The government’s new ‘youth guarantee’ places FE at the heart of the national growth agenda and was included in this week’s Budget announcements. But is this policy focus undermined by a dangerous disconnect?
The youth guarantee’s cap at age 21 ensures there is no guarantee at all for young people with SEND. This, combined with the recent delay of the schools/SEND white paper until the spring and the lack of specific SEND commitment in the new skills white paper, creates a policy vacuum. This suggests an intention to weaken the statutory nature of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) until 25. This is a move that overlooks a fundamental truth: disabled children inexorably become disabled adults, with the same aspirations and dreams as anyone.
Failing to invest in specialist FE, the crucial mechanism for translating years of prior education into life-long impact, entrenches a policy failure that prioritises short-term cost over essential long-term investment. This systemic failure is irresponsible and socially unjust, rooted in a lack of aspiration for young people with additional needs.
The current system views support as a cost to be managed, not a crucial investment in futures.
The government’s Get Britain Working white paper aims for an 80 per cent employment rate. But this goal is impossible if it neglects young people with complex needs. The white paper’s complete failure to mention SEND or the EHCP system demonstrates a profound lack of co-ordination between the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education.
The most damning evidence lies in the jobs market: employment rates for young people who had their disability diagnosed during childhood can be as low as 24 per cent. This statistic is the product of policy disconnect and failure, not just a fact of life.
Children and young people with SEND have been subject to substantial public investment in education, therapies and tailored support. Allowing this investment to vanish at the point of transition into adulthood is short-sighted, squandering years of public spending.
Failure to provide necessary specialist FE support at the point of transition pushes capable individuals onto a lifetime reliance on benefits, becoming a costly drain on public funds rather than contributing to their communities. Tackling the 24 per cent statistic is essential for meeting national growth targets.
With the youth guarantee ending at 21, a college leaver with SEND at 22 or 23 who needs more time to develop skills into adulthood will be ineligible for government support. This omission strongly suggests an intention to curtail the financial and statutory burden of the full zero-to-25 system, effectively drawing a line under the most costly cohort: those aged 21-25 with complex needs.
The solutions are not theoretical; they have been clearly laid out by experts and sector leaders. The government must use the upcoming policy white papers to formally adopt the unified framework recommended by the education select committee, which requires some immediate changes:
- Secure the statutory requirement for EHCPs to continue to 25 and mandate that this legal framework is fully integrated into DWP and DfE employment initiatives, including the youth guarantee.
- Create a dedicated ministerial brief for specialist FE, moving policy responsibility to the skills minister. This would embed specialist provision within the national skills strategy.
- Require collaboration between providers, local authorities and adult services to establish structured, long-term transitions, ending the ‘dropping off’ of responsibility once formal education ends.
The government is right to champion the youth guarantee. But a guarantee that excludes SEND young people is a moral failure. The cost of complacency far outweighs the necessary investment.
Investing in a young person’s agency and independence delivers a valuable societal multiplier effect, benefiting their wider communities. For some young people with SEND, paid employment will not be directly part of their own future. But supporting their independence broadens the scope for their immediate support network to return to the workplace.
The upcoming SEND white paper is a pivotal moment. By securing EHCPs to 25 and properly resourcing employment pathways, the government can transform a vulnerable cohort into independent, contributing members of society. We urge government to make the youth guarantee a promise that holds true for every young person.
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