Cheshire East best for NEETs!

Cheshire East Council has yet again outperformed in the North West – achieving the lowest level of  NEETs in the region.

The latest figures (for July) show the authority has just three per cent of its young people ‘not in employment, education or training’.

Delivering an effective NEETs programme has been a key focus for Cheshire East Council, which, as part of its pledge for 2015 is working to ensure that every school leaver will be offered a place in learning as part of the ‘September Guarantee’ offer.

Cheshire East Council Leader Michael Jones said, “We are very encouraged by the latest release of figures and will continue to give young people across Cheshire East the best start in life.

“This includes providing them with the support they need to find work and training opportunities so they have a brighter future because, as part of our council pledge to the local community, ‘Every Child Matters’.

“We introduced the youth support service to replace Connexions, and have delivered some of the lowest  NEET figures this year across the UK. We have achieved a three- month average in May – July of 2.9 per cent.

“We will endeavour to reach zero per cent  NEETs through forging partnerships with the local business community to improve apprenticeship opportunities.“Working with key partners allows us to focus on the issues that can cause young people to become  NEETs .”

The youth support service (YSS) is instrumental in providing one to one support and advice for  NEETs young people aged 16-19yrs through one to one work, group sessions, focused interviews, and referrals into learning and training.

Initiatives include youth clubs and projects for young people to help them engage in learning or training post-16. There is also the opportunity to develop skills through volunteering work.

The YSS holds the licence for Cheshire East Council for Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) programmes, which includes support to both schools and voluntary units.

A key motivator for no more  NEETs is the quality of education that Cheshire East can offer within the Borough. In Cheshire East, 93.6 per cent of schools have been rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted and the Council is working with the University Technical College in Crewe and The All-Through Learning Campus in Knutsford to provide further support to students.

The Department for Education state that the 16-to-24  NEET rate is at its lowest level in a decade (July 2015). Youngsters must now stay in education, employment or training until age 18, which means that each Council has a responsibility to keep  NEET levels low by the provision of youth support programmes.