A stab in the back for Connexions
Ravi Chandiramani
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Local Government Association (LGA) last week issued research purporting to show the overwhelming majority of young people find formal careers advice only "a little bit" or "not at all" helpful.
It also claimed Connexions has by and large benefited only the most disadvantaged young people. LGA children and young people board chair Shireen Ritchie, a Conservative, concluded that given the harsh financial conditions, most young people can receive careers advice from parents, teachers and youth workers instead.
We reported the story on our website. Cue an outbreak of protest to the study on our online forum. And not without justification. The survey of young people (carried out by the National Youth Agency) was of just 79 individuals. Plenty of previous evaluations and Ofsted reports have pointed to young people's positive experience of careers guidance from Connexions.
If the climate looks bleak for public spending in general, it is looking destructive for Connexions in particular. The service relies heavily on the Department for Education's local area-based grant, already slashed by 24 per cent in the coalition's first tranche of savings in June. Our investigation in late July found cuts anticipated of up to 50 per cent across the country.
The fact is, just like any other profession, some Connexions services are great, others not so. Good Connexions help all young people, not just those classified as disadvantaged. They provide realistic advice while taking aspirations into account. Parents, teachers and youth workers might have the young person's interests close to heart but they will lack this expertise. The destruction of good Connexions services will have dire consequences for the economy and society as a whole.
But there is a herd mentality to pan Connexions, reignited by Alan Milburn last year, and pursued by David Cameron and Nick Clegg. The Connexions brand, once fetishised by Labour, still smells of the old government and the coalition wants rid. It doesn't actually matter whether it exists as a brand or not though. What matters is the advice young people receive and its impact. And if the best careers expertise drains from the system, how will the coalition meet its pledge for an "all-age" advice service?
Above all, the LGA's peddling of the latest limited research and its conclusions fly in the face of localism. It should leave councils alone to determine what works in their area and therefore what services to protect.
Ravi Chandiramani, editor, Children & Young People Now