Why early SEMH Support must be a Priority in Tackling the NEET crisis
Alan Milburn’s review offers a crucial opportunity to tackle rising youth inactivity, but early, targeted support for young people with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs must be central to any government strategy addressing the NEET crisis.
Youth inactivity in the UK is persistently high, with one in eight 16–24-year-olds currently missing out on work, education or training. Those of us working on the frontline with young people every day are all too familiar with contributing factors such as the growing pressure on services, the increasing complexity of need and a system that often intervenes too late. As FE professionals, you will know all too well the challenges you face in providing tailored support within a wider system not fully equipped or designed to suit.
At Career Connect, we are also witnessing first-hand the gaps in support for those with complex needs as they transition from education into employment. Our recent research highlights a clear and concerning link between young people’s SEMH needs and time spent not in education, employment or training (NEET).
We found that young people with both SEMH needs and an Education, Health and Care Plan are five times more likely to spend time NEET in Year 12 than those without identified needs. And more than a third experience periods out of education or employment at precisely the point when they should be establishing their next steps.
At the same time, it is also being reported that the number of young people claiming health related benefits linked to mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions has risen sharply. These trends demand a joined-up response across health, education, skills, and employment services.
Early intervention is crucial
Too often, support is only triggered once a young person reaches crisis point, by which time, disengagement has already taken hold. In our experience, warning signs appear much earlier, particularly during Key Stage 3. Yet the current system rarely allows for meaningful intervention until needs escalate, exclusions increase or attendance suffers.
The consequences are clear. Rising rates of elective home education, school refusal, suspensions and exclusions all indicate a system under strain. Once a young person becomes disengaged from learning, re-engagement becomes significantly harder, for both the individual and the services supporting them.
Our research and frontline experience show that early, targeted intervention works. In one local authority, we delivered a co-ordinated support programme that reduced time spent NEET in Year 12 across a whole cohort by an average of 78 days. This is what an invest to save approach looks like in practice, but unfortunately, it remains the exception rather than the norm.
Transitions remain a critical weak point
Our study found that the transition from school into post-16 education or training continues to be one of the most fragile points in a young person’s journey; almost 37% of young people with SEMH challenges became NEET after leaving post-16 provision. In many cases, this was not due to a lack of motivation or ability, but because the education or training they signed up for was not designed to meet their needs. Having spoken to staff in FE colleges and providers of specialist education and training as part of this research, we know that this is recognised within the sector, and that colleagues are calling for a system that allows every young person to receive the tailored support they need and deserve. Equally important, young people themselves must be involved in shaping the services designed to support them. Evidence consistently shows outcomes improve when young people’s voices are genuinely heard and acted upon.
Our research identified providers doing excellent work to support young people with complex SEMH needs through flexible models, smaller group settings, and personalised support, including Initial intensive transition support – and we’re calling for these models to be learned from and scaled up. However, we found that right now these approaches are often reliant on short-term funding, so can end up being limited in scale. Provision is also often limited to EHCP holders, meaning delays in identification may result in many falling through the cracks. Without stability and consistency, too many young people are left navigating a system that was not built with them in mind. In the immediate term, we’re also calling for all post-16 educators to be equipped with the training and tools they need to work confidently with young people facing SEMH challenges, the severity of which can vary significantly.
What needs to change
No single agency holds responsibility for ensuring smooth transitions for young people with SEMH needs. But reforming SEMH support must be central to any strategy tackling youth inactivity.
Based on our research and frontline experience, we believe this requires:
- Identifying and supporting young people earlier, ideally from Year 9, before disengagement sets in and making this the default model
- Reforming funding structures to support SEMH needs
- Prioritising dedicated SEMH transition support in every local authority and producing updated, practical guidance including step-by-step protocols for SEMH transitions. This should be co-designed, strengthening the voice of young people in their provision.
- Scaling up and sustaining proven FE provision for learners with SEMH needs
- Improving data sharing and consistency across local authorities to ensure no young person is failed by the system
- Establishing clear Gatsby-style national benchmarks for careers support for 16–17-year-olds who are NEET
- Providing continued, structured support through the transition into post-16 education and training
- Investing in training for post-16 educators so they are equipped to work confidently with young people facing SEMH challenges
Youth inactivity is not inevitable. Reversing current trends requires more than short-term initiatives or pilot programmes, it demands structural reform in how young people with SEMH needs are identified, supported and tracked across education, skills and employment services.
Alan Milburn’s review could be pivotal in re-shaping the government’s approach but without urgent reform of the support available to young people with SEMH needs, especially at the transition into post-16 provision, NEET figures will remain high and too many young people with SEMH needs will continue to be left behind.
By Sheila Clark, CEO of Career Connect
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