The final report from a three-year research study into the impact of school-based programmes for engaging with NEETs has been published. It concludes that it should be possible to prevent the majority of 16 to 24-year-old NEETs from falling by the wayside, but only if they receive the right support early on.
In England, as of December 2015, there are 690,000 young people aged 16 to 24 who are NEET.
The problem is more acute in the north of the country, with the worst NEET rates being recorded in the North West (14.1 per cent), North East (16.1 per cent) and Yorkshire and Humberside (13.1 per cent). The lowest rate is found in the South East (9.4 per cent).
However, the research study report, published by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), says that the majority of NEETs “do not face multiple or complex barriers to engagement” and just need the right support.
The NFER study ran from 2012 to 2016 and followed the progress of 41 students on five different school-based support programmes through to the end of year 11.
The programmes included employer-focused support such as extended work experience and undertaking social enterprise qualifications.
One case study, the Raising the Participation Age project at Rushden Academy in Northamptonshire, included targeted careers advice and academic mentoring with tailored work experience opportunities.
The researchers also followed mentoring, skills and pastoral programmes, such as City Year, in which business employees volunteer to mentor and work with inner city school children.
The Do Something Different programme, initially developed by psychologists at the University of Hertfordshire, ran at Kings Lynn Academy in Norfolk.
It includes an assessment of a student’s behavioural habits to inform the selection of a range of “Do” tasks suited to them. Three are then sent out each week to each participant.
Researchers found that the group element of the scheme, where students discussed and reflected upon their individual “dos” for that week, was a key to its success. The students also ended up discussing plans for the future, their required grades, and provided each other with emotional support.
Despite the variety of projects studied, the report finds five common elements that led to their success.
Mentoring: The report states: “It could be that for some of these young people that a consistent relationship with a responsible adult enabled them to keep on track.”
A consistent project lead: The report states: “Linked to the mentoring role was the presence of a member of staff who was accessible, approachable and to whom the young person could relate to. This was a time-consuming role.”
Group support: The report states: “The mutual interest and support from other similar young people appeared to enhance school engagement.”
Relevance to the world of work: The report states: “When young people could relate to the world of work and the next steps of their journey they found it easier to understand the relevance of their school work.”
Flexibility: The report states: “Young people liked having more control over their work and flexibility to see their project lead and/or mentor when they needed.”
The NFER has published the research findings within its latest report – entitled NEET Prevention: Keeping students engaged at key stage 4 – as well as two previous reports. Visit www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/IMPE04. For practical tips and advice drawn from the research, visit www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/IMPE03