Thousands of teens missing education ‘under the radar’, report warns

Liam Sloan, principal at Bolton College, said not many students missed more than half of classes, but those who were absent often had mental health challenges or part-time jobs.

“Sometimes the student being able to be offered that £30 shift there and then means more… than the potential qualification in six or seven months’ time,” he said.

He said there was a particular issue in English and maths GCSE classes, which students in England are required to study alongside other courses if they don’t have a grade 4 or above.

Attendance rates at the college had improved in recent years though, he said, and this year it has introduced full-time “positive engagement officers” to greet students each morning and contact those who do not show up.

Dame Rachel said she expected the government to respond to her recommendations, including:

Approximately one in eight people aged 16 to 24 are Neet, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics.

In May, the first instalment of a major report by former minister Alan Milburn warned that figure could be one in six within five years, and that the country was “at risk of a lost generation.”

The final instalment is expected to set out recommendations for tackling the problem in the coming weeks.

Dame Rachel’s report describes “hidden” Neets as those enrolled but persistently absent from college, while Milburn’s interim report used it to describe those who are Neet and also not claiming benefits, and are therefore harder to reach.

Cath Sezen, director of education policy at the Association of Colleges, said she agreed with many of the report’s recommendations but said “funding pressures [were] limiting colleges’ ability to provide tailored support”.

“We have called time and time again for increased investment, better integration of support services and a stronger national strategy for employer engagement,” she said.

The DfE said students in further education needed to be prioritised in future reforms to help tackle the Neets crisis.

A spokesperson also said a new stepping-stone qualification would be brought in to reduce the “endless treadmill” of students failing and resitting GCSE maths and English, and that the government would track attendance in colleges and accelerate the rollout of mental health support teams.