Think Again
A school-based intervention designed to prevent dating and relationship violence (DRV) and gender-based violence (GBV).
Evaluation type
Funding round
Targeted projectsActivity Type
Setting
Evaluator
Completed
January 2026| Project | Funding | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Sex Education Forum | Select one |
What does this project involve?
THINK AGAIN is a school-based intervention designed to prevent dating and relationship violence (DRV) and gender-based violence (GBV) among children aged 13–14 (Year 9). Delivered by the Sex Education Forum (SEF), the programme aims to promote positive relationships, challenge harmful norms and support schools to develop a whole-school approach to preventing DRV and GBV.
THINK AGAIN is designed around three core components: an initial assessment of school needs, staff–student Action Aware Groups (AAGs), and nine 45–60-minute THINK AGAIN lessons.
The initial assessment uses surveys with children and interviews with school leaders to understand the schools’ needs. The SEF then trains and supports school staff to facilitate AAGs in schools. AAGs are student and staff representation groups that bring together at least two members of staff and at least six children to discuss and devise a strategy to prevent GBV and DBV. This strategy features whole-school strategies (such as amendments to school policies and raising awareness). Classroom lessons are then delivered on topics including gender, boundaries, sexual objectification, sexual harassment and stalking. Lessons focus on practising positive skills and aim to denormalise violence. Lessons are delivered by teachers, who receive three hours of training from the SEF.
Why did YEF fund this project?
Twenty-seven per cent of 13–17-year-olds in England and Wales report having been in a romantic relationship over the past year. Among these, nearly half (49%) have experienced violent or controlling behaviours from their partners. However, we know that there are interventions that can reduce children’s involvement in this type of violence. As the YEF Toolkit explains, dating and relationship violence prevention activities (including lessons, training for staff and school-wide awareness campaigns) can protect children from involvement in violence (reducing violence by an average of 17%).
Despite this evidence and the importance of these activities, too many children report that they are currently missing out on them. While 76% of 13–17-yearolds across England and Wales report receiving some form of education on dating and relationships in the past year, the reach of these lessons is uneven. Critical topics – such as sexual consent and harassment – have only reached about half of 13–17-year-olds, with 55% reporting receiving lessons on consent and 43% on harassment. Only 40% say they have received lessons on how to be in healthy and respectful romantic relationships. Children who admit to perpetrating sexual violence are even less likely to say they have received lessons on consent and harassment (only 39% and 31%, respectively). These gaps are unsurprising given the lack of teacher training on how to effectively teach these subjects. Almost a third (31%) of secondary teachers delivering RSHE and PSHE lessons have never received training on how to do so.
Clearly, we must improve provision in this area. And we must also evaluate any new interventions that aim to reduce children’s involvement in dating and relationship violence and gender-based violence. YEF, the Bridges Impact Foundation, and the Ending Youth Violence Lab, therefore, funded this feasibility study to determine whether THINK AGAIN could progress to an efficacy trial. The study aimed to assess whether THINK AGAIN was acceptable to school staff and children, explore whether the proposed secondary outcomes were reliable and feasible, establish what refinements may be required to improve delivery of the programme and a future evaluation, and ascertain whether an economic evaluation is feasible.
The evaluator established a single-group pre–post design across four state-funded, mixed-sex secondary schools. 734 children were identified to take part. 503 took part in baseline data collection in July 2024, and 556 participated in endline collection in July 2025. Data was collected on a range of measures, including the frequency of DRV and GBV victimisation or perpetration, school belonging and commitment, quality of life, mental well-being, perceptions of the acceptability of violence, and perceptions of socially appropriate behaviour.
The evaluator also conducted eight focus groups with a total of 40 children, 16 interviews with staff, seven observations of THINK AGAIN relationships and sex education (RSE) lessons, a staff survey with 10 responses and a parent/carer survey with 55 responses, and it analysed economic and delivery data. Of 503 children who took part in baseline data collection, 43% came from a White ethnic background, 32% from an Asian ethnic background, 12% from a Black ethnic background and 8% from a Mixed ethnic background.
Key conclusions
| Broadly, the intervention was feasible and acceptable. All schools reported delivering at least six THINK AGAIN lessons from the menu of nine provided, and two schools reported delivering all nine. However, only two schools implemented the AAGs as intended. |
| Most outcome measures were reliable. However, the evaluator recommends identifying a better measure of children’s perceptions of socially appropriate behaviour. Due to unreliability, the protective strategies scale should not be used. This is a new outcome piloted in this evaluation that aimed to measure how children protect themselves when dating (e.g. telling a friend where you are on a date). Data collection methods need to be refined to improve completeness by using school email addresses and isolating children during survey completion. |
| Overall, schools would benefit from earlier training in the Summer Term, clearer leadership for AAGs and stronger emphasis on the necessary preparation for topics. Some intervention materials should be updated to ensure they are relevant for children today. |
| The economic evaluation data collection rate was limited, and current methods are insufficient for a full cost evaluation. Future evaluations should focus on data already held by schools, such as staff time or attendance, and involve stakeholder consultation to agree on feasible data-collection strategies. |
| While it would be a challenging evaluation to undertake, progression to a randomised controlled trial (RCT) is justified. A range of improvements (particularly to data collection processes) would be required to deliver a robust evaluation. |
What will YEF do next?
YEF has no current plans for a further evaluation of Think Again, but we remain very interested in interventions that prevent dating and relationship violence and gender-based violence.