Challenges such as entrenched poverty, growing health needs, labour market instability and a post-16 qualification system in turmoil have contributed to a rise in 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training to 957,000, according to the latest figures just out.
One of the most significant pressures is the rise in health-related barriers to participation.
More than half of NEET young people report a health condition, and demand for specialist mental-health services has more than doubled since 2020.
Yet access remains uneven, with long CAMHS waiting lists and patchy rollout of mental health support teams across schools and colleges.
Young people with SEND face even greater disadvantage: they are four times more likely to be NEET. Transitions into secondary school can be particularly destabilising, contributing to absence and disengagement. This reflects not a lack of ambition, but a system poorly designed around the needs of vulnerable young people.
Poverty and place-based inequality compound these challenges. High transport costs, limited services in rural and coastal areas and housing insecurity all restrict access to learning.
Opportunity varies starkly across England and for many in rural or more isolated areas, travelling to college or an apprenticeship provider is unaffordable or impractical.
The system is also wrestling with qualification reform. The growing mix of A Levels, T Levels, applied generals, alternative academic qualifications and forthcoming V Levels creates a complex landscape to navigate.
The defunding of some qualifications before alternatives are established risks leaving cohorts without a suitable local option, especially where T Level industry placements cannot be delivered. This is narrowing rather than expanding pathways.
The GCSE English and maths resit policy remains another longstanding barrier which can undermine engagement. While the recent skills white paper outlines future changes, ASCL remains concerned that the reforms fall short of removing this barrier to progression.
Meanwhile, youth unemployment remains higher than overall unemployment, and economic inactivity has surged.
Employers increasingly report that young people lack technical and wider employability skills, partly because structured work experience opportunities have declined.
Apprenticeships, although promising, remain limited: SMEs are far less likely to offer them, reducing opportunities in the very places that need them most.
Another glaring weakness is the lack of coordination at critical transition points. There’s no national mechanism for tracking post-16 attendance, meaning early warning signs of disengagement go unnoticed.
Once a young person leaves a school or college, there’s little capacity to maintain contact. Local authority duties end on the last Friday in June of Year 11 – misaligned with the requirement for young people to remain in education or training until 18. The system effectively loses sight of young people at the moment they are most vulnerable.
Participation partnerships
We’re calling for a national 14-24 participation strategy, supported by local ‘participation and progression partnerships’ with statutory responsibility for transition oversight.
Mandatory transition reviews – modelled on those used for education, health and care plans – would help identify risks earlier. Health and SEND support must be strengthened through the rollout of mental health support teams, statutory maximum waits for children’s mental-health services and integrated SEND mental-health provision within FE settings.
Qualification reform must be stabilised by pausing the defunding of applied generals, expanding level 2 and below provision, and introducing a national directory of post-16 admissions requirements.
We also want to see centralised post-16 attendance tracking that reflects the flexibility of FE timetables, an expanded definition of Children Missing Education (CME) up to age 18, and a statutory re-engagement duty for learners withdrawn under the four-week funding rule.
A youth guarantee offering every 16 to 24-year-old a job, apprenticeship, education place or re-engagement programme without waiting 18 months to qualify, as is the case with the current proposal, would help ensure no young person is left without options.
Improved transport, more accessible apprenticeships and secure accommodation for vulnerable 16 to 19-year-olds would remove some persistent barriers to participation.
The NEET crisis is complex. But with coordinated cross-governmental reforms, early intervention and a stable, accessible post-16 system, it can be reversed.
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