The agency's report, Rural Proofing in 2003/04, said the service benefited from its adoption of "rural proofing" guidelines that force policymakers to consider isolated communities when implementing change.
It highlights the willingness of personal advisers to visit isolated young people and to use technology to communicate with them.
Each year, the agency quizzes 12 government departments on their rural strategies. The 2004 report states that the Department for Education and Skills, which runs Connexions, "has most successfully incorporated rural proofing into policy development and delivery mechanisms over the past three years".
Bud Simpkin, national policy manager at the Rural Youth Network, backed the agency's findings. "There is a lot of evidence of Connexions' willingness to engage with the rural agenda," he said.
But the report also warns that more consideration of rural issues needs to be given to extended schools. An agency spokesperson said there was a danger that even local education authorities in rural areas would select schools in their largest town for extended school status.
Simpkin identified transport as one of the extended schools issues that needed addressing. "It is all very well having after-school activities, but if the last bus home leaves at 3.30pm it will not work," he said. "We need to be imaginative about transport issues."
The report called on government departments to work together "to address the difficulties faced by rural young people".
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