Caledonian System Evaluation: Analysis of a programme for tackling domestic abuse in Scotland

Annex A: Topic guides

Interviews with users of Men's Programme

Introductions

• Thanks for taking part
• Introduce self, Ipsos MORI and the evaluation:
  
  e.g. "Ipsos MORI is doing research about the 'Caledonian System' for the Scottish Government. We want to find out what people think about taking part in the programme.
  
  The aim of the interview is to understand what you think of the programme and how it could be improved.
  
  Your views and experiences will help the Scottish Government improve services for men, women and families in the future."

• Duration of interview
• Topics we want to discuss
• What you thought when you first heard about the Caledonian programme
• What kinds of things you talk about with your case worker/in groups
• How, if at all, you think taking part in the Caledonian programme has affected you
• How the programme can be improved.
• If any questions you don't want to ask, or if you want to take a break, that's fine - just let me know
• Confidentiality - won't use any names in reports or share our conversation with anyone outside the research team at Ipsos MORI. Only time we might need to pass on something you say in an interview with anyone else would be if you tell us something that makes us concerned someone is in danger of serious harm.
• Recording - for Ipsos MORI use only, will be securely stored and deleted after project.
• Any questions?
• Consent sheet - if happy to take part and be recorded, ask them to sign.

Background information (2 mins)

Purpose: to get a bit of context about the participant to help frame/inform later discussion. NB do not probe too heavily on living situation at this stage if it appears sensitive.

I want to start with just a few questions about you

• How old are you?
• Are you working or not just now? Probe for general details re. job / current economic situation.
• Where about do you stay? (general area)
• Do you live with anyone else? Who?
• Because we'll be talking about your experiences on the Caledonian Men's Programme, and part of the programme is about relationships, it would be really helpful to know whether you still have a relationship with the woman you were with when you were first referred to the programme. Are you still in touch?

Expectations of CS (5 mins)

Purpose: to establish what they thought the CS was and what their expectations were at the start (before they actually started participating)

• How long have you been attending the Caledonian Men's Programme?

I'd like you to think back to when you started with the Caledonian Men's Programme. I'm interested in what you knew about it and how you felt about it at the start.

• How did you first hear about the Caledonian Men's Programme? Probe - who heard about it from? At what point?
  • What did they tell you about it? PROBE AS NECESSARY
    • Were you told how long the programme would last?
    • Were you told how many sessions you would have to attend?
    • What were you told about what would happen in the sessions?
    • What did you think the overall aim of the programme was?
• When you first knew you would be on it, how did you feel about taking part in the Caledonian programme? PROBE: Were you mainly positive / negative about it?
• What, if anything, did you hope or expect the programme might do for you? And for your partner / ex-partner? And, if you have any children, for your children?
• What, if any, concerns did you have about taking part?

Content and nature of the programme (10 mins)

Purpose: to establish what stage of the programme they are currently at and what kinds of things they do/talk about on the programme.

(Questions mainly fact finding but depending on what is raised you may get on to discussing what was more / less useful about sessions here.)

• Who is it that you normally meet with for your programme meetings at the moment?
  • PROBE: Meetings with Case Manager? And what about group work, who leads these sessions? Is there anyone else that you meet with or work with as part of your involvement with Caledonian?
  • Try and establish whether at pre-group, group or maintenance stage if not clear.
• Can you describe what a typical meeting with your Case Manager / worker [DEPENDING ON DESCRIPTION OF WHO THEY MEET WITH ABOVE] is / was like? PROBE AS NECESSARY:
  • How long are the meetings?
  • How often do you meet? PROBE FOR DETAIL eg: would you say it is weekly, monthly, less often than that?
  • What sorts of things do they usually talk about?
  • What kind of exercises or activities do they use to help you talk about particular issues? PROBE FOR EXAMPLES. IF NECESSARY, PROMPT - 'self-talk exercises', iceberg, role playing/practising skills, personal plans, any particular topic you discussed?
  • Who decides what sort of things you discuss during your meetings? Were/are you asked what topics you want to talk about in the meetings?
• How would you describe you relationship with your Case Manager / worker? PROBE:
  • What (if anything) is (particularly) good about them?
  • Is there anything about how they work with you that you would change?
• IF PARTICIPANT AT OR PAST GROUP STAGE: And can you taking me through a typical group meeting? (types of things they do, talk about, who leads it, who else is there, etc). PROBE AS NECESSARY
  • How long are the meetings?
  • How regularly do group take place? (PROBE IF NECESSARY - weekly, fortnightly, monthly?)
  • How many people are in the group?
  • What are the group sessions like? PROMPT IF NECESSARY: Would you describe them as supportive, challenging, easy going, difficult?
  • What sorts of things do you usually talk about in group sessions?
  • What kind of exercises or activities do group workers use to help you talk about particular issues. PROBE FOR E.G.S. PROMPT IF NECESSARY - 'self-talk exercises', iceberg, role playing/practising skills, updates, abuse accounts, any particular topic you discussed?

Level of engagement with the CS (5 mins)

Purpose: to establish how engaged they've been across the programme and what if anything explains any lower engagement.

(If any points where felt / were less engaged, try and establish whether occurred at pre-group/group/maintenance stage)

Thinking about everything you have done on the programme since you started …

• Was there any point when you felt less happy about taking part? When? For how long? Why felt that way?
• Was there any stage that you stopped coming to groups or meetings for a while? When? For how long? Roughly how many did they miss? Why? What, if anything, encouraged them to come back?At that time was there anything that could have helped to encourage you to come to meetings, or feel more positive about coming to them?

Impact of the Caledonian System (20-25 mins)

Purpose: to establish what, if any, impact they feel the programme had on them across range of areas it tries to influence.

KEY SECTION - should take most time.

ASK OPEN QUESTIONS FIRST AND PROBE AS FULLY AS POSSIBLE. USE SORTING CARD EXERCISE AFTER THIS TO PROMPT ON DETAILED AREAS.

• How, if at all, do you feel your life has changed since being on the Caledonian programme?
  • If changed - in what ways? Probe fully for both positives and negatives. What, if any, changes have you noticed to how you feel, how you see the world, how you behave, your health, your family life, your relationships with your partner/ex-partner, how you see relationships between men and women generally, your relationships with your children, your work, your social life?
  • What do you think contributed most to this change? Probe fully - CS vs other things?
    • If CS, which elements? Staff delivery? Programme content? Etc. If necessary, prompt - being in a group, 1-1 sessions 'self-talk exercises', iceberg, role playing/practising skills, updates, abuse accounts, any particular topic you discussed?
    • If other things, what were they e.g. family members, friends, their children, their own self-motivation?
  • If no changes - how do you feel about that? Are there areas where you would have liked thing to change? What has got in the way of changing these? What, if anything, could the CS have done that might have made a difference/ helped change these things?
• I'm going to give you a pile of cards which I can also read through if you like. On each card is something that might or might not have applied to you or been an issue for you when you first got involved with the Caledonian programme. I'd like you, first of all, to make a pile of everything that applied to or was an issue for you when you FIRST got involved in the Caledonian programme, before you started attending meetings. (READ OUT IF THEY ARE STRUGGLING /ASK YOU TO).
• ONCE SORTED, TAKE AWAY PILE THAT DIDN'T APPLY - now I'd like you to take the pile of things that applied to you when you first got involved, and sort it into three piles - one pile of things that you feel have got better , one pile of things that you feel have got worse, and one pile of things you think haven't changed .

Starting with things they think are different now and then moving on to those they think haven't changed, for each card , probe on:

• What in particular has changed for you? How has this changed?
• What do you think made the difference in terms of changing that for you?
• Probe - CS or other factors? What specific parts of the programme / what things that you did in the programme do you think helped with this? IF OTHER THINGS, what were they e.g. family members, friends, their children, their own self-motivation, change in external circumstances?
• IF NO CHANGE - What do you think would have helped to make a difference in that area? Is there anything that the programme could have done better to help you in that area?
• Overall, do you think the programme has helped you? In what way in particular? And what part of the programme has helped you most? And what has helped you the least?
• IF RELEVANT: Overall, do you think the programme has helped your children? In what ways? What has helped the most? And what has helped the least?
• IF RELEVANT: Overall, do you think the programme has helped your partner/ex-partner? In what ways? What has helped the most? And what has helped the least?
• Have there been any negatives from taking part? Probe fully. What might have helped prevent this from happening?

Future aspirations, suggestions for change and summing up (5-10 mins)

Purpose: to understand how confident they feel that the programme will help them achieve their goals and what suggestions they have for improving it

[ADAPT AS NECESSARY TO REFLECT THE STAGE OF THE PROGRAMME THEY ARE AT]

Now thinking about the remainder of your time on the Caledonian Men's Programme….

• What are your aims for the rest of the programme? What would you like to achieve in the remainder of your time?
• How confident do you feel that this will happen? Why / why not?
• How could the Caledonian Men's Programme be improved?
• Are there parts of the programme that haven't worked as well for you as others? Probe around content, delivery, 1-1 vs group sessions, etc.
• Are there things you would like to do more of? Why is that?
• Are there things you would like to do less of? Why is that?
• If you could describe the programme to someone else who was just starting out, what would you say? What would you tell them about it?
• Is there anything else you would like to say about the programme that we haven't covered? This could be good points or things you would like to change.

Close

• Any final questions from participant
• Thank participant and close interview

STATEMENTS FOR CARD SORT:

• Difficulty talking about my feelings
• Difficulty managing my emotions
• Overreacting to situations
• Problems with alcohol / drugs
• Issues with jealousy
• Issues with anger
• Issues with trust
• Feeling insecure
• Feeling bad about myself
• Not looking after myself properly
• Not supporting my partner / ex-partner
• Not listening to my partner / ex-partner
• Unfairly criticising my partner / ex-partner
• Wanting to know what my partner / ex-partner is doing all the time
• Shouting at my partner / ex-partner
• Shouting at my children
• Physically violent towards my partner / ex-partner
• Blaming other people for my behaviour
• Behaving inappropriately towards my partner / ex-partner
• Negative views about women generally
• Believing men have a right to sex
• Strong views about how men should behave
• Strong views about how women should behave
• Difficult relationship with my child or children
• Not spending time with my child or children
• Being critical of my partner as a mother

Interviews with users with women supported by the System

Introductions

• Thanks for taking part
• Introduce self, Ipsos MORI and the evaluation:

e.g. "Ipsos MORI is doing research about the 'Caledonian System' for the Scottish Government. We want to find out what people think about the programme.

The aim of the interview is to understand what you think of the programme and how it could be improved.

Your views and experiences will help the Scottish Government improve services for men, women and families in the future."

• Duration of interview
• Topics we want to discuss
• What, if any, kinds of support you have received
• How you felt about receiving support
• What, if any, difference the support you or your partner or ex-partner, have received has made to you
• How the service could be improved.
• If any questions you don't want to ask, or if you want to take a break, that's fine - just let me know
• Confidentiality - won't use any names in reports or share our conversation with anyone outside the research team at Ipsos MORI. Only time we might need to pass on something you say in an interview with anyone else would be if you tell us something that makes us concerned someone is in danger of serious harm.
• Recording - for Ipsos MORI use only, will be securely stored and deleted after project.
• Any questions?
• Consent sheet - if happy to take part and be recorded, ask them to sign.

Background information (3 minutes)

Purpose: to get a bit of context about the participant to help frame/inform later discussion.

Do not probe on contact with partner / ex-partner.

I want to start with just a few questions about you

• How old are you?
• Are you working or not just now? Probe for general details re. job / current economic situation.
• Do you live with anyone else? Who?
• IF UNKNOWN - because we'll be talking about what you think of how the Caledonian System works with men as well as women, it would be helpful to know if you are you still in contact with the man who was on the Caledonian System?

Hearing about CS / expectations (5 minutes)

Purpose: to establish what they thought the CS was and what their expectations were at the start.

I'd like you to think back to when you first heard about the Caledonian System.

• How did you first hear about the Caledonian System?
• Who from? When?
• What did they tell you about it?
• What did you think it would involve? For you? For your partner / ex-partner? For your children?
• When you first knew heard about the System, what did you think about it?
• IF POSSIBLE, PROBE FOR VIEWS ON DIFFERENT ELEMENTS: What did they think about support they were offered? About the Men's Programme ? About what it might be able to do for their children ?
• What, if anything, did you hope or expect the System might do for you? And for your partner / ex-partner? And your children?
• What, if any, concerns did you have about it? PROBE RE. DIFFERENT ELEMENTS - Women's Service, Men's Programme, Children's Service.

Length / level of woman's own contact with CS (5 mins)

Purpose: to establish (fairly briefly) how involved they are with CS - how much contact they've had, with who, over what time period - and to understand any barriers to accessing support from CS.

• IF NOT CLEAR FROM PREVIOUS DISCUSSION - what was the first contact you had with a professional from the Caledonian System?
• When was this?
• Who was it with?
• What, if any, support did they offer to you? What did you say to this? Why?
• How did you feel about the support you were offered? AGAIN, IF NOT CLEAR FROM PREVIOUS DISCUSSION: Did you feel positive or negative about being offered this support? Did you think you would take it up or not? What, if any, concerns/reservations did you have?
• How much contact have you had since with staff from the Caledonian System?
• Who have you spoken to / met with? (try and establish whether only contact with Women's Worker or whether also spoken to men's or Children's Workers. Make a note of names.)
• If more than one person - who do you have contact with most often?
• Is contact face-to-face or over the phone?
• If face-to-face - Where do you meet?
• How often do you meet / speak? For how long?
• Has this changed over time? When was contact more / less? Why?

Content / nature of support offered to women (5-10 minutes)

Purpose: to establish what kind of support they've had from professionals in the Caledonian System and what they think of it, as well as how CS fits in with other sources of support

• What kinds of things have you talked to (Women's Worker/other staff) about?
• Probe - keeping yourself safe, where to go for help/support, their feelings about what has happened to them, their future relationship with their partner/ex-partner
• Have the kinds of things you discuss changed over time? How?
• Who decides what sort of things you discuss during your meetings? Were/are you asked what topics you want to talk about in the meetings?
• Have they offered to help with safety planning?
• If yes, did you take them up on this?
• How useful or not was this for you? Why?
• Did CS workers put you in touch with any other sources of support?
• If yes, who? Did you take this up? Was it useful? Why/why not?
• What do you think about the support you have received from CS workers?
• Anything you would change? Timing, regularity, level, content?
• Anything you would like more / less of?
• Are you getting support from anywhere else, other than the Caledonian System?
• If yes, who? What kinds of things do they support you with?
• How does this compare with the support you get from CS staff?

General awareness of Men's Programme and Children's Service (5 minutes)

Purpose: to explore women's awareness of the Men's Programme and Children's Service (views on the impacts covered later, though may start to arise here).

• What, if anything, do you know about your partner / ex-partner's involvement in the Caledonian System? Probe.
• Who did / do you find out about partner's involvement from?
• What kinds of things are you aware of them doing on the programme?
• Do you know what stage they are at now? (i.e. how long been on it and at 1-1 or group-stage?)
• Are they still attending? If not, why not?
• How do you feel about the level of information you have about your partner / ex-partners' involvement in the programme? If want to know more - what kinds of things would you like more info on and why?
• IF THEY HAVE CHILDREN - have staff from the CS supported your child(ren) in any way? Probe for details.

Impact of the Caledonian system for women, children and men (25-30 minutes)

Purpose: to establish what, if any, impact they think the programme has had for them , their children and their partner/ex-partner . KEY SECTION.

ASK OPEN QUESTIONS FIRST AND PROBE AS FULLY AS POSSIBLE. USE SORTING CARD EXERCISE AFTER THIS TO PROMPT ON DETAILED AREAS.

• How, if at all, do you feel your life has changed since the Caledonian System first got in touch with you?
• If changed - in what ways? Probe fully for both positives and negatives. What, if any, changes have you noticed to how you feel, how you see yourself, how you behave, your health, your family life, your relationships with your partner/ex-partner, your relationships with your children, your work, your social life?
• What do you think contributed most to this change? Probe fully - CS vs other things? If CS - was it the support you or your children received or the work the programme did with your partner / ex-partner that made most difference ? What particular bits made most difference? If other things, what were they e.g. family members, friends, their children, their own self-motivation?
• If no change - Are there areas where you would have liked things to change? What has got in the way of changing these? What, if anything, could the CS have done that might have made a difference/ helped change these things?
• What about changes for other people, for example your partner or ex-partner or your children?
• Have you noticed any changes since the Caledonian System first got in touch with you in your partner / ex-partner ?
• If changed - in what ways? Probe on positives and any negatives.
• What do you think contributed most to this change? Probe fully - CS vs other things? If CS - what elements (men's, women's, children's programme)?
• If no change - What do you think have been the barriers to change for him? What, if anything, could the CS have done that might have made more of a difference?
• IF HAS CHILDREN: And are things any different for your children now compared with when the Caledonian system first got in touch with you?
• If changed - in what ways? Probe on positives and any negatives.
• What do you think contributed most to this change? Probe fully - CS vs other things? If CS - which bits? The work they did with your children, with you, or with your partner ?
• If no change - What do you think have been the barriers to change for them? What, if anything, could the CS have done that might have made more of a difference?

CARD SORT

• I'm going to give you a pile of cards which I can also read through if you like. On each card is something that might or might not have applied to you, your partner/ex-partner or your children before you or your partner got involved with the Caledonian System. I'd like you, first of all, to make a pile of everything that was an issue before you or your partner got involved with the Caledonian System. (READ OUT IF THEY ARE STRUGGLING /ASK YOU TO).
• ONCE SORTED, TAKE AWAY PILE THAT DIDN'T APPLY - now I'd like you to take the pile of things that applied before, and sort it into two piles - one pile of things that you feel are different now - they could be better or worse - and one pile of things you think haven't changed or where you don't know if they've changed.
• Starting with things they think are different now and then moving on to those they think haven't changed, for each card , probe on:
• What in particular has changed? How has this changed?
• What do you think made the difference in terms of changing that?
• Probe - CS or other factors? What specific parts of the System (men's/women's/children's)? What specific things that the Caledonian System did do you think helped with this?
• IF NO CHANGE - What do you think would have helped to make a difference in that area? Is there anything that the Caledonian System could have done better to help you in that area?
• Overall, do you think the programme has helped you? In what ways? What has helped you most? And what has helped you least?
• IF RELEVANT: Overall, do you think the programme has helped your children? In what ways? What has helped the most? And what has helped least?
• IF RELEVANT: Overall, do you think the programme has helped your partner/ex-partner? In what ways? What has helped the most? And what has helped least?
• Have there been any negatives from taking part? Probe fully. What might have helped prevent this from happening?

Future aspirations, suggestions for change and summing up (5 minutes)

Purpose: to understand how confident they feel that the programme will help them / their children / their partner/ex-partner

• How long do you intend to stay in touch with (Women's Worker/CS) for?
• What would you like to achieve in this time?
• Do you feel confident that this will happen? Why / why not?
• IF NO: How do you think you could be supported to make sure that this does happen?

Suggestions for change and summing up (5 minutes)

Purpose: to explore suggestions for change to different aspects of the programme

• How could the Caledonian System be improved / changed going forward? PROBE - for example, more sessions, longer or shorter sessions, more time spent on particular topics, more information on particular topics?
• If you could describe the support that you receive from Caledonian to another woman who was just about to start receiving similar support, what would you say? What would you tell them about it?
• Would you recommend it to other women? Why / Why not?
• Is there anything else you would like to say about the System or the support you receive that we haven't covered? This could be good points or things you would like to change.

Close

• Any final questions from participant
• Thank participant and close interview

STATEMENTS FOR CARD SORT:

NB some of these are equivalent to the men's ones, but not all as we need to include some additional statements for women so don't want list to be too long.

• I felt unsafe
• I felt worried about my children's safety
• My health was poor
• I didn't have much confidence in myself
• I didn't have much confidence as a parent
• I felt worried about my children's wellbeing
• My children had a poor relationship with their father
• My children were frightened of their father
• He had difficulty managing his emotions
• He often overreacted to situations
• He had problems with alcohol / drugs
• He was jealous
• He had issues with anger
• He did not often seem to feel good about himself
• He had was not supportive of me as a mother
• He often did not listen to me
• He often unfairly criticised me
• He wanted to know what I was doing all the time
• He shouted at me
• He shouted at my children
• He was physically violent towards me
• He blamed other people for his behaviour
• He had negative views about women generally
• He believed men have a right to sex
• He had strong views about how men should behave
• He had strong views about how women should behave

Interviews with men's, women's and Children's Workers

Introductions

• Thanks for taking part
• Introduce self, Ipsos MORI, the evaluation (on behalf of Scottish Government, feeding into application to reaccreditation, interviewing men, women and professionals over next 3 weeks, reporting in June)
• Duration of interview/group
• Topics we want to discuss
• Confidentiality - won't use any names in reports or refer to location if quote professionals directly
• Recording - for Ipsos MORI use only, will be securely stored and deleted after project. Check consent to record?
• Ground rules - one at a time for recorder; moderator role - ensure cover everything and everyone gets chance to have a say.
• Any questions?

Participants' roles / experience with the Caledonian System

• Go round room and ask each person to introduce themselves and their role, to say how long they've been working with the Caledonian System, and how many men / women / children they work with (as appropriate) at the moment.
• Is delivering the CS their only role?
• If not, how much of their time is spent on it? What do they do in the rest of their working week?

Aims of the Caledonian System

What do you see as the differences between the Caledonian System and other ways of working with families affected by domestic violence?

• If necessary, probe around: work with men, women and children; underpinning values/approach; partnership working
• What are the main pros of the Caledonian System approach? And the cons?

Delivery of the Caledonian System

Thinking about how you deliver the System in practice, can you describe the kinds of approaches do you tend to use to help address men's assessment needs?

• Probe for details: how often do they meet men? how long do they engage with them? what types of topics do they discuss?
• How would you describe the individual sessions you have with men? PROBE Are they very structured, or fairly flexible? Do you tailor your approach depending on the particular men? In what way?
• And how would you describe the group sessions? PROBE Are they structured, or flexible? Do they vary depending on types of men? In what way?
• What areas of the programme are most / least effective in meeting men's needs (probe if necessary around case management, pre-group, group, maintenance, specific sessions, specific techniques)?

How helpful have you found the manuals as a tool for shaping the delivery of the System?

• What aspects of the manuals are most useful? And least?

Are there any areas of delivery of the System in this area where it has been challenging to deliver it as set out in the manuals?

• Probe for details - what areas / any other areas? Why has it been challenging?
• Are there elements that you deliver differently from the manuals? Why is that?
• Are there elements that you don't deliver at all? Why is that?
• What has the impact of that been for families you work with (men, women, children)?

As far as you are aware, are there any differences between how the Caledonian System is delivered in this area compared with how it is delivered elsewhere, for example in the other areas in this Hub, or in the other Hubs?

• Views on the reasons for these differences?
• And the pros and cons (especially in terms of service available to families)

Who are the main partner agencies they work with in their Caledonian System role?

• What protocols, policies or arrangements are in place for working with other agencies?
• What impacts have these protocols, policies and arrangements had on the delivery the System in your area?
• What areas of interagency working could be improved? How?
• Does interagency working present any risks, for example in relation to sharing of data? How have these been dealt with?

As far as you know, has the funding for the Caledonian System in your area been spent as planned?

• Have particular elements cost more or less than anticipated? Why is this?

Participation in the System

• Clarify how men are assessed for participation and who does this

We're interested in whether there are particular groups of men or women in your experience that are more or less likely to engage with the Caledonian System

• Are there particular groups of men who are more or less likely to be assessed as suitable to participate?
• Any groups who tend not to be referred? Or who tend not to be assessed as suitable? Why? For those who are not assessed as suitable, what other interventions or support is provided?
• How well does the initial assessment process work in identifying the right type of men?
• Does it need adapting in any way? PROBE How appropriate do you think the criteria for assessing suitability for the System are?
• Is the CS right for all the groups of men who are currently referred/assessed as suitable? If not, why not? What do they think should be provided for these groups instead?
• Are there any particular groups of men who are more or less likely to engage with the Men's Programme once referred?
• Why? Probe on individual reasons (i.e. to do with the men/their circumstances) vs. System reasons
• And how many men tend to disengage or drop out of the service? If you don't know an exact number, do you have a rough idea of the proportion, so is it one in ten, one in twenty, for example?
• Are there particular points where men tend to disengage / drop out? Why?
• What do they do in situations where men are not engaging?
• Are there any particular groups of women who are more or less likely to accept support? Or to engage with support in a more intensive way? Why?
• Probe on individual reasons (i.e. to do with the women/their circumstances) vs. System reasons
• What reasons do women give for taking up support or not?
• What, if anything, might encourage more women to take up support?
• What stages do women tend to seek support? What stages do they tend to disengage / be less engaged?
• Do women who do take up support tend to engage with safety planning? Why / Why not? Reasons why would / would not complete safety plans with women as part of CS?

Impact of the Caledonian System on women

I am interested in your views on the effectiveness of the Caledonian System in meeting the needs of women partners and ex-partners. So, firstly, how would you describe the needs of women at the beginning of the intervention?

How effective is the Caledonian System in meeting the needs of women partners / ex-partners (and why)?

• Probe for examples where they think it has met women's needs well / fully. How did the System achieve this? What elements of the system contributed most? (probe if necessary around men's service, Women's Service, Children's Service, what specifically helped in terms of actions)
• And examples where they feel they haven't been able to meet women's needs? Why not? What were the barriers?
• Are there specific groups of women or specific circumstances in which they feel they are more / less able to meet women's needs via the CS? Why? What are the facilitators / barriers?
• What changes might improve the ability of the System to meet women's needs more effectively?

Impact on children / parenting

What, if any, impact do they think the Caledonian System has for children?

• Which elements have most / least impact? (Probe: Children's Service, men's service, Women's Service). Why?
• How effective is the System is in supporting mothers in their parenting role? In what ways? (probe around strengthening their authority / improving relationships with children)? Evidence/examples? Reasons is / is not effective (for different women)? Which elements of the System help most with this (men's, women's, Children's Service)?
• And Fathers? How effective is the system in supporting men to become better fathers? Evidence/examples? Which elements of the System? Reasons is / is not effective (for different men)?
• How could the System be improved to lead to better outcomes for children?

Impact of the Caledonian System on men

How effective, overall, do you think the Caledonian System is in changing men's knowledge, attitudes and motivations around domestic abuse (and why)?

• Probe for examples where they think CS was successful in changing knowledge, attitudes or motivations. How did it achieve this? What elements of the system contributed most to this change? (probe if necessary around case management, pre-group, group, maintenance, specific sessions, specific techniques)
• And examples of aspects of the Caledonian System that haven't led to change in the individuals? What was it about these parts of the System that haven't contributed to change? What were the barriers that prevented change coming about?
• Are there specific kinds of men they think the System is more or less effective at achieving change with, in terms of attitude, motivation and behaviour? Can you describe the types of men that are easier to change, or are more susceptible to change? And can you describe those that more resistant to change?

How effective, overall, do you think the Caledonian System is in changing men's reported behaviour, based on how the men and/or women describe their/their partner's behaviour? (and why)?

• Probe for examples where they think it has changed behaviour. How did the System achieve this? What elements of the system contributed most? (probe if necessary around case management, pre-group, group, maintenance, specific sessions, specific techniques)
• And examples where it hasn't led to change? Why not? What were the barriers?
• Are there specific kinds of men they think it is more or less effective at achieving behaviour change with? Why? What happens when behaviour doesn't change?

How effective, overall, do you think the Caledonian System is in meeting men's assessed needs (and why)?

• What kinds of needs is the system more / less equipped to meet effectively?
• What changes might improve the ability of the System to work with men to achieve attitude and behaviour change and meet their needs?

Other changes?

Are there any other areas where they feel the CS or the way it operates locally could be improved? How? Probe fully.