Who are the young people who are not in education, employment or training? An application of the risk factors to a rural area in the UK

Abstract

Young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) are a focus of government attention in the UK. For social service professionals the mechanisms underpinning the individual experience of NEET are critical to designing effective interventions. International comparisons point to similar experiences at the level of the individual family. This article examines the factors that may contribute to a young person becoming NEET and applies these to the demographics of a rural area in England. Poor educational attainment and low socio-economic status are key factors, with the mental well-being of young people as a proposed underpinning mechanism.

On the educational edges of a learning society: the Finnish hinterland as a framework of educational choices for young people

“…An important loss for people who live in the hinterland is the shutdown of public transportation as a consequence of systematic reductions in public funding (cf. Sadler, Akister, and Burch 2015). For the few young people in the hinterland, this is a serious loss; they depend heavily on transportation possibilities because the services that they need are now located far away.…”

Can Activity Projects Improve Children’s Wellbeing during the Transition to Secondary Education?

“…Factors which can be linked to poor educational attainment have been explored and include negative school experiences, lack of self-confidence and self-esteem, and persistent truancy (Furlong, 2006;Sachdev, Harries, & Roberts, 2006). The location of the study reported in this paper has high levels of NEET (Sadler, Akister, & Burch, 2014) and this is why the participating schools have proposed this research which explores the impact of summer activity projects, designed to promote an effective transition between primary and secondary school. The underpinning assumption of such projects is that a smooth transition will lead to greater pupil wellbeing, hence offering the potential for improved educational achievement.…”

Evaluation of a surfing programme designed to increase personal well-being and connectedness to the natural environment among ‘at risk’ young people

“…Apart from the obvious problems for the young people, their families and schools at the time, these individuals are also at particular risk of becoming 'Not in Education, Employment, or Training' (NEET) when they reach age 16 (Bynner & Parsons, 2002). Sadler, Akister, and Burch (2014), for instance, found 40% of young people in England who had been permanently excluded from school were NEET for over 12 months, compared to just 6% of those who had not been excluded. The consequences of this can be detrimental to the health and well-being of the young people concerned, including increased risk of depression and mental health problems compared to older unemployed people (Public Health England, 2014), and having a higher risk of being involved in crime and drug use (Powis, Griffiths, Gossop, Lloyd, & Strang, 1998).…”