The Traveller Movement have released their latest report ‘Reimagining Futures’: a study of ODET online 121 intervention as a transformative approach for young people that are not in education, training or employment (NEET).
ODET was established in response to the rising number of NEET young people, and the over-representation of Ethnic Gypsy, Roma and Traveller young people, and sought to deliver a model of pedagogy rooted in the understanding of the multiple, and oftentimes overlapping, disadvantages faced by the communities in formal education.
On the 24th of October 2023, The Traveller Movement celebrated the launch of the report with a parliamentary event, where Youth Employment UK was invited to take part in the panel. Sarah Latimer, our Senior Education and Careers Lead, gave an overview of the current labour market, and shared the findings from this year’s Youth Voice Census. Our findings emphasise how worried and unsure young people are about their futures, and how to prepare for it.
No young person should be left behind, and programmes like ODET provide tailored support for young people that helps them grow their confidence and prepare them for their future. The government need to recognise that there is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach to youth employment and there needs to be a long term youth employment strategy that includes appropriate levels of funding for programmes that support NEET young people, but also funding for early intervention and tackling the systemic issues that cause young people to become NEET.
Key Findings from the Report
- Ethnic Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils have the highest rates of school absences and are temporarily and permanently excluded from school at a higher rate than any other ethnic group.
- Ethnic Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils also experience significant racism in a school setting, with 70% of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers having experienced discrimination during compulsory education (from both students and staff).
- During the delivery of the pilot programme, ODET noticed that there was a direct correlation between those that succeeded and those who had an active and supportive figures in their lives who were in regular communication with ODET.
- Digital access can present a barrier particularly to those from marginalised communities, and a 2018 report published by Friends, Families and Travellers found that one in five Ethnic Gypsy and Traveller participants had never used the internet, compared to one in ten members of the population.
Recommendations
- The DfE should continue its postponed review of the Education Act (1996) and revise ‘qualifying persons’ eligible to receive support from Youth Services (as defined in section 507b) to include those between the ages of 16-25 without GCSEs in English and maths at Level 4.
- The government should expand its allocation of support for the NTP to include specialist careers guidance for pupils whose predicted grades suggest they are likely to leave formal education without GCSEs in English and maths at level 4, as well as those from disadvantaged backgrounds and looked after children.
- The DfE must permit local youth services to access funding ring fenced for the Local Skills Improvement Plan
- When conducting pre-sentence reports, the Ministry of Justice should expand its definition of ‘priority cohorts’ to include all NEET young people between the ages of 16-25.
- Legislation stemming from the 2020 white paper, A Smarter Approach to Sentencing, should require the National Probation Service to place greater emphasis on one-to-one models of intervention when commissioning rehabilitative services for offenders on community orders.
