A study found that nearly half (47 per cent) of young people aged 18 were in full-time education in 2006, and nearly a quarter (23 per cent) had a full-time job. Young people from minority ethnic groups were more likely to be in full-time education than young white people.
Source: Youth Cohort Study: The Activities and Experiences of 18 Year Olds - England and Wales 2006, Statistical First Release 47/2006, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Nov
A series of four linked reports evaluated the 'Aimhigher' programme, designed to increase the rate of participation in post-compulsory education by young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Source: Eleanor Ireland, Sarah Golden and Marian Morris, Evaluation of Integrated Aimhigher: Tracking Surveys of Young People, Research Report 811, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260) | Marian Morris and Simon Rutt, Evaluation of Aimhigher: Excellence Challenge: Longitudinal Pupil Analysis Report, Research Report 814, Department for Education and Skills | Carl Emmerson, Christine Frayne, Sandra McNally and Olmo Silva, An Economic Evaluation of the Early Impact of Aimhigher:Excellence Challenge on Pre-16 Outcomes: Update to previous analysis, Research Report 812, Department for Education and Skills | Carl Emmerson, Christine Frayne, Sandra McNally and Olmo Silva, Aimhigher:Excellence Challenge: A Policy Evaluation Using the Labour Force Survey, Research Report 813, Department for Education and Skills
Links: Report 811 | Brief 811 | Report 814 | Brief 814 | Report 812 | Report 813
Date: 2006-Nov
The education inspectorate said that the Young Apprenticeships Programme offered a successful alternative to the traditional curriculum. In over half the partnerships inspected, students achieved well and developed good practical skills and knowledge related to their vocational area. (The programme was introduced in 2004 for young people aged 14-16 in England who wanted to study for vocational qualifications.)
Source: Evaluation of the Young Apprenticeships Programme, HMI 2653, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Oct
A paper examined how institutional factors in England affected the educational experiences of young people. There was no evidence that having a differentiated set of post-16 institutions improved performance, even though this offered some learners a choice of learning environment. On the other hand, there was worrying evidence that differentiation produced social segregation and inequity. Taken together with the emerging evidence on the benefits of scale, the evidence suggested that a managed tertiary system offered the best prospect of both quality and equity in 14-19 provision.
Source: Geoff Stanton and Mick Fletcher, 14-19 Institutional Arrangements in England: A research perspective on collaboration, competition and patterns of post-16 provision, Working Paper 38, Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training/Department of Economics/University of Oxford (01865 271089)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2006-Oct
An article examined the impact of gender and race on young people's perceptions of the educational and labour market opportunities available to them after they completed their compulsory schooling. Young people from non-white backgrounds were more reliant on `official' sources of guidance (as opposed to friends and families) for their labour market knowledge.
Source: Vanessa Beck, Alison Fuller and Lorna Unwin, 'Safety in stereotypes? The impact of gender and race on young people's perceptions of their post-compulsory education and labour market opportunities', British Educational Research Journal, Volume 32 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Oct
A report said that the failure of many young people in England and Wales to engage in education was due partly to inappropriate targets, learning experiences, and forms of assessment. It also said that the unprecedented number of policy initiatives - such as national targets, new qualifications, short-term funding, and new regulations - was 'unlikely to produce significant improvements to the education and training system as a whole'. A linked briefing paper said that the report underestimated the determination of the Welsh Assembly Government to transform the learning experience of young people between the ages of 14 and 19.
Source: Geoff Hayward et al., Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training: Annual Report 2005-06, Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training/Department of Educational Studies/University of Oxford (01865 274037) | David Egan, A Response to Chapter 2 (14-19 institutional developments in Wales in the wider policy context: Observations from an English reform perspective) of the Nuffield Review Annual Report 2005-06, Briefing Paper 18, Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training/Department of Educational Studies/University of Oxford
Links: Report | Summary | DES press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Briefing 18
Date: 2006-Oct
An article said that the organization of 14-19 education and training in England required a step change towards greater collaboration between learning institutions.
Source: Ann Hodgson and Ken Spours, 'The organisation of 14-19 education and training in England: beyond weakly collaborative arrangements', Journal of Education and Work, Volume 19 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Sep
A report examined the views of students and teachers about the learning in further education colleges for students aged 14-16. The aim of the research was to gauge the capacity of teachers and their institutions to meet the needs of younger learners.
Source: Joe Harkin, Behaving Like Adults: Meeting the needs of younger learners in further education, Learning and Skills Network (020 7297 9000)
Links: Report | Case studies
Date: 2006-Sep
An article said that, in order to represent vulnerable youth effectively, policy-makers needed either a narrower set of definitions than that represented by the 'NEET' category (not in education, employment or training), or alternatively a much broader definition that provided a basis for more far-reaching interventions.
Source: Andy Furlong, 'Not a very NEET solution: representing problematic labour market transitions among early school-leavers', Work, Employment and Society, Volume 20 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Sep
A report evaluated the 'Increased Flexibility for 14 to 16 year Olds Programme' (introduced in 2002 to provide vocational learning opportunities to young people who would benefit most). The majority of the young people interviewed were satisfied with their IFP course, and tutors observed that most were making sufficient progress to achieve their qualifications.
Source: Lisa O Donnell, Sarah Golden, Tami McCrone, Peter Rudd and Matthew Walker, Evaluation of Increased Flexibility for 14-16 Year Olds Programme: Delivery for Cohorts 3 and 4 and the Future, Research Report 790, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-Aug
A report evaluated the Children and Youth Board, a body set up to provide ministers with direct advice from young people on the development of national policy and practice in the Department for Education and Skills. It said that the project had demonstrated that the involvement of children/young people within government was valuable and achievable.
Source: Saskia Neary and Kelly Drake, DfES Children and Youth Board 2005-06: Independent Evaluation Report, Research Report 793, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-Aug
Researchers in Scotland examined young people's attitudes towards post-compulsory education, and whether a system of learning entitlement would encourage educational re-engagement. Knowledge of the current system of funding for post-compulsory education varied, but was generally poor. Young people who did have some knowledge of the funding system expressed concerns that levels of funding were too low, that uptake would result in loss of benefits, and that the system was confusing and inequitable.
Source: Vicky Hopwood and Alison Hunter, Entitlement to Learning Scoping Study, Scottish Executive (web publication only)
Date: 2006-Aug
A think-tank report said that teenagers in rural areas were struggling to get the education and training opportunities they needed, and were at a disadvantage compared with their peers in towns and cities. Many would not even consider taking up a college place, because they could not support themselves following a move to urban areas.
Source: Jane Midgley and Ruth Bradshaw, Should I Stay or Should I Go? Rural youth transitions, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Central Books (0845 458 9911)
Links: Report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Aug
An article said that 'NEET' (not in employment, education or training) was a problematic concept that defined young people by what they were not. Adherence to NEET-reduction targets encouraged a 'fire-fighting' approach to working with young people, rather than focusing support and intervention on areas where they might be most productive.
Source: Scott Yates and Malcolm Payne, 'Not so NEET? A critique of the use of "NEET" in setting targets for interventions with young people', Journal of Youth Studies, Volume 9 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jul
A report said that mainstream secondary schools were ill-equipped to support young people with complex social and emotional challenges, and could even be increasing the difficulties they faced.
Source: Holding Children in Mind Over Time, Bristol Education Initiative (0117 942 4620)
Links: Bristol University press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jul
A study examined learners experiences of applying for and receiving (or not receiving) financial help from government funding schemes, including education maintenance allowance grants and college-administered learner support funds. People who received cash help found it easier to attend college and complete coursework, and were more likely to go on to do another course.
Source: Darshan Sachdev, Patricia Apenteng, Bethan Harries and Lynn MacQueen, Learners Perceptions of Learner Support Funding, Learning and Skills Network (020 7297 9000)
Links: Report | LSN press release
Date: 2006-Jul
An evaluation report examined a programme designed to create enhanced vocational and work-related learning opportunities for children aged 14-16. The majority (87 per cent) of young people who participated in the second cohort progressed into further education or training.
Source: Sarah Golden, Lisa O Donnell, Tom Benton and Peter Rudd, Evaluation of Increased Flexibility for 14 to 16 Year Olds Programme: Outcomes for the Second Cohort, Research Report 786, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-Jul
An independent report examined what the government could do to nurture young people's creativity, including the role of partnerships between schools and the creative and cultural sector.
Source: Paul Roberts, Nurturing Creativity in Young People, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (020 7211 6200) and Department for Education and Skills
Links: Report | DCMS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jul
The proportion of young people aged 16-18 in education and training was 76.2 per cent at the end of 2005 - an increase from 75.2 per cent in 2004, but a decrease from 77.6 per cent in 1994. The proportion not in education, employment or training increased from 10 per cent at the end of 2004 to 11 per cent at the end of 2005.
Source: Participation in Education, Training and Employment by 16-18 Year Olds in England: 2004 and 2005, Statistical First Release 21/2006, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR | LSC press release | BBC report | TES report
Date: 2006-Jun
A report examined how young people made the educational choices required of them at ages 14 and 16. Students made better decisions in schools which were effective in relation to curriculum management, student support, staff expectations and school leadership.
Source: Sarah Blenkinsop, Tamaris McCrone, Pauline Wade and Marian Morris, How Do Young People Make Choices at 14 and 16?, Research Report 773, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-Jun
A report examined whether there was a relationship between the sort of 16-18 education arrangements in place locally, and the participation and success of learners. There was no evidence that schools with sixth forms increased the probability of participation post-16.
Source: Ian Schagen, Joana Lopes, Simon Rutt, Chris Savory and Ben Styles, Evaluating Patterns of Post-16 Provision, Learning and Skills Network (020 7297 9000)
Date: 2006-Jun
A briefing paper examined broad trends in young people's experiences of education during the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 1980s more than half of young people aged 16 stated that school had done little to prepare them for life after school: but the numbers feeling this way declined to just a third by 1999. Levels of participation in post-compulsory education increased dramatically between 1986 and 1992-93, especially among young people in the middle and lower attaining groups.
Source: Linda Croxford, Cristina Iannelli, Marina Shapira, Cathy Howieson and David Raffe, Education and Youth Transitions across Britain 1984-2002, Special Briefing 39, Centre for Educational Sociology/University of Edinburgh (0131 651 6238)
Links: Briefing
Date: 2006-May
A report examined vocational provision for young people aged 14-16 in schools. The national picture of provision of vocational qualifications was varied, particularly in relation to centre type. 40 per cent of schools had no students achieving vocational qualifications.
Source: Report on Vocational Learning Provision at Key Stage 4, Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (020 7509 5555)
Links: Report | QCA press release
Date: 2006-May
A report examined what incentives, if any, were required to encourage young people aged 16 and over to participate in education and training. The amount young people received while doing an apprenticeship was found to be very important in ensuring take-up and continued motivation among young people.
Source: Thomas Spielhofer, Julie Nelson, Lisa O?Donnell and David Sims, The Role of Training Allowances in Incentivising the Behaviour of Young People and Employers, Research Report 756, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-May
A report was published on the national evaluation of the third year of the 14-19 'pathfinder initiative', designed to improve participation, retention and achievement through curriculum change.
Source: Jeremy Higham and David Yeomans, Emerging Provision and Practice in 14-19 Education and Training: A report on the evaluation of the third year of the 14-19 pathfinder initiative, Research Report 737, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-Apr
The education inspectorate in Wales said that young people did not yet have access to a full range of vocational education and training courses. The choices being offered in many schools were still limited; there were tensions between post-16 education and training providers; and there were too few links between the courses being offered and local job markets.
Source: Current Qualifications and the 14-19 Learning Pathways Initiative, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales (029 2044 6446)
Links: Report | HMCIETW press release
Date: 2006-Apr
A report said that the mental health and well-being of schoolchildren should be a top priority for schools from primary age upwards.
Source: Norma Hart et al., Making a Fuss: Recognising and responding to the mental health needs of young people, School of Education/University of Aberdeen (k.a.mcardle@abdn.ac.uk)
Links: Aberdeen press release
Date: 2006-Mar
A report said that the lives of more than 100,000 young people had been enhanced by the continuing success of the 'Positive Futures' programme - a sports-based intervention programme designed to help young people in socially deprived neighbourhoods in England and Wales find routes back into education, volunteering, and employment.
Source: Positive Futures Impact Report: End of season review, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report | Home Office press release | Young People Now report
Date: 2006-Mar
A report examined young people s labour market experiences in order to assess the effect of two years of post-16 education on their initial position, and subsequent progression within the labour market. Young people who had spent two years in post-16 education were generally in a better position than those who had entered the labour market immediately after compulsory education.
Source: Sue Maguire, Jo Thompson and Sue Middleton, Young People and the Labour Market: Evidence from the EMA pilots database, Research Report RW59, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Mar
The government announced a package of measures to encourage young people aged 16-19 to participate in education and training. The package included: extension of financial support to those aged 19 completing a course which they started before their 19th birthday, up to a limit of age 20; removal of the distinction in financial support between education and specific unwaged training programmes, so that both were entitled to child benefit, child tax credit and education maintenance allowance; new guidance for Jobcentre Plus advisers to improve and simplify the processing of claims for jobseeker s allowance by young people aged 16-17; and two new pilot schemes in England to test different packages of financial support for young people completing agreed activities.
Source: Press release 29 March 2006, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: DfES press release
Date: 2006-Mar
A report examined possible causes of gender segregation and its link to skills shortages in the labour market, by investigating young people s perceptions about work and their preferences for jobs.
Source: Lynne Millward, Diane Houston, Dora Brown and Martyn Barrett, Young People s Job Perceptions and Preferences, Department of Trade and Industry (0870 150 2500)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Mar
A survey found that over 40 per cent of parents with a household income below 30,000 had trouble providing for all the needs of young people in education after the age of 16.
Source: Press release 1 March 2006, Learning and Skills Council (0870 900 6800)
Links: LSC press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Mar
A report said that new university students struggled because the school examination system failed to develop their capacity for independent study.
Source: Stephanie Wilde, Susannah Wright, Geoff Hayward, Jill Johnson and Richard Skerrett, Nuffield Review Higher Education Focus Groups: Preliminary Report, Nuffield Review/Department of Educational Studies/University of Oxford (01865 274007)
Links: Report | Nuffield press release
Date: 2006-Feb
Statistics indicated that government targets on tackling skills shortages among young people and adults were being met early. There was a 3 per cent rise in 2005 in the number of those aged 19 achieving 'level 2' qualifications, and a 3.5 per cent rise in those achieving 'level 3'. (Level 2 is equivalent to one advanced-level pass, and level 3 is equivalent to two advanced-level passes.)
Source: Level 2 and 3 Attainment by Young People in England Measured Using Matched Administrative Data: Attainment by Age 19 in 2005 (Provisional), Statistical First Release 06/2006, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288) | The Level of Highest Qualification Held by Young People and Adults: England 2005, Statistical First Release 05/2006, Department for Education and Skills | Vocational Qualifications in the UK: 2004/05, Statistical First Release 07/2006, Department for Education and Skills
Links: SFR06 | SFR05 | SFR07 | DfES press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Feb
Regulations were published enabling child benefit and child tax credit to be paid (from April 2006) to families of young people aged 16-19 on unwaged work-based training programmes. As a result these families would have access to the same support as that paid to families with young people in full-time education.
Source: The Child Benefit (General) Regulations 2006, Statutory Instrument 2006/223, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Statutory Instrument | Explanatory note | HMRC press release
Date: 2006-Feb
A survey found that anxiety, helplessness and depression were among the symptoms suffered by one third of parents when their children decided not to continue in education after the age of 16. The figure rose to nearly 4 in 10 if the child left school or college without a minimum of 5 GCSEs graded C or above, or the equivalent. (GCSE = General Certificate of Secondary Education)
Source: Press release 9 February 2006, Learning and Skills Council (0870 900 6800)
Links: LSC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Feb
A report analyzed data about young people in their last five years at school. It examined the links between poor education achievement, gender, ethnic background, social deprivation, family circumstances, and school experiences. It said that many of those who underachieved at school could become re-engaged - with the right circumstances, the right curriculum, and support from parents and teachers.
Source: Steven McIntosh with Nicholas Houghton, Disengagement from Secondary Education: A story retold, Learning and Skills Development Agency (020 7297 9144)
Links: Report | LSDA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jan
