Getting the most marginalised young people into education, employment or training is notoriously tough.
To tackle the issue, £126m has been earmarked to support 16- and 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training, under the government’s £1bn Youth Contract.
When the details of the scheme for 16- and 17-year-olds were announced in July, the Local Government Association was among a number of organisations that raised concerns about the scope of the initiative, which dictates that only young people with no GCSE grades A to C are eligible for support.
Moreover, rather than building on existing work in councils, ministers chose contentiously to award payment-by-results contracts for the programme to private and voluntary providers.
The government is now said to be reviewing the eligibility criteria for the scheme, having realised it could be too narrow.
Local authorities are now getting involved with frontline delivery of the scheme, using the prospect of payment-by-results income to boost services and tailor provision.
Sub-contracting services
All councils are required to provide the names of 16- and 17-year-olds not in employment, education or training to Youth Contract providers in their area, but at least 16 local authorities are now working as sub-contractors on the programme.
North East Lincolnshire Council is delivering 100 per cent of the provision for 16- and 17-year-olds in its area on behalf of Prospects, an education, employment and training firm.
The authority has a target to help about 130 young people each year. It has already worked with around 40 young people since August.
Of the £2,200 available for working with each young person, the authority will receive up to £1,200, meaning it could be in line for as much as £156,000 a year.
Steve Kay, head of youth services at North East Lincolnshire Council, says the cash will boost existing provision, such as careers advice and youth support. “It allows us to offer more concentrated, focused support and more frequent interaction,” he says.
Part of the council’s payment is also directed back to the young person through an incentive scheme if they remain engaged.
“They may need safety boots or a shirt for an interview,” Kay says. “But we could also offer to pay for a travel pass for a young person to get them to work. They are small things, but could be a barrier to engaging for a vulnerable young person.”
In Herefordshire, the scheme is being run by a new integrated support service staffed by former youth and Connexions workers. Schools were contacted in early September to find out which year 11 leavers did not achieve any GCSEs at A to C grades. All those young people were then contacted by the service and given a named worker if they were Neet.
Early engagement
“That early engagement meant there was still the opportunity for young people to look at college courses as one of their options,” says Debbie McMillan, head of locality services at Herefordshire County Council. “For young people who hadn’t achieved the grades they were hoping for, this opened up doors again.”
In Central Bedfordshire, the authority is working with the most vulnerable of the 16- and 17-year-old Neets eligible for the programme – those who already have some form of contact with children’s services.
Of 56 young people in the first cohort, about 12 are being offered tailored support to help them address underlying issues in their lives.
Kethan Gandhi, head of integrated youth support at Central Bedfordshire Council, says current funding for the scheme could be used to help more young people if the criteria were widened to include those who have not achieved grades A to C in GCSE English and maths.
“Unless government changes the criteria, we are always going to be working with small numbers,” he says. “If they change the criteria – which I’m hoping they do – that will broaden the scheme massively.
At the moment, a grade C in PE at GCSE can exclude someone from help.”
THE YOUTH CONTRACT AND 16- TO 17-YEAR-OLDS
As part of the government’s £1bn Youth Contract, £126m has been earmarked to support 16- and 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training.
Young people must have no GCSE grades A to C in order to be eligible for the initiative.
In July, the government unveiled a list of private and voluntary providers charged with delivering the scheme in 12 regional areas. These providers will receive up to £2,200 for each young person they support, on a payment-by-results basis.
Up to £440 will be paid when a young person agrees to take part, followed by a maximum of £660 once they take up education or training, and £1,100 if they stay on in this provision.
Providers are working with supply partners including local authorities, colleges and voluntary sector organisations to deliver the scheme.
