Shropshire a top performing authority in supporting young people not in education, employment or training

Today’s release of the latest Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) figures by the Department for Education show a welcome decrease in the total number of young people aged 16-24 in Shropshire who are NEET or unknown.

The You Can Project helps students deemed at risk of becoming NEET with information, guidance and support

Figures released this year demonstrate a significant improvement in Shropshire’s figures compared to national and regional averages.

The proportion of Shropshire’s young people who are ‘NEET’ was down 3.3 points since 2023 to 3%. This places Shropshire amongst the highest performing authorities in the country. The national average is 5.6%.

This improvement is due to adjustments to way of working with staff taking a pro-active role in identifying those vulnerable young people in need of help at the earliest opportunity in collaboration with Shropshire secondary schools.

Councillor Andy Hall, portfolio holder for children and education, said:

“Shropshire Council has made huge strides to become one of the top-performing Local Authorities in the country in supporting destinations for post-16 children.

“The positive data released by the Department for Education reflects the renewed approach and tremendous hard work by Shropshire Council staff in the post-16 team and the strong engagement of Shropshire’s schools.

“Shropshire Council staff have worked hard to help and support children and young people prepare for their futures and to access high-quality education and training opportunities. As a result, this has ensured more young people in Shropshire now have clear, actionable plans to guide them beyond secondary school.”

NEET and participation Local Authority scorecard