What's happened
Dame Rachel de Souza has warned that roughly 42,000 16-17-year-olds in England are enrolled in colleges but attend less than half the time, a situation she calls a hidden NEET crisis. Official Neet figures exceed one million for 16-24-year-olds, with college non-attendance not captured in the statistics. The government says it will improve attendance tracking across colleges.
What's behind the headline?
Critical Analysis
- The headline belies a broader system gap: attendance data from FE settings is not centrally reported, leaving tens of thousands of youths effectively uncounted. This challenges the reliability of Neet statistics and policy targeting.
- Behind the data is a policy race: schools have attendance tracking, FE providers do not, creating a leverage gap between education and labour-market interventions.
- What’s driving the shift? Part-time work, transport costs, and mental health barriers are cited as key friction points; addressing these could move many from disengagement to employability.
- Forecast: if attendance tracking and targeted support expand, more young people may be reached before disengagement deepens; otherwise, hidden Neets could erode the effectiveness of reform programs.
- Readers should consider how local colleges, as frontline access points, can implement proactive engagement measures to reduce absenteeism and connect students with work opportunities.
How we got here
The issue arises as education officials seek to understand the true scale of youth disengagement. Recent figures show a decline in the overall Neet count, but unseen absences in further education settings suggest a blind spot. Dame Rachel’s findings push for better attendance data, targeted support, and a national strategy to connect attendance with employment opportunities.
Our analysis
BBC Business notes Dame Rachel de Souza’s estimate of 42,000 16-17-year-olds attending college but missing half their classes, and calls for better attendance data across FE. The Independent highlights similar concerns and emphasizes the hidden Neet concept. The Mirror reiterates the scale and advocates for focused government action and Milburn’s Neets review recommendations.
Go deeper
- Will colleges be required to report attendance centrally?
- What specific measures could universities adopt to boost attendance and connect students with work?
- How might this affect youth unemployment statistics in the next year?
More on these topics
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Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
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Rachel de Souza - Children's Commissioner for England
Dame Rachel Mary de Souza DBE is a British educationalist, and former head teacher. She was the founding chief executive of the Inspiration Trust and served in that role until March 2021, when she took up the post of Children's Commissioner for England.
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England - Country of the United Kingdom
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by
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Alan Milburn - Former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom
Alan Milburn is a British Labour politician who was Member of Parliament for Darlington from 1992 to 2010. He served for five years in the Cabinet, first as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1998 to 1999, and subsequently as Secretary of State for Heal
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Department for Education - Government department
The Department for Education is a department of Her Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, education, apprenticeships and wider skills in England.