LYPSA Study 2: Participant Information Sheet

We are looking for children’s social workers in England to help us test an online CPD-accredited training programme for supporting LGBTQ+ young people.

This study, the second in the Lgbtq+ Young People in Social cAre (LYPSA) research project, is led by the University of Birmingham in collaboration with What Works for Children’s Social Care. The aim of the CPD-accredited e-learning module is to improve social workers knowledge and skills in working with LGBTQ+ youth. Interested participants must be employed by an English local authority and work in children’s social care services. Managers, senior managers and supervising social workers of foster carers are also eligible, provided they are employed by a local authority.

Participants will be involved in a trial study and randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group receiving the e-learning module which takes approx. 2 hours to complete (the intervention group) and the other receiving business-as-usual equality and diversity training from their local authorities (the control or comparison group). All participants will be asked to complete a series of short online surveys about their attitudes, knowledge and skills in working with LGBTQ+ young people, both at the start and end of their study participation.

Participants will receive a £10 e-gift voucher as an incentive for participation. This study will run from May to December 2022.

Background and study aims

LGBTQ+ young people are more likely to be in care and are less satisfied with their care experience than their cisgender (non-transgender) and heterosexual peers. Some social workers do not feel they have the appropriate skills or competencies to meet LGBTQ+ young people’s needs, often because they think they have not received enough training to support LGBTQ+ youth. Research by Stonewall (LGBTQ+ charity) found that a quarter of health and social care staff have never received any equality and diversity training. Those who did reported that it did not include important issues in supporting LGBTQ+ people. Social workers express a desire for training on these issues but there is little research evaluating how effective these training packages are.

This study will be the first in the United Kingdom to test how effective an e-learning training package is in improving social workers’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs towards working with LGBTQ+ young people. 

Who can participate?

Interested participants must be employed by an English local authority and work in children’s social care services. Managers, senior managers and supervising social workers of foster carers are also eligible, provided they are employed by a local authority. Social workers who have previously undertaken an e-learning training module delivered by Stonewall (UK LGBTQ+ charity) will not be able to participate.

To summarise, social workers are eligible to participate if they:

  • Are registered with Social Work England
  • Are employed be a local authority in England
  • Work in children’s social services/children’s social care; and,
  • Have not previously undertaken e-learning delivered by Stonewall.

What does the study involve?

All participants (intervention and control group)
Eligible participants will be asked to complete our online consent form and short survey about their attitudes, knowledge and training in equality and diversity issues, and provide some identity details (such as employer, length of service, demographic details etc.) at the start of the study. We will then randomly assign participants to one of two groups for comparison: one group receiving the e-learning training module (the intervention group), and the other receiving no training other than what is normally provided by their employer (control group). Both groups will be asked to complete another online survey for us at the end of their study involvement.

Intervention group
Participants in the intervention group will undertake the e-learning training module which takes approximately 2 hours to complete. Participants will be able to learn at their own pace at a time that suits them (i.e., pause and resume the e-module at later date). At the end of the e-module, participants will be asked to complete a short online survey before receiving their CPD certificate. Participants will receive email or text reminders to complete the e-module and survey before the study concludes in Dec 2022, after which point they will lose access to the e-module.

Control or comparison group 
Participants in the control group will not receive the e-learning training module. However, they will continue to engage with training usually provided by their employer (e.g., general staff Equality & Diversity training). The research team will contact participants in this group at the end of the study in Nov/Dec 2022 to ask about the amount and types of equality and diversity training they received during the trial and to complete a short online survey for us.

Although the control group does not receive the e-module, they are essential to the study. Without a control group for comparison, it is difficult to know how effective the e-module is and whether a real change has arisen from undertaking it. Participants will receive email or text reminders to complete our online survey before the study concludes in Dec 2022. Details of how to access the e-module will be made available to participants in the control group once the study concludes.

What are the benefits and risks of participating?

There is no other published study about the effectiveness of LGBTQ+ e-learning training for social workers in the United Kingdom. Therefore, this study fits the desire of the Department for Education to improve social workers’ knowledge and skills in supporting LGBTQ+ young people and will move forward the knowledge base in this regard.

Taking part is not expected to contain any significant risk for participants given the distance/online provision of the training and surveys and your professional stature and expertise as social workers. You are allowed to withdraw from the study at any point without any implications or impact on your professional development until data collection concludes (expected in December 2022). Furthermore, it is important to note that participation in this study will not provide any professional bonus and that withdrawing will not negatively impact you in any way.

Study participants or their organisations will not be identifiable in publications from this research. Any personal or identifying information will not be included in study outputs. Every attempt will be made to ensure your identities remain confidential.

Participants who are enrolled in this study will receive a £10 e-gift voucher as compensation for their time.

How will my data be stored?

Please see our Data Privacy Notice for detailed information about the purposes and the legal basis for which we will use your personal data and further details related to your data storage, access, and disposal. In short, we will keep your personal information up to 2 years after the end of the research study. We will then dispose of your personal information by securely deleting your data. The primary data collected will be held in the University Archive for ten years following the study’s conclusion (until at least 31/03/32).

How will the outcomes of this study be shared?

The results from the study will be included in a report that will be published by the funder, What Works for Children’s Social Care and in other publications and teaching. A copy of this report will be shared with all participants and circulated among relevant social work bodies and representative groups.

Study participants will not be identifiable in any publications. Any personal information about them will not be included in the outputs, and every attempt will be made to ensure your identities remain confidential.

When is the study starting, and how long does it run for?

May to December 2022.

Who is funding the study?

This study is funded by the What Works for Children’s Social Care.

Who is the main contact?

If at any time you wish to contact us or want further information about the study, please contact Dr Willem Stander, w.stander@bham.ac.uk