Give councils more powers to monitor post-16 education outcomes, says Ofsted

The inspectorate believes a new system for tracking young people’s progress in post-16 education is needed to help cut the numbers of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (Neet), and that local authorities have a key role to play in co-ordinating this.

The call is to be made by Lorna Fitzjohn, Ofsted national director for further education and skills, in her annual lecture to the sector on Wednesday.

Talking to CYP Now before the lecture, Fitzjohn said: “Local authorities have a vital role to play in guarding against the prospect of young people becoming Neet or unknown. This is why in my speech I urge the government to put in place a reliable system for tracking young people’s progress.”

Currently, local authorities have a duty to collect data on young people’s education and training progress, but little power to compel schools, academies and providers to pass such records to them, which sometimes doesn’t happen.

“We want that to change,” added Fitzjohn. “With councils given legal powers to intervene and make such schools and providers supply prompt information about those who drop out of education or training and into unknown circumstances.”

Ofsted’s call coincides with the publication of its report into the effectiveness of 16-19 study programmes, a specialist scheme that aims to improve the education outcomes of young people through learning tailored to their needs. It finds too many education providers have failed to fully implement the requirements of the programme, which in turn has led to too many young people dropping out.

Latest government data shows the number of young people who are Neet has fallen to the lowest level for almost a decade.

But Fitzjohn warned there are currently 40,000 16- and 17-year-olds whose situation is “unknown” and that the number is growing and will get worse unless more co-ordinated action is taken.