News
eYPU Issue 314, 4 August 2010
04 August 2010
Education, employment and training
DfE has published The Role of Information, Advice and Guidance in Young People’s Education and Employment Choices. The report explores how much difference the availability of careers advice/information, advice and guidance (IAG) makes to young people’s attitudes to school and expectations for post-16 activities, and to the decisions they take after reaching the minimum school-leaving age. It finds that although careers education and IAG appears to influence young people’s opinions before the age of 16, it has little effect on the decisions that young people make when they reach 16. On Connexions services particularly, the report concludes that such provision has modest benefit.
DfE has also published Activity Agreement Pilots: Follow-Up Survey of 2007-2008 Participants. The paper presents findings from the follow-up survey of young people who took part in the first impact survey for the evaluation of activity agreement pilots. The initiative used financial incentives, intensive support and tailored activities to encourage disengaged young people back into education, employment and training. It found that two years after the first interview, Activity Agreements had a sustained impact on participation in work-based training or studying towards a qualification, with 48 per cent of participants reporting doing some studying or work-based training between the time of the first and follow-up interview.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and campaign group Internocracy has published Why Interns Need a Fair Wage. The report claims that unpaid internships are common and that many young people working for free as interns are legally entitled to be paid. It claims that employers almost certainly break the law with interns, with many mistakenly believing they can take on people on a voluntary basis if both sides agree. The report says that many talented but less well-off young people lose out on the chance to get really valuable experience because they cannot afford to take internships offering no or very low pay.
Children and young people’s services
DfE has announced an independent commission into early intervention, which aims to ensure that children at greatest risk of multiple disadvantage get the best start in life. The commission will be chaired by Graham Allen MP. The review will report examples of best practice in an interim report on funding by the end of January 2011. A final report will be produced by May 2011.
Ofsted has launched a consultation to seek views on proposals for a revised framework for the inspection of children’s homes. The closing date for the consultation is 31 October 2010.
DfE has published Extended Services Evaluation: End of Year One Report. The report provides a summary of findings from the first year of the evaluation of extended services, which aims to measure how successful schools have been in offering a range of services, whether services meet the needs of users, and how successful extended services have been in improving outcomes and raising standards of achievement.
Youth justice
Latest figures from the Home Office reveal that a total of 6,747 10-14-year-olds were given an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) between 1 April 1999 and 31 May 2010, including 35 ASBOs given to children just 10 years old. The figures also show that more than half of all ASBOs issued in England and Wales from 2000 to 2008 were breached. Home Secretary Teresa May has announced a review of the system and said it is ‘time to move beyond’ ASBOs, signalling the possible end of their use in England and Wales.
The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has published its annual report and accounts for 2009/10. The report outlines the achievements secured in the youth justice system during 2009/10 including the continued reduction in first-time entrants to the youth justice system.
Safeguarding
The Home Office has announced the national roll-out of the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme (known as Sarah’s law). The scheme provides members of the public with a way to check whether people who have contact with their children are a possible risk. The decision to expand the programme follows the independent evaluation of a £600,000 pilot scheme in four police force areas, which claimed that more than 60 children were protected from abuse due to the pilot scheme. The scheme has been rolled out to eight other force areas and will be implemented across England and Wales by March 2011.
Participation
The National Youth Agency has launched the Hear by Right Award. The Award has been developed to help organisations that take the voice of young people seriously showcase their achievements and the contribution of the young people they work with. Organisations applying for the Award measure themselves against different indicators across each of the seven Hear by Right Standards, depending on which level they want to achieve. Find out more about Hear by Right and the new Award, or sign up to a half day Hear By Right Bitesized and Badgeable workshop.