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Breaking Barriers Innovations: Education to Employment Interim Report on Stage One – September 2018. Submission to Sunderland City Council Dr Jon Bashford GeorgeEvans-Jones NicholasWerran September 2018 Contents Executive Summary 5 1. Introduction 16 2. The national and local strategic context for skills requirements from employers and industry 20 3. The factors that influence young people when they are making decisions about career choices 46 4. Communication and the relevance of the local education to employment offer 74 5. Engaging industry in the skills agenda 86 6. Conclusions and Next Steps 92 7. Bibliography 96 4 Education to Employment - Sunderland EducationEducation to to Employment Employment - - Sunderland Sunderland 5 Acknowledgements Executive Summary This programme of work would not have been possible without the support of the many This is an interim report that presents the issues that Sunderland and similar cities individuals who contributed their time and shared their views and experiences in findings from the engagement undertaken face in developing skills and meeting the interviews. As these interviews were conducted on a confidential basis we cannot as stage one of the Sunderland needs of those children and young people acknowledge the individuals, but they represented a range of organisations and sectors programme. The report is intended to who are NEET and disadvantaged as part including: provide a springboard for discussion and to of an inclusive growth strategy. inform the development of local plans and Sunderland has a good track record on strategies for ensuring radical improvement growth and a strong vision for its long-term in the aspirations and life chances for post economic future. The city has encouraged 16 - 19 year olds in further education, significant inward investment and created training and employment. The primary new employment opportunities by building focus for the programme thus far has been on its strengths and ensuring the right on those who are NEET or disadvantaged infrastructure is in place. However, in line and what this means for the strategic with many other key cities it also faces context for skills requirements from industry some significant challenges, in particular and the local authority, and Together for being able to radically improve the life Children. Additionally, we examine the chances and aspirations of its young factors that influence children and young people including those who are people’s decision-making on employment We are especially grateful to Irene Lucas (Chief Executive Officer, Sunderland City disadvantaged or NEET. Some of the choices, the communication and Council); Fiona Brown (Executive Director of People Services, Sunderland City Council); challenges in achieving this are relevance of the local education to Sarah Reed (Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Transformation, Sunderland City highlighted in the report include: employment offer and how to further Council); Jill Laverick (Corporate Affairs Manager, Sunderland City Council); Jane Hibberd engage industry in the skills agenda for this (Head of Strategy & Policy for People & Neighbourhoods, Sunderland City Council); Simon group of children and young people. Marshall (Director of Education, Together for Children) It is also the intention that this report and We also like to thank Professor Philip Garner (University of Northampton) for his advice and the findings can be used to highlight key expertise. 6 Education to Employment - Sunderland Education to Employment - Sunderland 7 The national and local strategic context education providers and central and Academies can raise educational have mental health problems as part of for skills requirements from employers government; attainment; more informed and evidenced based and industry strategies for providing mental health • supporting the local authority and • having a sufficiently mixed curriculum to support to the whole workforce. Although the UK economy has been education providers to raise the be attractive and relevant to a more steadily strengthening in recent years these recognition and perceived value of diverse range of pupil needs, for Local authorities face a difficult task in are challenging times for industry and local vocational training, such as T-Levels example enabling those with less fulfilling their leadership role as they have authorities following years of cuts to public and to ensure that these and other new academic potential to thrive within a responsibility and accountability for services and the ongoing uncertainty over vocational qualifications are part of the vocational pathway in education. vulnerable children and young people but Brexit. For cities like Sunderland that are local education to employment offer; less ability to influence the direction and Having a more inclusive approach to dominated by some large employers and delivery of educational provision. • taking adequate account of the addressing skills requirements should include have a relatively narrow employment base Nevertheless, structures are in place in educational needs and aspirations of greater recognition of the needs and across a diverse supply chain of Small and Sunderland by which the local authority children and young people who are characteristics of those who are NEET. For Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), the brings together relevant partners such as disadvantaged including those with example, many children and young people challenges can be especially acute. The through the Education and Economic disabilities and who are at risk of who are NEET experience greater levels of strategic context for skills requirements Leadership Boards and the Children’s becoming NEET as part of a local complex needs and problems including includes some important issues for the local Strategic Partnership. It is important that inclusive plan for skills; mental health problems, problems with authority, education providers, industry and the strategy and work of these partnership substance use and challenging family government including: • providing support to SMEs across more boards is increasingly able to operate on backgrounds. There is a need to ensure that diverse supply chains so that smaller an integrated basis supported by robust • the need to raise aspirations and these children and young people have and medium sized employers and and up-to-date evidence and information. opportunities for young people to obtain access to an appropriate range of support business can be part of the offer for There is also an important ongoing higher and more diverse skills levels; services, with capacity for more intensive vocational training and employment; agenda for the inclusion and participation one to one support. • ensuring that the benefits of the of young people in decision-making and • recognising that the type and mix of government’s Industrial Strategy are Mental health is a particular concern planning, including those who are more secondary school and Academy realised for cities like Sunderland and do amongst the NEET groups of young people disadvantaged and NEET. provision varies across the city and that not just feed into larger, more prosperous and there is increasing evidence that those with less capacity and/or fewer cities; mental health is having a detrimental arrangements for collaboration, such as impact on productivity for employees and • strengthening the local area becoming multi-academy trusts, across industry. There may be significant mechanisms for improving collaboration require additional support and benefit in engaging and learning from between the local authority, industry, leadership to ensure that all schools those young people who are NEET and 8 Education to Employment - Sunderland Education to Employment - Sunderland 9 The factors that influence young people sustain a high quality educational offer, The report contains some preliminary which was above average in 2016 to - when they are making decisions about with greater choice and flexibility in analysis Breaking Barriers Innovations have 0.16 in 2017); career choices curriculum and subjects. done of Sunderland’s Progress 8 and • the attainment gap for maths has Attainment 8 scores. It has been included in The strategic context is important and there Educational progress and attainment almost disappeared from 2016 to 2017 the report to indicate that there are are specific actions that are needed to (-3.2 in 2016 to -0.4 in 2017), while the In so far as educational progress and important trends and differences in support local planning and collaboration gap in attainment for English has attainment is a factor that influences the educational attainment that lie below for skills. It is also important that this is increased (from -13.4 in 2016 to -14.7 in employment chances and choices that average Progress 8 scores, for example: informed by greater understanding about 2017); young people make, it is important that the factors that influence young people • the average score for Sunderland as a there is a nuanced and sensitive • in all schools and academies in 2017 when they are making decisions about whole is -0.31 compared to -0.21 for the approach to the data that can better pupils on Free School Meals (FSM) career choices. These factors can be North East and -0.03 for all state funded inform strategy and local skills plans. perform less well on Progress 8 than multiple, but the main ones that have been schools; those not on FSM and the gap is much raised by respondents include: