SEND and NEET should not be treated as separate policy challenges
4 min read
The government has rightly put economic inactivity high on the political agenda.
With almost one million young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), the social and economic costs are impossible to ignore. But if policymakers are serious about tackling the problem, they need to look further upstream.
The NEET crisis does not begin at 16. It begins years earlier, when children start to disengage from education because their needs are not being understood or met.
That is particularly true for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The recent Milburn Review reinforced what many have known for years about the link between SEND and youth economic inactivity. Young people with SEND are around 80 per cent more likely to become NEET than average, while having an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is the strongest identified predictor of becoming NEET between the ages of 17 and 19.
These findings should fundamentally reshape how we think about both SEND reform and economic growth. If policymakers want to reduce youth economic inactivity, they cannot treat SEND as a separate challenge. For many students, the path towards becoming NEET begins with unmet need, disengagement from education and a failure to receive the right support early enough.
Too often, discussions about NEET focus on when a young person leaves education. By then, the warning signs have often been present for years. Persistent absence, school avoidance, poor mental health, exclusion, unmet needs and repeated placement breakdowns are frequently part of the story long before a young person falls out of education, employment or training altogether.
if we continue to view SEND reform, inclusion and NEET reduction as separate policy agendas, we will miss a significant opportunity
In other words, for many vulnerable children, becoming NEET is not a sudden event. It is the culmination of years of disengagement.
The Milburn Review welcomes the government’s focus on earlier identification and better support within mainstream education, but also questions whether reform will happen quickly enough to meet the scale of the challenge. Improving mainstream provision must be central to the answer. Schools need the tools, expertise and resources to meet a broader range of needs, and families should not have to fight for support.
But we should avoid creating a false choice between strengthening mainstream education and recognising the value of specialist provision. A genuinely inclusive education system acknowledges that different children need different forms of support.
For some young people, mainstream school will always be the right environment. For others, particularly those with complex autism, social, emotional and mental health needs, or experiences of trauma, specialist provision can provide the stability, expertise and personalised support needed to re-engage.
Yet specialist schools are too often viewed solely through the lens of rising demand. What is frequently overlooked is their role in preventing poorer outcomes later on.
We see this every day in specialist settings. At OFG, 99 per cent of leavers progress into further education, employment or training. Success depends not simply on academic achievement, but on developing confidence, independence, communication skills and clear future pathways from an early stage.
Importantly, that includes investment in specialist facilities that enable young people to pursue technical and vocational qualifications alongside traditional academic pathways.
At Wetheringsett Manor School in Suffolk, for example, students have access to specialist vocational facilities including a mechanics workshop, construction and electrical training spaces, a hair and beauty salon, and a professional music studio. Almost three-quarters of pupils in Key Stage 4 spend at least one day each week gaining practical work experience, and in 93 per cent of cases, these placements have already led to apprenticeships, employment opportunities and sustained post-16 destinations.
This is not about lowering expectations. It is about recognising that ambition can take different forms for different students. The challenge for government is how to make these kinds of opportunities available to more young people, particularly those already struggling to engage with education.
This also means thinking more broadly about what successful education looks like. Academic attainment matters, but qualifications alone do not guarantee participation. The Prime Minister's recent focus on vocational and technical qualifications is important, but confidence, independence, employability, attendance and belonging matter too.
The government is right to focus on reducing economic inactivity. But if we continue to view SEND reform, inclusion and NEET reduction as separate policy agendas, we will miss a significant opportunity.
If ministers want fewer young people locked out of education, employment and opportunity, they must start by ensuring more children remain engaged in learning in the first place. Specialist schools are not on the margins of that challenge. For thousands of vulnerable children and young people, they are already helping to provide the support, stability and pathways needed to succeed in adult life.
Mike Blakey is Chief Education & Quality Officer at OFG Education
