Boosting participation in NCS

National Citizen Service (NCS) participation levels are not keeping pace with expectations, according to a National Audit Office (NAO)investigation into the government-backed youth programme.

The report finds that if the number of participants continues to increase at its current rate, 213,000 15- to 17-year-olds will be taking part by 2020/21, well short of the 247,000 target - a figure recently revised down from 360,000.

The report praises the three-week programme for having a higher proportion of young people from hard-to-reach groups - such as those from poorer backgrounds, with special educational needs or from ethnic minority communities - than national averages, but the NAO says in some areas the mix of participants was not diverse enough.

"At a local authority level, the mix of NCS participants has not always reflected local area characteristics," it concludes.

Some youth sector experts say the NAO findings highlight the need for NCS to do more to engage hard-to-reach groups of young people in some areas (see expert views). NCS Trust, the community interest company that runs the scheme, has also developed inclusion initiatives to boost participation among disadvantaged communities, including:

• Providing additional support for young people with complex needs
• Working with representative bodies and government departments to ensure the programme is available to hard-to-reach groups such as refugees, young carers, looked-after children, and those with special educational needs and disabilities
• Developing guidance for local authorities on how they can help disadvantaged young people to participate in the programme
• Trialling "urban experiences" for disadvantaged young people from rural communities
• Aiming to boost its presence in areas identified as "social mobility cold spots" by the Department for Education.

NCS Trust says that as it works towards its growth targets, it will be "striving to reach even more young people who would not normally have the chance to take part in a programme like NCS".

Expert views: "More flexible offering will encourage hard-to-reach groups to participate in NCS"

Graham Duxbury, chief executive, Groundwork:

"A consequence of the work being done to demonstrate that apprenticeships are of high quality and suitable for high achievers is that this gold standard feels out of reach for some young people who lack the educational grounding or the self-confidence to compete with their peers at interview. Recognising this, the government created and funded traineeships as an ‘apprenticeship preparation pathway'.

NCS has the same level of cross-party support as apprenticeships, and is attempting the same balancing act of creating an experience that young people aspire to, but that is also demonstrably ‘for everyone' irrespective of background, ability or confidence level.

NCS is a tried and tested route for building character, resilience and civic skills. But for some young people, the very nature of the challenge and the anxieties about being pushed beyond their comfort zone means they may, without support, miss out on the transformative benefits NCS can bring.

As with apprenticeships some young people may need a longer, more structured ‘preparation pathway' where they are given the support needed to get over the biggest hurdle: signing up. A recognised pre-NCS confidence-building programme would also serve to ensure trusting two-way relationships can be developed between young people and group leaders to reduce the risks involved in those with more challenging behaviours or complex needs engaging in residential activities as their first experience of the programme. There is a group of young people who find it easy to say ‘NCS is not for the likes of me'. Getting over this will take creativity and perseverance, but more importantly time."

Maddie Dinwoodie, director of nationalprogrammes, UK Youth:

"Not all young people have the desire or skills required to engage with an intensive three-week programme of learning and volunteering. It was evident to us that NCS needed to do something different to engage a real mix of young people and truly inspire a generation to embark on their social development journey.

As one of the founding organisations to pilot the NCS pathfinders programme, we identified that not every young person wants to participate in outdoor learning and, in response to that, we designed an NCS urban adventure.

Our programme still incorporated the key components of NCS: adventure, discovery and social action - helping to create social mixing and increased life skills but in an urban environment. Phase one was a residential based in London, while phase two was delivered in the young people's youth clubs and included skill development activities such as financial education and coding. In phase three, young people delivered social action projects in their local community.

Our twist on the NCS programme helped us to engage a range of young people, with a particular focus on those from more deprived communities - 90 per cent lived in the top 50 per cent most deprived areas in England.

Our urban twist showcases that it is possible to engage a mix of young people with NCS, regardless of their background or circumstances. Our programme helped many young people start on their social development journey and have a positive impact in their local community.

We hope NCS continues its pathfinders programme to ensure all young people have the opportunity to create their own journey and build bright futures."