Schools fail pupils leaving education, claims think tank
Joe Lepper
Friday, March 11, 2011
Secondary schools are failing the half of all pupils who do not go on to higher education, according to a report by the think tank Demos.
Its report, The Forgotten Half, says schools are too focused on supporting the 50 per cent that go on to university and are not doing enough to help the rest gain necessary skills for work or training.
Published in partnership with the Private Equity Foundation, the report calls for schools to forge better links with local business communities and for Ofsted to put a greater emphasis on inspecting schools' ability to help pupils enter the labour market.
It found that schools undervalue the importance of part-time work and are not doing enough to promote volunteering or helping pupils to build up a credible CV.
School careers advice was also too biased towards attending university and failed to give good advice on apprenticeships and local job opportunities.
Report author Jonathan Birdwell said: "Our schools are teaching just half of the population. The education system needs to be less focused on pushing young people through the hoops of assessment that lead on to higher education, and more on equipping them with the skills to enter and progress through the labour market."
The report also criticised NVQ Level 1 and 2 courses as being too basic and offering little value in the job market.
Instead it would like to see practical skills and working on community projects built into the National Curriculum.
Private Equity Foundation chief executive officer Shaks Ghosh said: "Well-intentioned teachers strive, often in difficult circumstances, to do the very best for their pupils but many kids are leaving school holding a piece of paper which helps them only in joining the Neet waiting list."
According to latest figures for the final quarter of 2010 there were 938,000 16- to 24-year-olds who were classified as Neet, compared with 895,000 during the final three months of 2009.
Published in partnership with the Private Equity Foundation, the report calls for schools to forge better links with local business communities and for Ofsted to put a greater emphasis on inspecting schools' ability to help pupils enter the labour market.
It found that schools undervalue the importance of part-time work and are not doing enough to promote volunteering or helping pupils to build up a credible CV.
School careers advice was also too biased towards attending university and failed to give good advice on apprenticeships and local job opportunities.
Report author Jonathan Birdwell said: "Our schools are teaching just half of the population. The education system needs to be less focused on pushing young people through the hoops of assessment that lead on to higher education, and more on equipping them with the skills to enter and progress through the labour market."
The report also criticised NVQ Level 1 and 2 courses as being too basic and offering little value in the job market.
Instead it would like to see practical skills and working on community projects built into the National Curriculum.
Private Equity Foundation chief executive officer Shaks Ghosh said: "Well-intentioned teachers strive, often in difficult circumstances, to do the very best for their pupils but many kids are leaving school holding a piece of paper which helps them only in joining the Neet waiting list."
According to latest figures for the final quarter of 2010 there were 938,000 16- to 24-year-olds who were classified as Neet, compared with 895,000 during the final three months of 2009.
