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CHAPTER THREE: POLICY OVERVIEW

KEY POINTS

• National policy landscape -NEET policies span a wide range of themes and governmental departments, including Scotland's economic strategy, social justice and social inclusion and the wider education / learning agenda;
• Challenges in 'mapping' policies to sub-groups: non-specified targeting and generic policy design - the 'mapping' of NEET sub-groups and their corresponding risk factors against specific policy interventions has not been possible since it is not obvious that policies were designed to address the specific needs of the NEET group or sub-groups. This makes a comprehensive examination of policy effectiveness challenging, since policy objectives of many interventions have been defined from a more generic perspective, concerning age and target groups ( e.g.MAs, Skillseekers, New Deal). This does not allow for a review of the extent to which policies are addressing and removing the risks and barriers present and 'getting NEET into EET' ;
• Recent NEET-based policy support - key policies which appear to be most obviously focused upon the NEET group are the Careers Scotland key worker service, EMAs and the Get Ready for Work programme. These policies are focusing efforts on the most disadvantaged young people and appear to place greater focus on risk factors than more established policy interventions. In addition, the recent School / College Review has placed significant emphasis on widening choices at the pre-16 stage, through the development of vocational qualifications and the school / college delivery environment;
• Local policy interventions - The study did not identify more specific, local policies and interventions which might exist at LA and / or school level. There was very limited scope to address this in the study and the national literature did not readily identify such interventions;
• Grouping NEET-based policy interventions - an analysis of the literature has identified the following 'groupings' for policy interventions: employability policies; information, advice and guidance policies; policies to remove practical and logistical barriers and policies focused on widening choices at the pre-16 stage. From the literature, most of the Scottish policies appear to have an employability focus;
• Possible constraints of national policy infrastructure - it is possible that policy design and integration is constrained by national policy infrastructure, whereby 2 key departments have responsibility for the NEET group - Education and Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. This places challenges on the extent to which NEET-based policy interventions can be truly 'joined up';
• For the reasons outlined above, the study has not been able to offer conclusive analysis or findings relating to how effective specific policy interventions have been in 'getting NEET into EET'. This has been due to the nature of the specific literature surrounding the NEET group. It is possible that an inspection of specific sub-group policies, which are aimed at more holistic support (and not necessarily focused on supporting EET options) might offer different insights into how the NEET sub-groups are benefiting from wider policy intervention support.

INTRODUCTION

3.1 In this Chapter we provide an overview of the over-arching policy context relating to the NEET group - in terms of both national, strategic policy and individual policy interventions. This context has been detailed for both Scotland and England. The remainder of this Chapter is structured as follows:

• Scottish Policy Context;
• Policy Programmes and Initiatives in Scotland;
• Policy Programmes and Initiatives in England/ UK.

SCOTTISH POLICY CONTEXT

3.2 NEET policy mechanisms are derived not only from Scotland's lifelong learning and education agendas which are clearly related to NEET, but also from Scotland's economic strategy, the Social Justice agenda, legislation for Additional Support for Learning ( ASL) and the Inclusion agenda. In this respect, NEET policy interventions span a range of areas and governmental departments.

3.3 It was not clear from an examination of Scotland's policy infrastructure that interventions have been designed sequentially ( i.e. from one age group to the next) or with the intention of building on the activity and support available through previous policy interventions / programmes. This points to an apparent lack of consideration of how the 'critical mass' of EET-associated policy interventions can add value, by building on earlier support and successes.

3.4 Some of this might be explained by the national policy infrastructure, where pre-16 and post-16 years support is 'divided' across 2 government departments - Education and Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. This might be further compounded by social justice and inclusion policies being delivered outside of both of these departments, as noted in paragraph 3.2, above. Despite continued efforts and commitment to address the principles of 'joined-up government' and 'cross-cutting agendas', there is an enormous challenge in ensuring that all policies are streamlined and refined for optimised integration.

3.5 The themes outlined below provide an overview of Scotland's national strategic framework, from which specific policy is designed. This demonstrates the importance of Scotland's economic and social justice agendas.

• FEDS (1 and 2) (Framework for Economic Development Scotland) covers the economic development of Scotland and includes learning provision policy. In particular it emphasises incentives to learn and payment of tuition fees for eligible Scottish domiciled students. It commits to further development of the skills of people who are currently marginalised within the labour market. Relevant policy interventions include Education Maintenance Allowances ( EMAs), the introduction of a new Individual Learning Account ( ILA Scotland) and Modern Apprenticeships ( MAs) - the latter forming a key plank in the development of vocational qualifications at the intermediate level;
• A Smart Successful Scotland Scotland's economic strategy emphasises the need for the Scottish workforce to be efficient and highly skilled. A Smart, Successful Scotland ( SSS) features the NEET category under "providing the best start for the workforce of the future". The strategy includes an aim to reduce the size of the NEET group. SSS also recognises the importance of including disabled, ethnic minority, older, disaffected and disadvantaged members of the community in the workforce . To this end theExecutive is currently developing an employability framework which will set out objectives, and a basis for local agreements between different parts of the public sector as to their roles in involving disadvantaged groups in the labour market. This Framework will also bring together all key intervention policies to deliver a 'critical mass' of support in ensuring the long-term employability of the Scottish workforce;
• Life Long Learning Strategy for Scotland "Life Through Learning, Learning Through Life" outlines Scottish policy to encourage a culture of life long learning. It outlines commitments to funding learning, and further action developing Modern Apprenticeships as well as clarifying the role of Learndirect Scotland and Careers Scotland. The reduction in the proportion of 16-19 year olds who are NEET is one of six 'high-level' indicators to assess the progress of the Life Long Learning Strategy and is included in delivery priorities for Careers Scotland;
• The Beattie Report (Implementing Inclusiveness, Realising Potential) on inclusiveness relates to creating improved learning and work opportunities, with the aim of allowing all young people on leaving school, whatever their circumstances to have access to adequate and appropriate learning provision within an environment which matches their needs, abilities and aspirations. Thirteen multi-agency projects, managed by Careers Scotland, were funded to develop the key worker role and improve post-school transition processes for young people (16-24 years) with additional support needs. (These projects have now become part of the mainstream key worker services delivered by Careers Scotland.) National policies include: the establishment of inclusiveness policies in all Local Enterprise Companies ( LECs) and Careers Scotland; the Employment Forum's review of supported employment practices; the extension of disability statements to Further Education providers; improved IAG provision and improved local strategic working and partnership between learner agencies in order to aid transition;
• Closing the Opportunity Gap focuses on policies to reduce inequality in opportunity. Key policies include the piloting of EMAs; creation of a Careers Scotland target of reducing 16-19 year olds in NEET; increasing the number of students subject to fee waivers and increased provision of childcare support for students. The policy is specifically targeted at those facing greatest financial hardship, including lone parents;
• Social Justice Targets and Milestones set out the Executive's targets and aspirations for the implementation of social justice in Scotland. Key provisions include a commitment to ensure that every 16-19 year old leaves school with the maximum qualifications possible, The strategy is also committed to halving the number of 16-19 year olds who are NEET;

POLICY PROGRAMMES AND INITIATIVES IN SCOTLAND

3.6 A summary of the national level policy programmes or mechanisms encountered during the literature review has been detailed below. More detailed information about each programme is provided in Appendix 3. Literature was not available for every policy intervention. It is important to note that this literature review focused on EET-based policies and most of those detailed in the Chapter relate to the employability theme. There is clearly a wider range of policy interventions which exist and which will impact upon the transition from NEET to EET ( e.g. childcare policies). However, it was beyond the scope of this review to include all such policies.

3.7 Table 3.1 provides an overview of the Scottish, EET-based policy arena, classified by the barriers/issues which the policies seek to address. There are five core themes, as follows:

• Employability;
• Information, Advice and Guidance;
• Financial support policies;
• Removing practical and logistical barriers;
• Widening access at pre-16 level .

Table 3.1 Scotland Policy Interventions Summary - by Barrier/Issue Addressed

3.8 A key finding from this Chapter is that the EET-based policy interventions are not obviously focused on addressing and removing the various risk factors which act as barriers to the NEET group making successful transitions to EET ( e.g. policies which seek to address the stigma surrounding NEET status). There may be a range of other policy interventions which exist and are specifically focused on addressing these risk factors but these were not the focus of this study.

3.9 The following key themes have been identified from the overview of the NEET-based policy arena:

• The NEET programmes have tended to focus upon 'moving' NEET into EET without a clear indication of the intended approach to addressing the risk factors which act as barriers to the NEET group and sub-groups making successful transitions to EET. As a result, it is not possible to map the various sub-groups and influences identified in Chapter 2 against the programmes and interventions in Chapter 3;
• The NEET programmes are generally not designed solely with the NEET group in mind ( e.g. the 16-19 year age group) but encompass a larger target group which might be experiencing challenges in sustaining EET status;
• Most NEET programmes are employability-focused ( e.g. Skillseekers, MAs) and this set of NEET policies tends to be the most established and well-known. However, there is some overlap across policy objectives ( e.g. where employability support is delivered in tandem with IAG).
• More recent programmes have placed emphasis on areas such as financial support ( e.g.EMAs) and widening choice at pre-16. This suggests that the policy arena is taking a more holistic perspective of 'getting NEET into EET';
• Scotland appears to have limited, current provision to widen choice at the pre-16 level, although the School / College Review has put in place the foundations for 'Skills for Work' courses to be developed - in conjunction with SQA - for S3/4 and above. At a local level, FE Colleges are also engaging with local communities and schools, with some emphasis on widening choice at pre-16 ;
• It might be the case that a wider range of local policies ( e.g. at LA-level) exists across Scotland but these have not been readily identifiable through the national literature review.

3.10 These apparent trends do need some clarification, however, given that:

• The literature review has not been comprehensive, in that it has not included the range of non- EET/ NEET programmes and interventions that exist to specifically support some of the sub-groups ( e.g. young care leavers, young offenders). This was by design given that the review sought to retain the focus on the NEET/ EET agenda at a Scottish level (and within the timescales/resources available for the study). As such it is possible that inspection of specific sub-groups may yield further insights into the effectiveness or lack of such interventions. Additionally, it is likely that the existing, wider range of policy programmes, whilst not having an EET focus, may - through helping to address the barriers and issues faced by these young people - also support these young people in their transition to EET;
• Linked to the above, it might be the case that there is, in Scotland, a much more extensive range of interventions to widen choice at the pre-16 level and aimed at removing financial or other barriers for specific sub-groups. These have not been captured through the national literature, suggesting that they might be more likely to exist at a local level ( e.g.LA-level). The developments which are proposed from the School / College Review will also address this area of widening choice at pre-16;
• Some employability programmes, whilst focused on improving the employability of the young people, may include elements of addressing the specific barriers/risks faced in order to improve employability. However, it is not clear that the design of such employability policies was undertaken with this objective in mind.

3.11 Table 3.2 lists the policy interventions by broad target group that the intervention is aimed at - there are four classifications, as follows:

• NEET specific intervention (or a NEET sub-group intervention - to get NEET into EET);
• 'At-risk' of NEET specific intervention - seeking to avoid at-risk group entering NEET;
• General EET intervention, not specific to the 16-19 age group;
• General EET intervention with potential impact on the at-risk group.

3.12 It should be noted, from the table, that categories C and D below differ in that category D is more likely to pick up the NEET group (16-19 years) than category C, which covers a much wider age range, yet might still include the NEET group.

Table 3.2 Scottish Policy Interventions Summary - by Target Group

POLICY PROGRAMMES AND Initiatives IN ENGLAND/ UK

3.13 The key English / UK policy interventions for the NEET group are detailed below and include policy programmes also in operation in Scotland as a result of their UK wide application. A summary of these is provided in Tables 3.3 and 3.4 below. More detailed information about each programme is given in Appendix 4. A comparison between the Scottish policy arena and the English / UK-wide arena has identified the following issues:

• The English / UK-wide policy arena tends to display more of a 'balance' of different policy initiatives, in accordance with the 5 themes, than the Scottish arena. For example, more policy initiatives seem to be in place to address widening choice at pre-16 and financial support;
• There appears to be a greater emphasis on specific interventions at the national level for the pre-16 group (at-risk) than is the case in Scotland.

Table 3.3 English/ UK Policy Interventions Summary - by Barriers/Issues Addressed

Table 3.4 UK / English policy interventions overview

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