Young people ‘not known' due to systemic neglect

That rather chilling phrase currently applies on these shores in the sense that alarming numbers of 16- to 18-year-olds in England are completely unaccounted for. CYP Now has learned that 38 local authorities are unable to contact or track more than 10 per cent of 16- to 18-year-olds in their area, according to figures collated by the Department for Education. These young people are categorised as “not knowns”.

The big hole in the statistics has been created in large part by the decimation of Connexions services across the country. It has in the past been the job of these services to track and monitor teenagers as well as provide them with advice and guidance. Many of the services have modernised their techniques to track young people, using social media as well as more traditional methods of phone calls, letters and visits. But Connexions has been a prime target for cuts as local authorities determine how to spend their early intervention grant. So in many areas, it is anyone’s guess what is happening to the most vulnerable teenagers as they slip off the radar. The new National Careers Service has hardly come to the rescue since it is available to young people only online and by phone, and is likely to bypass those in most need of guidance and support.

However, the “not knowns” present a huge problem in meeting aspirations for raising the participation age. From summer 2013, all young people will be legally required to stay in education or training until the end of the academic year in which they turn 17; from summer 2015, they will be required to stay until their 18th birthday. As one seasoned local youth adviser put it: “How do you know what to plan for in terms of provision if you don’t know what’s happening to one in 10 of the young people you’re trying to plan for?”

In giving local authorities free rein over what to cut, the policy of raising the participation age is on rather shaky ground. Not only does this scenario demonstrate wholesale neglect of some of the most vulnerable young people in society, it is a classic example of the government shooting itself in the foot.

Improving pupil behaviour is a balancing act
The Education Act’s measures to allow after-school detentions without notice and remove parents’ rights to appeal against permanent exclusions certainly empower teachers – but they could do so at the expense of endangering the most vulnerable children. However, schools such as Foredyke Primary in Hull, which we feature, are successfully using measures that are punitive and supportive. Debates on school discipline tend to be polarised along tedious disciplinarian-libertarian lines. But, in practice, it is all about striking the right balance.

ravi.chandiramani@markallengroup.com