By Matt Bromley
Alan Milburn, who’s been tasked by the Department for Work and Pensions with tackling a growth in the number of young people aged 16-24 not in education, employment, or training, has just published his interim report entitled Young People and Work. It’s a diagnostic report not a set of policy proposals and, as such, identifies the cause rather than offers a cure. But it’s still worthwhile reading for those of us working in education and there are many key actions we can be taking now in response to its initial findings.
Here’s what I think it means for schools…
The problem
England’s education system performs well overall by international standards, but it continues to deepen disadvantage. Children from poorer backgrounds consistently achieve lower outcomes at every stage of education, and the gap widens as pupils move through school.
By age 7, disadvantaged pupils are already significantly behind their peers. By age 18–19, the attainment gap has almost doubled. Primary school is a critical point: pupils who leave primary school below the expected standard in English and maths are very unlikely to recover later. In practice, many children’s future outcomes are being determined before secondary school begins.
Schools are also facing escalating pressures:
- Rising SEND and mental health needs
- Increased absence and disengagement
- Growing exclusions and elective home education
- Teacher recruitment and retention difficulties in disadvantaged areas
- Funding pressures that are not fully aligned with levels of need
At the same time, many young people feel disconnected from school. Only around two-thirds report feeling they belong at school, and motivation levels are particularly low among disadvantaged groups. Large numbers of students do not believe the curriculum prepares them for work or reflects their strengths and aspirations.
The system remains heavily focused on academic attainment and examinations, while vocational learning, work readiness, careers education, and employer engagement remain secondary. Schools are measured primarily on grades rather than long-term destinations, employment or sustained participation.
The impact
The consequences are significant and long-lasting…
Young people without good GCSEs are far more likely to become NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). Persistent absence, exclusion, SEND needs, and poor mental health all sharply increase this risk.
Key patterns include:
- Disadvantaged pupils are more likely to experience poor attendance, exclusion, and weaker outcomes.
- Pupils with SEND are substantially more likely to become NEET.
- Persistent absence has risen dramatically since the pandemic.
- Missing school strongly predicts lower GCSE attainment and later disengagement.
- Schools in deprived communities are more likely to struggle with staffing and inspection outcomes.
- Access to high-quality careers advice, enrichment, and work experience is uneven and often weakest where the need is greatest.
Employers report that the main gaps are not literacy or numeracy, but confidence, workplace understanding, communication skills, and experience. Many young people leave education qualified on paper but unprepared for employment.
Without intervention, the system risks producing increasing numbers of young people who are academically disengaged, socially disconnected, and poorly prepared for adult life and work.
What needs to happen long-term
1. Prioritise early intervention
The strongest predictors of later disengagement are visible early. Schools should identify and support pupils at risk from Year 7 – particularly those with SEND, poor attendance, behavioural concerns, or low attainment at primary transition.
2. Strengthen belonging and engagement
Pupils are more likely to succeed when they feel safe, valued, and capable. Schools should focus deliberately on:
- Positive relationships
- Inclusion and belonging
- Motivation and confidence
- Smooth transition from primary to secondary
- Meaningful enrichment opportunities
3. Improve attendance through support, not only sanctions
Persistent absence is now a major driver of poor outcomes. Effective responses require:
- Early identification
- Family engagement
- Mental health support
- Flexible, relational approaches
- Cross-agency working
4. Ensure disadvantaged pupils access the strongest teaching
The pupils with the greatest needs are currently least likely to receive experienced, specialist teachers. Recruitment, retention, and workforce development in disadvantaged areas must become a national and local priority.
5. Reform curriculum balance and pathways
Schools need to maintain high academic standards while broadening opportunities. Young people need:
- More vocational and technical learning
- Greater focus on employability and life skills
- Creative, digital, and communication skills
- Flexible pathways that allow different forms of success
6. Expand careers education and employer engagement
High-quality careers guidance and meaningful employer encounters reduce NEET risk. Every pupil should have:
- Regular careers education from primary onwards
- Access to face-to-face guidance
- High-quality work experience
- Encounters with employers and workplaces
- Clear understanding of post-16 pathways
7. Improve SEND and mental health support
Schools cannot carry the burden of the youth mental health crisis alone. Earlier intervention, stronger mainstream provision, and faster access to specialist support are essential.
8. Measure what matters
If schools are judged only on exam outcomes, wider preparation for adulthood will remain marginal. Accountability systems should give greater weight to:
- Destinations
- Sustained participation
- Employment outcomes
- Attendance
- Inclusion
- Student wellbeing and engagement
What we can do now
The report argues that England’s education system is not failing because standards are low overall, but because too many disadvantaged young people become progressively disconnected from learning, school, and future employment.
Schools and teachers are already doing extraordinary work under difficult conditions. However, preventing disengagement and reducing NEET rates will require a system-wide shift: from focusing narrowly on attainment alone towards ensuring every young person leaves school engaged, supported, skilled and genuinely prepared for adult life and work.
I agree. It’s long been my personal view that too much policy attention has focused on how to re-engage young people once they’ve become NEET. But the evidence – and Milburn’s new report – suggests that by the time many young people disengage from education, the underlying causes are already deeply embedded.
Prevention, not simply cure, must therefore become the central organising principle of our response.
Research from the University of Bath’s Connected Belonging project identifies five interconnected domains that help explain why some young people become persistently disengaged: structural factors, institutional experiences, social relationships, family circumstances, and personal challenges. Taken together, these offer a framework for earlier, more strategic intervention in schools.
Structural factors are often overlooked because they sit beyond the school gates. Limited transport routes, restricted course availability locally, and the erosion of youth and community services all shape opportunity. In parts of Yorkshire, a young person’s post-16 options can be constrained as much by bus timetables as by attainment. When vocational pathways disappear locally, participation becomes fragile. Schools can mitigate this through stronger partnerships with colleges, employers, and local authorities, ensuring students understand realistic routes forward before they reach key transition points.
Institutional features also play a role. Persistent low-level disruption, exclusionary behaviour systems, and limited access to pastoral or counselling support can gradually weaken a student’s sense of belonging. Disengagement rarely appears suddenly; it develops incrementally through repeated experiences of marginalisation or perceived failure. Early warning indicators often include declining attendance, reduced participation, or increasing behavioural referrals. Schools that invest in relational approaches, adaptive behaviour policies, and accessible mental health support are more likely to interrupt this trajectory.
Social relationships remain one of the most powerful predictors of sustained engagement. Experiences of bullying, isolation, or limited peer networks correlate strongly with later disengagement. Young people who feel invisible in classrooms frequently become invisible in labour market statistics. Explicit teaching of social skills, structured peer mentoring, and deliberate cultivation of inclusive school cultures can therefore help.
Family circumstances also shape participation in complex ways. Caring responsibilities, high mobility, English as an additional language, or turbulent home environments can disrupt continuity of learning. Children who are looked after, or who experience frequent school moves, often encounter fragmented support systems. Schools can respond by strengthening transition protocols, sharing information more effectively across institutions and adopting key-worker models to ensure continuity of relationships.
Young people with SEND, anxiety, low confidence, or neurodivergence are disproportionately represented in NEET statistics. Disengagement often reflects a mismatch between the structure of schooling and individual need, rather than lack of aspiration. Where curricula remain narrowly academic and assessment-driven, some students simply stop recognising themselves within the system.
Risk factors rarely occur in isolation. Young people living in poverty and identified with SEND are significantly more likely to become NEET, reflecting cumulative disadvantage rather than single causes. Early identification matters. Patterns such as persistent absence in Key Stage 3, repeated fixed-term exclusions, declining homework completion, or withdrawal from enrichment activities frequently precede later disengagement. These signals should trigger targeted, multi-agency responses rather than punitive measures alone.
Here’s an infographic summarising some key takeaways…
Want more advice on fostering a sense of inclusion and belonging? Check out the first two books in Matt’s Equity in Education series published by Routledge…
bee | Bromley Education Enterprises Limited 