How transition support reduces Neets

Authority
Tower Hamlets

Purpose
To reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet)

Funding
Together, the Transition Mentoring Scheme and New Start, which works with Neet young people, cost about £1.3m a year from the youth and community service budget

Background
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets had a high number of young people becoming Neet during the transition from secondary school into post-16 learning. So in 2006/07, the authority created the Transition Mentoring Scheme to support those at risk to successfully make that move.

Action
Each secondary school in Tower Hamlets identifies the 10 pupils in year 11 most at risk of becoming Neet, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, who are then referred to the transition support team. The team then works with them from January to October to support and mentor them and help them take their next steps into college, training or a job. "Young people who end up becoming Neet may be dealing with a complex range of issues so we wanted to intervene earlier and change the way we supported them," explains Dinar Hossain, head of the youth and community service. "It's about developing their confidence, building their aspirations and keeping them motivated."

Transition support workers meet young people at school or at home. "One thing we were quite clear about was we couldn't expect them to pick up the phone or come to us so we had to go to them," says Hossain. Workers use the Common Assessment Framework to identify a young person's needs and devise a package of support that might include referral for more specialist help, getting them involved in positive activities, and arranging work placements and careers advice.

Outcome

In 2006/07 the Tower Hamlets Neet figure was 10.9 per cent - at that time considerably higher than nearby boroughs such as Redbridge, Lewisham and Havering. The Transition Mentoring Scheme has led to a reduction in year 11 pupils becoming Neet or "unknown" where the authority has lost track of them. It has also contributed to an overall reduction in Neet figures with the council exceeding its targets in 2010/11 and 2011/12. In 2008/09, the Neet figure was 6.7 per cent, decreasing to 4.9 per cent in 2011/12.

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