16-19 Participation in education

Written Evidence Submitted by Audit Commission

Summary

· There have been recent improvements in increasing participation for 16-18 year olds, but there is a risk that Raising the Participation Age (RPA) will simply delay the point at which young people become unemployed, or not involved in training.

· Without a suitable and sustainable offer of high quality education and training, RPA may not be able to prevent long-term problems for a vulnerable group of young people.

· There is a risk that sufficient provision for RPA will not be available to the planned timetable.

· Resources could be allocated between universal and targeted services better by using available information about young children and 16-19 year olds who already are, or are at risk, or being unemployed or not engaged in training.

· The range of services that support young people should be coordinated to improve impact and reduce wasteful duplication.

· Early intervention, in primary and early secondary schooling, will help ensure that 16-19 year olds choose the right education or training, and prevent young people becoming unemployed in the future.

Introduction

1 This submission covers two items in the inquiry’s terms of reference:

· What preparations are necessary, for providers and local authorities, for the gradual raising of the participation age to 18 years and what is their current state of readiness?

· What impact raising the participation age will have on areas such as academic achievement, access to vocational education and training, student attendance and behaviour, and alternative provision?

Providers’ readiness for the gradual RPA to 18

2 Local authorities and other providers must ensure they have suitable and sustainable services to support RPA. Councils and their partners need to understand the profile of their population of young people and the research about what works. We found that better use of information, collaboration among providers and early intervention can improve opportunities for 16-19 year-olds:

· Better use of information about 16-19 year-olds at risk of becoming unemployed or not in training, will improve allocation of resources among universal and targeted services. Information must be relevant, high-quality and well-presented (Ref 1). Local areas should use local information to understand the nature of their 16-19 year-old population. With this information they can identify barriers to progression, and take action to deal with them. Connexions teams in rural Gloucestershire, for example, had struggled to meet their targets for young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) because there was little local education, training or employment provision. A jointly funded Connexions and LSC project mapped what was available and developed ways to make projects more accessible. This mapping led to one provider developing projects in rural areas that used outreach methods to give young people access to services. LSC funding supported bespoke provision for young people with specific barriers to entering work. Connexions also reviewed local public transport and arranged support for young people to overcome their mobility problems (Ref 2) .

· The range of services that support young people should be coordinated and there should be no duplication of resources. Commissioners and providers should take an approach that centres on young people and ensures closer integration of services to avoid duplication. Schools, colleges and other providers can collaborate to bring the best curriculum offer to young people and, where possible, share staff resources and locations. In Tower Hamlets, schools identify young people at risk of no t participating in education or training. Connexions ensures these young people can take part in positive activities and have identified, applied for, and signed up to suitable work and learning options. There is a 70 per cent success rate.

· Intervention will support 16-19 year olds to remain in education or training. Local action to encourage young people to participate must include effective pre-16 support through schools and children’s services and through Connexions to prevent young people becoming unemployed or not in training. There should also be effective and sustained support for 16-19 year olds from schools, colleges and Connexions services. The new All Age Career Service, operational from September 2011, will need to make sure that early intervention is a priority. Early intervention and a high-quality transition for young people between primary and secondary school are crucial. Schools have a vital role in identifying young people at risk of not participating in education and training, and ensuring they get the right support. Our briefings for schools and colleges (Ref 3, 4) provide practical tools to help them think about early intervention and a collaborative approach. Interventions for the current group of young people who may not participate must focus on their personal problems and barriers. In Rotherham, the council negotiated individual targets with schools to increase the number of young people who progressed into education and training. The numbers of young people who participated in education, employment and training increased from 92 per cent in 2007 to 94 per cent in 2008.

Providers’ current state of readiness

3 There is a serious risk that sufficient provision for RPA will not be available to the planned timetable. In the current economic climate there are greater pressures on providers to make resources go further, while demand for places is rising. With the high entry requirements for apprenticeships, this suggests greater competition for places - isolating those 16-19 year-olds at risk of not being able to participate in education or training. With reductions in government grants and less ring fencing, local commissioners and providers must review how low-cost interventions at age 16-19, or earlier, can bring large savings in the medium and long-term. Our report illustrated how the right level of low cost support from Connexions to a teenage mother brought about a net contribution to the public purse of £90,000 over her lifetime. This compares to a net cost to the public purse of £197,000 for a scenario where there is no early intervention.

Impact of RPA

4 For RPA to be successful there must be suitable and sustainable local provision for young people. Taken alone, there is a risk that RPA will only delay to age 19 the point at which young people become unemployed. RPA must be complemented by quality education, employment and training opportunities for post 19 year olds.

· There have been recent improvements in increasing participation levels for 16-18 year olds. Between 2007 and 2009, 68 per cent of local areas significantly increased participation levels for 16-18 year olds. The September Guarantee, combined with Educational Maintenance Allowances, alongside the breadth of courses on offer to young people at the time, acted as the incentive to continue with education and training. As unemployment rose and the prospect of a job diminished, many young people decided to pursue further education or training. However, while the number of young people remaining in education has improved, there remain risks for the future employability of some 16-19 year olds. The picture is not as encouraging for 18-24 year olds. In the same period, from 2007-2009, 85 per cent of local areas saw an increase in 18-24 unemployment – most by more than 20 per cent. Therefore, while local areas have reduced 16-18 NEET levels, there is a risk the problem is postponed until young people are older.

· Therefore RPA may not be able to prevent long-term problems for vulnerable young people. Against the Odds identified three major risk factors for young people who may not participate in education or training: loss of self-esteem, boredom and depression, and falling into crime. These create costs to the public purse over the medium and long term (police, probation and prisons, NHS, benefits, social housing and so on); and opportunity costs in losses to the economy. Our research estimated this could cost more than £22 billion over the lifetime of the current group of young people who are not in education, employment or training. The average cost for each young person NEET in 2008 was £56,000 in public finance costs and £104,000 in opportunity costs. There is a risk that, if there is not a high quality of education and training, RPA will not prevent those most vulnerable young people from suffering long-term problems.

25 th March 2011

References

Ref 1. Audit Commission Is there something I should know? Making the most of your information to improve services Audit Commission 2009

Ref 2 Against the odds – re-engaging young people in education, employment or training Audit Commission, 2010

Ref 3. Against the odds – re-engaging young people in education, employment or training – briefing for schools, Audit Commission, 2010

Ref 4. Against the odds – re-engaging young people in education, employment or training – briefing for colleges and sixth forms, Audit Commission, 2010