Tens of thousands of teenagers are "hidden" from official figures on the Neets crisis and falling through the cracks, the Children's Commissioner has warned.
Commissioner's warning on hidden Neets
Dame Rachel de Souza raised the alarm amid a government review into tackling the almost one million young people classed as Neets - those not in employment, education or training. She has estimated some 42,000 16 and 17-year-olds in England are enrolled in colleges - but attending less than half the time, meaning they are effectively disengaged from education.
But they do not form part of the official 'Neet' statistics leading to today's call for action from the Children's Commissioner to former Labour Cabinet minister Alan Milburn.
Review led by Alan Milburn
He has warned the country risks creating a "lost generation" and was tasked by Work and Pensions chief Pat McFadden to bring forward recommendations to help more young people into work, education, or training. There was a decrease in the most recent figures - published in August - which showed an estimated 981,000 Neets in April to June, which was a fall of 30,000 compared to the first quarter of the year.
But the figure was still 30,000 higher than a year ago, the Office for National Statistics said. Dame Rachel's office has now obtained figures from further education settings, which she said are not required to report to the Department for Education on attendance in the same way as schools.
College attendance data
Responses from 262 of England's 290 college groups suggested 28,528 young people aged 16 and 17 were severely absent - meaning they missed half the sessions they were expected to attend. Her office extrapolated the data across all college groups in England and estimated this represents around 41,995 students being severely absent.
Dame Rachel said: "I've heard from hundreds of thousands of children - they are ambitious, they want to do well, they want to work. Young people need a full, rich education that gives them the knowledge and skills to get on in life, but I have long argued too many children are missing out."
"My concern is that tens of thousands of children are currently being counted as 'in education' when, in reality, they are barely attending. We have a blind spot: hidden NEETs slipping through the cracks, young people with all the negative impacts of not being in employment, education or training but with none of the targeted interventions designed to help and support them.
"Further education is the crucial bridge between school and work, and that is why any solution to the NEETs crisis must address attendance must be built on urgently identifying and supporting young people before they disengage from education."
Ex-Labour minister and Neets review author Mr Milburn said: "The Children's Commissioner is right to shine a light on hidden NEETs.
"The fact that colleges have no obligation to report attendance means tens of thousands of young people can disengage entirely without clear accountability. A better system is needed to ensure that no young person can be lost in this way."
