Youth Navigator Mentoring and Parent/Carer Training to Improve School Engagement and Prevent Youth Offending: A Non-Randomised Cohort Feasibility Study Protocol

Background This study aims to assess the feasibility and acceptability of recruitment, intervention delivery, and data collection processes for two Navigator Mentor interventions – youth and parent; to generate estimates of engagement, retention, and outcome variability to inform future trial planning; and explore early signals of impact on school engagement and police contact at 3 months. Methods Non-randomised cohort feasibility study with a nested evaluation of parent/carer training. Trialled across five local authorities across the Thames Valley, UK. Participants included f amilies with young people identified as disengaged or at risk of disengagement from mainstream schooling and/or at risk of involvement in violence and/or crime. Eligible young people and their parents/carers will be offered both interventions and self-select to participation. Families who do not engage with either intervention will form a natural comparator group. Two parallel interventions will be delivered. Young people at risk will be offered a youth-led mentorship and navigation programme delivered by Focused Diversion Youth Navigator Mentors, consisting of biweekly relational sessions over 12 weeks. Parents/carers of eligible young people will be offered Parent Navigator Mentor support over 4 weeks, alongside an optional one-off online training session focused on child exploitation awareness. Primary outcomes will assess feasibility: including recruitment and retention rates, intervention fidelity, data completeness, and acceptability. Secondary outcomes will explore early indicators of change in school engagement and police contact at 3 months. Outcomes for the parent/carer training will include changes in knowledge, confidence, perceived skills, and impact. Discussion Feasibility: quantitative data will be used to describe recruitment pathways, engagement, retention, acceptability, and outcome measure completeness. Acceptability: qualitative interviews with young people, parents/carers, mentors, and stakeholders will explore contextual influences on implementation. This study will generate evidence on the feasibility and acceptability of Navigator Mentor interventions for young people at risk of involvement in violence and/or crime and their parents/carers, and early signals of positive impact on school engagement/involvement in violence and/or crime. Findings will inform the design of a future definitive trial and support the development of scalable early intervention approaches addressing school disengagement and early involvement in violence and/or crime. Trial registration This study has been approved by the Thames Valley Police Evidence Based Panel November 2025.