 2022 and September 2025. 

What did we find? 

The BDP had a small positive impact on boys’ school engagement immediately after the programme ended. At the later follow-up (12 weeks after the end of the programme), the effect was larger, suggesting that improvements may have developed or strengthened after the programme ended. This result has a very high security rating. 

The BDP also showed a moderate positive impact on reducing behavioural difficulties and emotional problems, and a small positive impact on improving teacher bonding, meaning boys felt slightly more connected to, supported by, or able to trust their teachers. BDP also showed a small negative impact on peer difficulties.  

The BDP was generally delivered as intended and successfully engaged boys from minority ethnic and low-income backgrounds. This was supported by clear referral and screening processes, relatable practitioners and engaging programme content. However, the report also notes some delivery challenges, including school withdrawals and staff turnover.  

Should you fund or deliver the BDP? 

The BDP evaluation is a promising example of a Social and Emotional Learning programme that can generate positive impact on school engagement. The evaluation showed that BDP had a small positive impact on school engagement immediately after the programme and mixed impact on secondary outcomes (positive impact on behavioural difficulties and teacher bonding and negative impact on peer difficulties). Exploratory analysis suggests that the positive impact may have strengthened over time.   

This evaluation also supports the findings from the YEF Toolkit that Social and Emotional Learning-Targeted interventions can have promising effects on children and young people’s outcomes. BDP contributes to building evidence from the UK context that Social and Emotional Learning interventions work best when:  

• Put in place targeted programmes for children who need specific support with social and emotional skills.  
• Identify internal staff members or external organisations to deliver sessions (which can be one-to-one or small group) for these children.   
• Deliver these sessions weekly, for a minimum of one full term.    

What will YEF do next?

YEF has no plans to conduct further research on BDP.

Download the report