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Heads Up 8th March 2017

Staying in learning - support for young people who are not participating (NEET)

It is government policy that all young people must stay in some form of education until their 18th birthday. However, staying in learning does not mean that young people must stay in school; the school leaving age has not changed.

A young person can choose from the following options:

An apprenticeship – where you can earn and learn
Full-time education – this can be at a Further Education College, Sixth Form College or School Sixth Form
A young person also has the option to become employed, self-employed or take a voluntary job for 20 hours or more a week, but this will need to be combined with part-time education or training for one day per week.

Local Authorities are required to collect information from schools, colleges and training providers about young people’s activity post 16 and report to the Department for Education (DfE), on a monthly basis. This enables LAs to identify anyone who is not engaged in any form of education, employment or training (NEET) and to provide appropriate support to help them to re-engage.

Changes in reporting: From 1 September 2016, The DfE removed the requirement for local authorities to submit information about academic age 18 and 19 year olds (Year 14). LAs are now only required to submit information about academic age 16 and 17 years olds (Year 12 and Year 13).

Changes to the NEETs Scorecard: The DfE has also introduced a new headline measure which combines the proportion of young people who are NEET with the proportion of young people whose activity is ‘not known’.

Since May last year Prospects has been delivering the targeted NEET support service on behalf of Warwickshire County Council. Their focus is on supporting young people who have not made a smooth transition from Year 11 to the next stage of their education, employment or training and those who have dropped out of Year 12 and Year 13 education or training.

Prospects deliver services at outreach locations including: Coleshill Hub, The Town Hall, High Street, Coleshill; Bedworth Library; North Warwickshire Borough Council Offices; C.H.E.S.S Centre Nuneaton; Hatters Space, Nuneaton; Nuneaton Library; Lillington Youth Centre Leamington Spa; The Gap Warwick; Tyler House Stratford; Hill Street Youth and Community Centre Rugby, Alcester Library.

Prospects Advisers will also always arrange to see a young person at a convenient local venue if they cannot get to any of the regular venues.

Advisers have been in touch with 7,997 young people since May last year, some contacts have been brief and include tracking contacts to establish the status of the young person, others have been in-depth with ongoing support to help the individual move into Education, Employment or Training.

Definitions:

NEET: Young people who are not in any form of education, employment or training. This includes those who are actively seeking help via other agencies.

Situation Not Known: Destination of the young person is unknown and no information is available from a reliable source about their whereabouts or current activities.

NEETs, who are they?

Young people who have achieved five or more GCSEs grade A-C are less likely to be NEET than those who have not
Those eligible for free school meals are more likely to be NEET than those not eligible
Those who have been excluded from school are more likely to be NEET than those who have not
Those with their own child are more likely to be NEET than those without
Those who have a disability are more likely to be NEET than those who do not