NEET Reduction and Early Intervention Service for Young People in Sefton

The purpose of this commission is to increase the engagement through quality, information, advice and guidance of young people, who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), particularly those from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds who require additional support to access learning and employment opportunities. For this commission, vulnerable groups will include but are not limited to:

• Care Leavers who are NEET
• Looked after Children who are NEET
• Young people with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in place up to the age of 25 and their families
• Teenage Parents
• Young people known to the Youth Offending Service
• Young Carers
• Young people whose families form part of Sefton’s Turnaround Service
• Young people who have been identified as being ‘At Risk’ of becoming NEET when they reach the age of 16 and 17 including elected home educated young people

The Council acknowledges that some young people may face numerous and complex barriers which affect their participation and it is likely these young people may fall into one or more of these vulnerable groups.

The service will reflect localised needs and requirements and will work closely with other Council teams and partner agencies or providers supporting these young people. The successful Supplier will deliver tailored responses in a dynamic and changing environment where NEET rates may be impacted by wider changes such as the availability of suitable Post-16 provision and work in collaboration with the Council to better understand the factors affecting the NEET population.

The Council, like all local authorities, has to consider how best to meet its’ Statutory Duties for NEETs within a dynamic legislative framework whilst also taking into account ongoing budgetary constraints. The Council has therefore concluded that strengthening a more preventative approach at an earlier age will reduce the number of young people being disengaged from age 16 onwards and expects the effects of this shift to increased preventative actions will feed through into reductions in the overall NEET population over the course of this commission and beyond.

The Council now seeks a professional service provider who will deliver this commission for our young people, which will include:

i) The Local Authority Statutory Duty to ensure young people who are not in education, employment and training (NEET), aged 16-19 years old and up to 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan in place receive relevant information, advice and guidance (IAG) in order to be supported to a successful transition into post-16 education, employment and/or training. This includes young people who attend out-of-borough Alternative Provision settings, or who have been excluded from mainstream school and are vulnerable to becoming NEET.

ii) A targeted IAG service to promote Education, Employment and Training (EET) to vulnerable groups. The focus of the targeted service will be through intensive working in partnership with specialist services to support specified vulnerable groups. This will include an engagement Service to target those in the NEET cohort and those whose situation is currently not known, in order to achieve full participation in education/employment/training through to age 18, and ensure individuals are supported to remain EET thereafter.

iii) An early intervention response for young people in years 9,10 and 11 who are deemed most at risk of becoming NEET and disengaging from provision by the age of 16 and 17. The bidder will work closely with statutory services, schools and community partners to deliver interventions to nominated young people. These interventions will be undertaken in partnership with relevant Council teams and other organisations to develop young people’s resilience and motivation to continue learning with mentoring and careers inspiration input (additional to that available to them through schools,) such as training on interview skills and opportunities to engage with employers, understand apprenticeships and other offers of post 16 provision available to them to help them realise their ambitions. The Council is seeking new and innovative delivery concepts focused on Sefton’s particular context. This element of the service will be evaluated on an annual basis and modified on the basis of lessons learnt from practice.