16-19 Participation in education

Written Evidence Submitted by City of York Council’s Labour Group

Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) payments may seem insignificant to some but, as an EMA Satisfaction Survey found , 65% of participants on the highest EMA rate of £30 could not continue to study without the allowance. The maintenance allowance removes some of the barriers to participation in education, particularly in covering costs towards transport. This is of particular interest in York as the main provider, York College is at the very edge of the City and many young people need to take 2 buses to get there. There is no concessionary bus travel for those in full time education over the age of 16.

Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA) data (October 2010) shows that 1847 16-19 year olds in learning in York were in receipt of EMA. At York College, 43% of learners were in receipt of EMA by January 2011. Of the learners receiving EMA in October 2010, 82% were receiving the highest rate and 70% were York residents. Many providers have expressed concerns that travel costs will deter young people from accessing appropriate provision and over 550 young people on EMA in learning in York travel from outside the LA area. In York’s five school sixth forms the average proportion is 21%, at Applefields (Secondary Special School) 37% and at the two most significant local training providers 73% and 78%.

The abolition of EMA threatens to deter teenagers from learning new skills and gaining qualifications and experience which will lead to a job. Now more than ever we need to encourage teenagers to stay on after 16, to gain new skills and experience which will enable them to work and fulfill their potential. The abolition of the education maintenance allowance has been met by students in further educatio n with anger, frustration and anxiety, particularly for those who signed on to courses in the expectation of receiving EMA for the duration of the course.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown that EMA has a strong impact on participation. Some 91% of young people who are entitled to free school meals at year 11 receive EMA, 83% of young people from single-parent households receive it, as do 76% of the lowest-achieving 16-year-olds who continue in education.

The FE sector has a proud record of improving lives and is often the engine behind social mobility. Not only has the EMA been successful in achieving higher participation retention and achievement (including 7.3% higher participation for females, according to the IFS), but it has created an empowered generation who are equipped to progress in FE, then later into higher education, and it has instilled a desire for lifelong learning in all its forms.

For young people in low-income families, the EMA offers the knowledge that your family will not have to make sacrifices to support you through college. It gives you independence and treats you like an adult. This is not simply about having less money in your pocket. This is about a fundamental shift in culture towards staying on in post-16 education.

EMA worked right away as an incentive to improve attendance, as a good reason to study among those most likely to drop out. Pupils who miss a class, are late or don't do homework lose EMA for the whole week. This has transformed attendance and results with the majority now with 100% attendance.

The government's proposed alternative, the Discretionary Local Support Fund (DLSF), is impractical. It is essentially a topping-up of the money schools and colleges receive to distribute in discretionary hardship grants. The amount of money will be tiny compared to the budget for EMAs, and with institutions left to choose who and what they fund, a postcode lottery could emerge.

25th March 2011