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CHAPTER 5 - OVERALL SUMMARY
5.1 This chapter summarises the points made throughout the report about young people's awareness and experience of EMAs and their impact on choices and pathways.
EMA Promotion and Young People's Awareness
5.2 The methods employed to raise awareness of the EMA amongst school pupils varied normally as a result of the available financial and human resources and the existence of local opportunities for promotion. The bulk of the promotion took place in the summer term, due to the practicalities of producing and processing applications in time for the new academic year. It also reflected the fact that the EMA was not positioned as a NEET prevention tool, therefore the allowance was regarded as an element for consideration once the decision to stay on had been made, rather than a factor in post-16 decision making.
5.3 In colleges, EMA information was incorporated into key documents, e.g. application packs, relating to accessing courses and advertised amongst the other forms of financial assistance available to students. This placed the EMA at the centre of the college application process.
5.4 There were some examples of effective practice for promoting the EMA and disseminating information, e.g. pupils remembered the DVDs that played in their schools informing them of the EMA, where local EMA working groups had been established, staff in schools and colleges had clarity about roles and responsibilities and greater ownership of the process.
5.5 EMA awareness and understanding was poor amongst S3/S4 pupils taking part in this research. Where pupils were aware, this was normally as a result of being involved in the research or knowing friends of family members in receipt of the EMA. The lack of awareness was mainly due to the research taking place prior to the promotion of the EMA in the summer term but this meant that the financial assistance available for pursuing school of college education was not a factor when considering post-16 options. The young people interviewed showed interest in the EMA, and whilst they thought £30 a week was not a significant amount, for those who did not have clear plans, a financial incentive like the EMA was considered an influential factor.
5.6 The 16+ pupils recalled assemblies and guidance sessions as the main forms of EMA promotion. In some areas that used promotional DVDs the marketing of EMA on plasma screens within their schools was memorable. There was no stigma attached to receiving the EMA. The majority of pupils were unaware that the EMA was available at college, possibly because in some establishments, staying on at school is heavily promoted over college education and therefore the EMA element is also overlooked. If the EMA was a factor in decision making for any student, the absence of information relating to its availability at college could restrict the learning choice to school based options.
EMA Management and Monitoring
5.7 Many establishments recognised the resource-intensive nature of processing and monitoring the EMA and this focus on administrative issues has meant that colleges and schools were not identifying the impact the EMA had on attendance, punctuality, achievement and retention.
5.8 The Scottish Executive's guidance on EMAs has been diversely interpreted across the areas. Subsequently, those EAs that provided supplementary guidance have produced different translations for schools in their locality. While comprehensive direction from the EAs has led to greater certainty amongst establishments and more consistency across schools, there is less flexibility to recognise local school circumstances. Less instruction from the EA sometimes resulted in uncertainty and inconsistency but in these settings there was greater potential for the EMA procedure to complement existing school systems and ethos.
5.9 Monitoring systems and the management of the EMA also varied. It was often dictated by the IT systems in operation and in schools the software package was usually SEEMIS and colleges normally used TeQuios. The methods and protocols for communicating between staff and reporting adherence to EMA 'conditions' linked into these operating systems. The established culture within the school or college was also an important factor in local level monitoring and management practice.
5.10 As a result of the monitoring systems, the amount of control exhibited by the EA, the levels of discretion in schools, the different application of guidelines and the subjectivity involved in reaching bonus payment decisions, the EMA was applied differently between EAs, within schools in the same EA and between colleges. So for individual students, receiving a weekly or bonus payment could be 'easier' to achieve in one area compared to another.
The Experiences of EMA Recipients
5.11 Most EMA recipients talked positively about their experience of the EMA and the benefits of receiving a regular allowance and twice-yearly bonus payments. The EMA provided school pupils with greater financial independence, less of a need to secure part time work and, for some, motivated them to attend school more regularly. It did mean that the majority did not experience the positive benefits of part time work. The payments were predominantly spent on personal items and social activities.
5.12 The majority of EMA recipients were studying Highers and had planned to stay on at school, regardless of the EMA. Most recognised that the EMA would not have influenced their decision making.
5.13 College students tended to place greater importance on the EMA on the choices they had made, with a third stating that other EET routes would have been identified in the absence of the EMA. These students also used the EMA differently - to meet study and travel costs or contribute to general household income and expenditure, there is no clear explanation as to why this might be the case, possibly due to a more independent outlook and expectation placed on them by the college.
The Impact of the EMA
5.14 There were mixed views about the effect of the EMA. Some pupils felt that the weekly allowance helped them to attend more regularly and increased their punctuality - particularly when payments had been stopped. Likewise, some felt that the working towards the bonus motivated them to study harder and attend more regularly. According to the qualitative and quantitative responses of young people in this sample, the EMA did not encourage them to stay on at school.
5.15 It was recognised that the EMA was having both positive and negative effects on young people and the educational establishments. On the negative side the EMA could:
- be an administrative burden
- lead to tensions/difficulties between staff and young people or staff and parents
- result in a sense of unfairness amongst non-recipients
- encourage young people to stay on at school when alternative EET routes might be more appropriate
5.16 All stakeholders and young people recognised the positive impact that the EMA appeared to have, in the main this was:
- improved attendance in schools and colleges
- improved retention in colleges
- increased interaction between staff and pupils
- greater financial independence amongst pupils
- the financial support the EMA offered college students
Young People's Decision Making
5.17 There was a level of consistency in the responses of young people across the pre and post 16 age bands with regard to the decision making influences. In general, parental advice/expectation along with career or HE aspirations were the key influencers. However these were always interconnected with other factors like educational ability, school experience and specific course requirements. Less influential, but still identifiable considerations were:
- uncertainty and indecision which led to maintaining the status quo
- readiness to move into a different learning or working environment
- availability of other options
- the EMA (but this was confined to the 14/15 year old group)
5.18 The number and relative importance of each influence will vary for each young person, and for those who had not yet made a decision about their future, the EMA was a more significant factor in their decision making.
EMA and NEET
5.19 The EMA provides financial assistance to pupils from low income families. In this study, most of the recipients did not need incentives to continue their education. Whilst there is a diverse group of young people who fall in the NEET category, two principle factors are young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who are educationally disaffected. In this research, there was a minority of disengaged pupils included in the S3 and S4 year groups. Those young people most at risk of becoming NEET were not involved. This was because this target group were already absenting themselves from school or were disillusioned with education and had already left school. Therefore the research found limited evidence to ascertain whether the EMA is having an impact on preventing young people in Scotland from becoming NEET.
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