The Scottish Government

This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007

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Beattie Committee progress report

28/03/2003

A report on initiatives designed to help young people's transition to post-school learning and work was published today - the Beattie National Action Group Progress Report and Future Priorities.

The report was compiled in response to the Beattie Committee, established to promote the post-school participation and attainment of disadvantaged young people in learning.

Enterprise Minister Iain Gray said it showed a number of positive developments for young people, many of whom find it difficult to make successful transitions after leaving school.

The Minister said:

"The Executive is already delivering on a number of the Beattie Committee Report's (1999) key priorities, with initiatives providing high quality support to increase young people's ability to access learning and work.

"Beattie priorities are all about young people realising their potential. The young people we're particularly concerned about have a range of - often complex - needs and are therefore most at risk of exclusion.

"It's critically important that they have access to the right support at the right time. And, by creating more and better learning opportunities, we are equipping them with the confidence and skills they need to progress - taking small steps is often what it takes.

"Beattie encourages us to try out different ways of doing things, learning what works best and then applying practice more widely. Multi-agency approaches are central, providing huge benefits in terms of shared expertise and resources."

The Beattie National Action Group's report highlights a number of new and significant developments:

13 Inclusiveness Projects

• The projects, which are managed by Careers Scotland, has around 120 new key workers provide key worker support for young people, in partnership with a range of public and voluntary sector agencies.

• Between April and December 2002, 3,426 young people engaged in the projects progressed on to employment and training, 2,060 moved on to education and 559 became involved in voluntary work .

Get Ready for Work,

• The new national training programme for young people. Get Ready for Work aims to provide flexible training options to meet a full range of individual needs.
• Since the programme was implemented in April last year, 2,826 participants have become involved in training, 746 have moved on to successful job outcomes, 129 are now in full or part-time education and 184 have moved on to mainstream Skillseekers.

BRITE (Beattie Resources for Inclusiveness in Technology and Education) Initiative and Centre

• BRITE is hosted by Stevenson College, Edinburgh, and works with Scottish Access Centres. BRITE focuses on developing the skills of staff in colleges throughout Scotland and promoting the use of technology in supporting learning.

Supported employment pilots in seven Inclusiveness projects.

• Work is underway to test whether supported employment, originally developed for people with learning disabilities, works for young people with different needs.

The Beattie Committee was set up in 1998 to take forward the Executive's commitment to promote the participation and attainment of young people in learning post-school. Its report, Implementing Inclusiveness, Realising Potential was published in 1999.

The Beattie National Action Group in the Executive was set up in 2001 to oversee implementation of the Beattie Committee report.

The group agreed seven priorities for action:

1. key worker support
2. assessment and tracking
3. mentoring
4. inclusiveness strategies in Further Education
5. training provision
6. transitions into employment
7. post-school psychological services

The Executive earmarked over £22 million for implementation of the Beattie Committee report over 2001 to 2004. Of this, £15 million was allocated for Inclusiveness Projects, £4.5 million for Further Education, with the remainder for a range of projects including (post-school) educational psychological services, mentoring, and supported employment.