www.londoncouncils.gov.uk

Raising the Participation Age

2

What is it?

• Raising the Participation Age (RPA) means that young people will be required to participate in education or training:– to the end of the academic year in which they are

aged 17, from 2013 (current year 11 pupils)– until their 18th birthday, by 2015 (current year 9

pupils) • RPA does not apply if a young person has already

attained a level 3 qualification (e.g. 3 ‘A’ levels)• The legislation: Education and Skills Act 2008…

P.S: It’s legislation without mandating

3

What does it mean?

• RPA is NOT raising the school leaving age, young people will be able to choose how they participate: – Full-time study: school sixth form; further

education or sixth form college; foundation learning with a training provider

– Employment with part-time training: Apprenticeship; Pre-Apprenticeship; employed, self-employed or volunteering for 20 hours or more a week

4

Why RPA?

NEET aged 16-18

Unemployment/Under-employment

Lower income

Criminal record

Poor health and depression

By the age of 21, young people who were not participating at 16-17 are more likely to face

Source: Jenkins et. Al. Returns to Qualifications in England (2007)

5

Why RPA?

By contrast, if young people participate and attain at this age, they see the benefits throughout their lives

People with five or more GCSEs at A* - C earn, on average, 9-

11% more than those without

Getting two or more A levels leads to men earning £80,000 and women £110,000 more over the course of their lifetime

than someone whose highest attainment is 5 or more GCSEs A*-C

Getting a level 3 Apprenticeship increases earnings by an estimated £105,000 and a level 2 Apprenticeship by £73,000

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What it means for local authorities

• Local authorities will be required to:

– Promote the effective participation in education or training of all 16 and 17 year olds resident in their area

– Make arrangements to identify young people resident in their area who are not participating

www.londoncouncils.gov.uk

The opportunities

8

Participation

December 2012 data (DfE, May 2013)

9

Diversification of participation

10

Participation and achievement

A* A B C D E F G No result0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0% % Drop out, split by GCSE English Grade AttainedStayed on

Dropped Out

% D

rop

Ou

t

GCSE English Grade Attained

Large difference in drop out between C and B grades

‘Cross-over’ point between C and D grades

11

Level 3 at 19 by qualification type (national)

Source: Level 2 and 3 attainment by young people in England, SFR 5/2012, DfE

www.londoncouncils.gov.uk

The challenges

13

NEET

• London NEET consistently below the national average, but volume persistently around the 10,000 mark

CCIS, March 2013

14

• Teenage mothers:– 31% EET and 20% ‘not known’ compared to overall 87% and 9%

• Learners with a learning difficulty or disability:– 8.1% NEET compared to overall 4.5%– 15.6% ‘not known’ compared overall 9.0%

• Care leavers:– 59% EET and 21% ‘not known’ compared to overall 87% and 9%

• Ethnicity:– NEET % varies across different groups, but young people from

‘mixed race – white and black Caribbean’ backgrounds are much more likely to become NEET (7.9%)

NEET characteristics (London)

CCIS, March 2013 16-18 age group

15

London’s most vulnerable

Eligib

le fo

r FSM

Work

less

house

hold a

t 14

In lo

w educa

tion h

ousehold

at 1

4

Lone pare

nt house

hold

Live in

socia

l housin

g

Experie

nce fa

mily

bre

akdown

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

National average London

%

Source: The educational and occupational experiences of London’s youth, Duckworth, IOE 2012

16

High student mobility

17

Participation and employment20.5% (just under 1 million

young people aged 16-24) are unemployed in the UK

An even higher rate of unemployment for London –

21.8% (102,089 young people)

London is highly competitive with 5.2 million working age living in

the city and an international workforce

London employers are less likely to recruit a school or college leaver than rest of

the UK

www.londoncouncils.gov.uk

So what…..?

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If we do nothing…

• Each young person aged 16 to 18 and NEET is estimated to cost the economy £56,000 over the course of their lifetime

• Estimated public finance costs (benefits, reduced tax yields) of 16 to18 NEET range from £12bn to £32bn

• Estimated resource costs (unemployment, under achievement) of 16 to18 NEET range from £22bn to a staggering £77bn

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More than participation

Participation

Attainment

Progression