Nicky Jecks has defied the odds in order to return to her education - many others in her position will never realise their potential. The government has made the fate of these school "drop-outs" a priority, recognising that those who leave school early often end up getting pregnant younger, or turning to crime - becoming in many cases a lifetime burden to the State.
The government has a term for these young people - they are NEETS - Not in Education, Employment or Training. It has vowed to reduce the number of NEETS in the UK by two percentage points by 2010.
The latest figures show that 189,500 (9.4 percent) 16- to 18-year-olds were NEET at the end of 2007, a reduction from 210,000 (10.4 percent) at the end of 2006. When broken down by age, the proportion of 16- to 17-year-olds NEET fell from 8.2% to 7.2% in this period, and 18-year-olds NEET from 14.7% to 13.7%.
Why do kids drop out of school early? The answer appears to be because they are bored, not because they are not academically capable. The government is tackling the problem of NEETs in four key ways:
- careful tracking to identify early those young people who are NEET, or who are at risk of becoming NEET;
- personalised guidance and support to enable young people to access suitable provision, and to tackle barriers to learning;
- a flexible mix of learning provision, both pre- and post-16, designed to meet the needs of every young person in every area; and
- an emphasis on rights and responsibilities so that there are clear incentives on young people to re-engage quickly if they drop out.
At the heart of the government's reforms is the 14-19 Agenda - possibly the most ambitious overhaul of the UK curriculum ever introduced. It will involve a complete change in how we think about education, with schools becoming specialists in certain subjects and attracting students across a much wider local area. Instead of relying on one base for all their studies, young people will now be able to move around to get the education they want.
Choice is coming to education. Students will no longer be limited by what courses their own school can offer them. Instead, they could take a course in a neighbouring college, some work experience at a local business, and foundation classes in their own school.
The government has set out that by 2013, no child should be denied access to a course of learning simply because their school does not cater for it. To achieve this, there needs to be partnerships between schools, colleges and workplaces to ensure pupils can access all the options available to them. The government not only intends to make education fairer - it hopes to keep students for longer, by inspiring them to stay with courses that appeal to their talents and interests.
The 14-19 reforms being rolled out over the next five years are designed to offer exciting choices and opportunities for learning. There will be a far wider choice of qualifications and more flexible learning paths to suit all young people. Part of this national programme is the introduction of the Diploma, which will run alongside standard and applied A levels/GCSEs and Apprenticeships. All young people will also be required to master the functional skills of English, maths and ICT.
The first five Diplomas became available last year, the next five come into force this year and the final four in 2010. Following a three-year programme of evaluation, the national entitlement will be introduced in 2013. By then, young people, wherever they are in England, should be able to study any of the Diplomas they choose by travelling to neighbouring schools or colleges.
The Government's ambition is to improve post-14 education over time, so that year on year, a greater number of young people achieve more by the age of 19 and that fewer drop out of education before their 18th birthday. These ambitions are reflected in three key 14-19 Agenda targets: increasing academic attainment by 19, increasing the number of apprenticeships and ensuring that 90 per cent of 17 year-olds are still in education by 2015.
In February this year, the Prime Minister announced a further £140m for apprenticeship schemes in England, which will provide for an extra 35,000 apprentices next year. The proposed target is to get one in five young people in apprenticeships within ten years.
Government funding is given to companies employing apprentices to the tune of £1bn and this extra money is in addition to this with a target of training 4000,000 apprentices a year. The intention is to double that figure by 2020.
The Government is anxious that companies do not pull their part of the funding during the economic downturn. Ministers see the upgrading of skills as vital if the country is to stay competitive when we do come out of the downturn, plus the extra initiative will help boost employment.
McDonald's - the restaurant chain - has become the UK's biggest provider of Apprenticeships. The company will provide up to 6,000 Apprenticeships in 2009 and 10,000 each year from 2010. It was one of the first employers to gain awarding body status, which means it can offer an A-Level equivalent Diploma in Shift Management. The qualification was piloted last year, and since January this year, anyone who joins as a Shift Manager or is promoted into the role is required to complete the qualification. McDonald's expects 2,500 employees to complete the qualification this year McDonald's has been widely applauded for its investment in its employees' education, which has included providing PC access for all workers in every restaurant and making GCSE-equivalent Maths and English qualifications available to all employees via the dedicated employee website ourlounge.co.uk. (the company currently has more than 3,000 employees working towards their qualification).
David Fairhurst, Senior Vice President, Chief People Officer at McDonald's said of the scheme, "McDonald's is passionate about providing opportunities for all its 72,000 employees to learn and gain nationally recognised, transferable qualifications that will help them go further in their careers and fulfil their potential."
Another innovative scheme to stop kids from slipping through the educational net, has been pioneered in North London. City & Islington College calls the scheme Step Forward. Wendy Weinstock, the course project manager told the Guardian newspaper that around half of the students enrolling for Step Forward are recruited through a simple phone call.
"We rang and asked them if they were doing anything, and would they like to come in and have a chat," she said. "Lots were dying to do something, and just wanted an opportunity to move on with their lives.
"Most have had terrible gaps in their education, and we have to refashion them into students and familiarise them with working in groups and in a classroom. We provide a safe, secure learning environment with lots of individual attention and analysis of their needs."
Britain's NEET problem is the biggest in the western world, with more than 10% of 16- to 19-year-olds not studying, working or training, compared with 6% in the US and 4.5% in Germany. But while success stories such as that of Nicky Jecks are likely to remain few and far between - the tide does appear to be turning. Keeping more children interested while they are actually in school is certainly essential but showing them that educational opportunities still remain once they have left could prove the bigger and more rewarding challenge.
