Reducing the Proportion of 16-18 year olds NEET

Oliver Newton

NEET Performance Team, DCSF

Presentation at DCSF Conference:

The Use of Evidence in Policy Development and Delivery, 9 February 2010

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1. Why are we trying to reduce 16-18 year olds NEET?

• Reducing NEET is a key contributor to PSA14: Children and young people on the path to success.

• This will help us to remain on track to raise the participation age to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015.

• Being NEET is a waste of young people’s potential and their contribution to society, but it also increases the risk of negative outcomes later in life.

• We have an ambitious target to reduce the proportion of 16-18 year olds NEET by 2 percentage points by the end of 2010.

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1,293,000 in Full Time Education

127,000 in Work Based

Learning

187,000 in Training

201,000in Jobs Without

Training209,000NEET

Source: Statistical First Release, Participation in EET (June 2009)

2. A record proportion of 16-18 year olds are in learning…

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3. …but the proportion NEET has also risen.

• NEET rose at 18 by 2.4 percentage points, leading to an overall increase of 0.7 %pts at 16-18 to 10.3%.

• NEET fell at 16 and 17 for the third year in a row, and at 16 reached 5.2%, the lowest rate for more than a decade.

• Our PSA target is to reduce the proportion of 16-18 year olds NEET by 2 ppts by 2010, on the way to raising the participation age to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015.

Source: Statistical First Release, Participation in EET (June 2009)

• At the end of 2008, the proportion of 16-18 year olds participating in learning reached 79.7%, a record high.

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4. The economic downturn is having a significant impact

The Unemployment Effect

• That impact is being felt by young people in a number of different ways:

The Participation Effect

The Apprenticeships Squeeze

Lag Effects

The Income EffectThe Aspirations

Effect

• Latest proxy data from the Labour Force Survey Quarter 3 2009 showed record levels of participation in learning and NEET at 13.4% (compared to 13.0% in Q3 2008).

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5. What have we put in place to support young people?

A. Intervening pre-16 to prevent young people becoming NEET.

B. Rigorous tracking.

C. Personalised guidance and support.

D. Tailored provision to meet young people’s needs.

• In December 2009, we published Investing in Potential, our strategy to increase 16-24 year old participation, and Raising the Participation Age: Supporting Local Areas to Deliver.

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• Analysis from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England shows that a young person’s early attitudes and behaviours are key to explaining differences in participation.

• Those who have negative attitudes to education, truant, or engage in negative behaviours, such as frequent drinking of alcohol are at greater risk of becoming NEET.

(Drivers and Barriers to Educational Success – Evidence from the LSYPE – 2009)

• “The importance of schools working with parents may be especially beneficial to young people from more disadvantaged backgrounds.”

(Disengagement from Education among14-16 Year Olds – 2009)

A. Intervening pre-16 to prevent NEET

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• Schools, Colleges and learning providers all have a key role in preparing young people for their post-16 choices, picking up early signs of disengagement and intervening.

• Families and communities are also key. The £12m Connecting Communities programme will reinvigorate those communities feeling particular pressure from the recession.

• Young people need support from their earliest years – the network of 3,000 Sure Start Centres provides help to 2.4m families.

A. Intervening pre-16 to prevent NEET

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• Vulnerable young people are more likely than their peers to be NEET:

Young people with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities are twice as likely to be NEET as their peers.

15% of 16-18 year olds who are NEET are teenage mothers and pregnant young women.

(Youth Cohort Study and Longitudinal Study of Young People in England)

• But there is also a significant group of young people who are NEET but do not have a specific barrier to participation. (Connexions CCIS data)

B. Rigorous Tracking

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• Tracking is essential to ensure that every area knows which of their young people are NEET and understands their characteristics so that support can be tailored.

• The CCIS database is becoming an increasing accurate tool, but we must continue to reduce the proportion whose activity is unknown at 18, and in vulnerable groups.

• We are introducing data sharing arrangements that will allow Jobcentre Plus to provide basic data on young job seekers to Connexions.

B. Rigorous Tracking

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C. Personalised Guidance and Support

• “Another important factor identified within this study…is the importance of providing young people with good information about the pathways that are available to them in Year 12, and especially the kind of qualifications they will need to achieve them.”

(Disengagement from Education among14-16 Year Olds – 2009)

• “Activity Agreements help re-engage long-term NEET…[but the] pilots generally engaged the young people who they found easiest to reach.”

(Activity Agreements Synthesis Report – 2008)

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C. Personalised Guidance and Support

• Through Quality, Choice and Aspiration, we are providing support and resource for schools and parents to talk to young people from an early age about career opportunities.

• We are continuing the Activity Agreement and Entry to Learning pilots in 2010-11 to continue to develop the best models for supporting vulnerable young people to engage.

• We are investing more than £650m in 2009-10 on financial support, including EMA, Care to Learn and discretionary learner support.

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19%

10%

18%

18%

25%

9%

NEET - open to learning

41% of NEET

NEET undecided 22% of NEET

NEET - sustained 38% of NEET

JWT - transitional 17% of JWT

JWT - sustained 48% of JWT group

JWT - at risk of NEET 35% of JWT

Size of segments within the NET group

Source: Increasing Participation Understanding Young People who do not Participate in Education or Training at 16 and 17 - 2009

D. Tailored Provision for young people

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• In 2009, the September Guarantee provided almost 96% of 16 year olds and almost 90% of 17 year olds with a suitable offer to continue in learning.

• The National Apprenticeship Service will provide 5,000 employer subsidies to support them to take on 16-17 year olds as Apprentices.

• The Young Person’s Guarantee will be brought forward so that all 18-24 year olds still unemployed after six months will get access to a job, training or work experience.

D. Tailored Provision for young people

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• Olly Newton, NEET Policy Manager

Oliver.newton@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk

0114 259 3216

Key LinksDisengagement from Education among 14-16 Year Olds

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/programmeofresearch/index.cfm?type=5&keywordlist1=0&keywordlist2=0&keywordlist3=0&andor=or&keyword=disengagement

Drivers and Barriers to Educational Success http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/programmeofresearch/projectinformation.cfm?projectid=15337&resultspage=1

Activity Agreements Synthesis Report http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/programmeofresearch/projectinformation.cfm?projectId=15604&type=5&resultspage=1

Increasing Participation Understanding Young People who do not Participate in Education or Training at 16 and 17http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetails&PageMode=publications&ProductId=DCSF-RR072&

Contact Details