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Rise in NEETs sparks plea for firms to employ teens


By Dorothy Lepkowska


The demise of the Saturday job and employers recruiting through word of mouth are consigning a generation of young people to unemployment or underemployment, according to a new report. The Youth Employment


Challenge published this week by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), found that youth unemployment began rising in 2005, before the economic downturn. The report calls on every UK


employer to draw up their own “youth policy” to help bring more young people into the workforce. The study was published just


days after it emerged that more than 8,000 teenagers have joined the ranks of NEETs – those not in education, employment or training – as the proportion staying on in school after 16 fell for the first time in a decade. The number of 16 to 18-year-olds


that are considered not in education, employment or training rose 5.7 per cent in a year. More than eight per cent of this age group, or 154,710 young people, were NEETs at the end of 2011 compared to 7.5 per cent or 146,430 in 2010.


The UKCES study found that in


the last two to three years less than a quarter of employers had recruited school or college-leavers, and those that did reported they were well prepared for the workplace. Teenagers who had been to


college were better prepared for work than school-leavers of the same age, it said. Word of mouth was also found


to be the most common way for people to get a job, which put young people without professional networks at a disadvantage. Furthermore, young people are


getting paid less in poorer quality employment with many jobs – especially those in bars, restaurants and retail outlets – in long-term decline and forecast to stagnate further over the next decade. The UKCES report was


accompanied by a guide, Grow Your Own: How young people can work for you, to help employers support young people into work. Charlie Mayfield, chairman


of UKCES and the John Lewis Partnership, said: “We cannot afford to waste the skills and talents of a generation. Small actions can make a big difference, and things like arranging work experience placements, giving talks to young people and offering work


Businesses offer leadership support


Businesses are being urged to forge partnerships with their local schools to help them overcome leadership and workforce challenges. The charity Business in the


Community (BitC) believes that companies can help to support headteachers to develop their staff’s leadership skills. Its Business Class programme


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connects businesses with schools in disadvantaged areas through three- year partnerships. The support covers everything from leadership skills and pupil mentoring to guidance on change-management and strategy. There are currently 175 Business


Class partnerships, involving more than 120 businesses, but BitC wants to see 500 partnerships by 2014 and is calling for more businesses to sign up. The call came at a symposium


this week which saw business leaders and headteachers come together to discuss how they could collaborate. Education secretary Michael Gove was also in attendance and has backed the initiative. In a poll of 50 headteachers as part of the symposium, half


admitted that they do not find it easy to develop excellent leadership throughout their schools or achieve it to a consistent standard. Colette Jones, principal of South


Leeds Academy, is supporting the programme. She explained: “As a leader, you learn from other leaders regardless of the context. I have a clear vision for my academy, but that is not enough. We need to know how to develop the right people in the right way to deliver this vision. Working in partnership with businesses is helping us understand how to develop a winning team.” BitC chief executive Stephen


Howard said: “Leadership is one of the key pillars of our programme and is one area where business can make a positive, sustained contribution in schools.” Mr Gove added: “Business


Class is an excellent example of how schools can take advantage of the expertise and experience that the business world has to offer. The key to its success is the extent to which schools leaders are able to tailor the programme to their pupils and priorities.” Visit www.bitc.org.uk/ community/education/business_class


shadowing and mentoring are just some of the ways employers can help.” Chris Grayling,


the


employment minister, added: “Youth unemployment is a social and economic time bomb. The government’s Work Programme and Youth Contract wage incentive


will help thousands of employers to recruit.” But teachers’ leaders blamed


government policies on the rise in the number of NEETs. Chris Keates, general secretary


of the NASUWT teaching union, said that removing the Educational Maintenance Allowance has


“prevented thousands of our most disadvantaged young people from accessing further education”. She continued: “Combined with the hike in university tuition fees and cuts to the careers service, this has effectively locked out a generation from gaining the skills and opportunities they need to succeed.”


Gender gap in reading begins at home, MPs say


The reading gap between boys and girls is increasing, an investigation by MPs has found. The Boys’ Reading


Commission has found that the gap between how much time boys spend reading and also how much they enjoy reading is widening when compared with girls. The Commission, which


was set up by the All-Party Parliamentary Literacy Group and the National Literacy Trust, has made a series of recommendations, including calling for boys to have weekly access to male reading role-models. MPs and Lords on the


Commission heard evidence from teachers, boys, literacy experts and authors including Michael Rosen and Michael Morpurgo. Their report includes research


from the National Literacy Trust (NLT) showing that in 2005, 57 per cent of girls said they enjoyed reading compared to 46 per cent of boys – a gap of 11 per cent. However, in 2011, this gap increased to 13 per cent as


the figure for boys dropped to 44 per cent. The gap in the amount of time


spent reading has also increased from seven per cent in 2005 to nine per cent in 2011. Currently 36 per cent of girls read outside of class every day compared to 26 per cent of boys. The research covers children aged eight to 16. The Commission said that the


reading gender gap begins in the home, with parents supporting boys “very differently” from girls. Society’s expectations of boys and peer pressure can also prevent some boys from reading, they say. MPs have recommended that


a “toolkit of effective practice” be created to help schools support boys’ reading and have urged schools to focus on reading for enjoyment just as much as the “mechanics” of reading. Meanwhile, family initiatives


should help parents, especially fathers, to support literacy and library support should be available for those boys least likely to be supported in their reading at home.


In 2011, 14 per cent more girls


than boys achieved A* to C in English GCSE – 58.7 to 72.5 per cent – a similar gap to 2010. Commission chairman Gavin


Barwell MP said: “There is no silver bullet, but by promoting reading for enjoyment, ensuring teachers are aware of the materials that will engage boys, getting our libraries to focus on those who fall behind, making sure fathers understand their role as reading role-models, getting volunteer male reading role-models into our classrooms, and using the media to change gender perceptions, we can close the gap.” Schools minister Nick Gibb


added: “Through phonics we are ensuring all children learn the mechanics of reading early in their school career. Helping children to develop a love of reading and a habit of reading for pleasure every day is key to ensuring we have well educated and literate young people.” The Commission’s report is at www.literacytrust.org.uk/boys


School includes peace in 6th form curriculum


A girls’ school has become the first in the country to adopt an international peace programme into its curriculum. The Mount School in York has


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adopted the PeaceJam education programme – which has been designed by Nobel Peace Prize Laureates – into its 6th form college syllabus. Many schools in England use the


international programme through things like after-school clubs, but


2


it is thought that The Mount is the first to have embedded it into the actual curriculum. The programme includes specific


content on the lives and work of the Nobel Peace Laureates, as well as activities allowing the exploration of topics such as violence, poverty and reconciliation. The international PeaceJam


Foundation, based in Colorado, America, is supported by 11 Nobel Peace Laureates and works to


encourage students to identify and initiate projects to benefit their local community. After attending PeaceJam’s


annual UK conference where students met Nobel Peace Laureate Adolpho Perez Esquivel, the head of college, Jo Hayward, and head of history, Helen Snelson, made the decision to adopt the programme into the curriculum. The Mount will host its own “PeaceJam Slam” at the school in


October. The guest speaker will be Rahab Maina, the human rights defender from Kenya, who has staged a long fight for the rights of exploited workers on Kenyan farms. Ms Snelsen said: “The


curriculum will inform our girls about global issues, using the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates as inspiring examples of people who have peacefully engaged in the most difficult problems facing our world.


“The aim is to inform them of


the issues, give them the necessary skills to engage in action, and give them the confidence to know that peaceful action lies well within their abilities.” Student Alice Elliot added:


“PeaceJam has given me a unique perspective and insight into the lives of Nobel Peace Laureates and how we can use their inspiring stories in everyday life.” Visit www.peacejam.org


SecEd • July 5 2012


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