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Learning opportunities for young people
13/05/2009
Young people in Scotland are to be guaranteed entitlement to a place in learning and training.
Announcing new support arrangements for young people at the Inspiring Scotland Headquarters in Edinburgh Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Fiona Hyslop said that financial support would be targeted at those who need it most.
16+ Learning Choices is the Scottish Government's approach to offering a place in learning to every young person who wants it.
The main elements announced today are:
- New Activity Agreements - From June 2009, ten local authority areas will be piloting these agreements. These will give some of our most vulnerable young people a better range of opportunities to learn in the third sector or the community
- Educational Maintenance Allowances - from academic year 2009-10, we will refocus EMAs to target support more effectively at those from lower income backgrounds who research has shown may have chosen to not to stay in school
- Get Ready For Work - From April 2010 we will be changing the way we support young people on Get Ready for Work so the most vulnerable don't lose out
Fiona Hyslop said:
"This Government is committed to providing more choices and more chances to those who leave school early - I am passionate about improving the life chances of all young Scots and improving the destinations of this group is crucial.
"Through the 16+ Learning Choices that I am launching today, we can ensure that we are aiming our support at the vulnerable young people who need it most. It is our intelligent alternative to the UK Government's plan to raise the school leaving age to 18.
"The third sector has a key role to play in supporting the most vulnerable young people. This is why our innovative Activity Agreements will provide more opportunities for young people to undertake training in the community or through team building or confidence building in the third sector. Voluntary organisations can build up trust and provide a flexible service to young people who have disengaged from school and other public services.
"People are our most valuable resource and I am determined to ensure that everyone in our society has the opportunity to make the most of their educational ability. Recessions have a bigger impact on young people and their chances of competing for jobs and I am determined that we will not allow another lost generation of young people.
"This Government will do all that it can to help us recover from the current downturn and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to continue to contribute to Scotland's future economic success."
Activity Agreements
From June 2009, the Scottish Government will be piloting Activity Agreements in ten local authority areas - Fife, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire. For some of our most vulnerable young people, learning in a community or third sector setting will be the best option as they reach their school leaving age. Building the Curriculum 3 sets out a number of entitlements for all young people, including an entitlement to a senior phase of learning and our Activity Agreement pilots will help to meet those entitlements for some of our most vulnerable young people. The pilots will involve local authorities and their partners improving the range of opportunities available to young people through community and third sector organisations; improving the support, advice and guidance that vulnerable young people can access and offering a financial incentive to young people to put this type of learning on an equal basis with school or college.
Education Maintenance Allowances (EMA)
The Scottish Government knows that, while EMA provides important support for some young people in helping them to remain in learning and improving their performance, there are many young people who would stay in school or college whether they received EMA or not. The Scottish Government will therefore refocus EMA to target support more effectively at those young people who need it most. From academic year 2009-10, the £10 and £20 EMA awards will be removed, aligning the threshold for the £30 EMA award to the threshold for Further Education Bursaries in colleges at £20,351, with an additional higher threshold of £22,403 for young people from families with more than one child in full-time education. These changes will only apply to new applicants for EMA; young people who have previously received an EMA will continue to qualify under the previous rules.
Get Ready for Work
Young people participating in Get Ready for Work currently receive a Minimum Training Allowance of £55 per week. The Minimum Training Allowance, unlike EMA, is not passported against benefits for young people. This means that the small number of vulnerable young people who currently qualify for benefits in their own right are unlikely to participate in Get Ready for Work, even where this would be the most appropriate learning opportunity for them. From April 2010, we will therefore be changing the allowance paid to young people participating in Get Ready for Work to an EMA, set at a special rate of £55 per week.
Young Person's Bridging Allowance
Young Person's Bridging Allowance is a payment which is made to a relatively small number of vulnerable young people; the circumstances which allow a young person to qualify for Young Person's Bridging Allowance are similar to the requirements for Jobseeker's Allowance, which is a more generous allowance. This can mean that some young people are disadvantaged by being awarded Young Person's Bridging Allowance. Young Person's Bridging Allowance has already been abolished in England for this reason. From 30 June 2009, the Young Person's Bridging Allowance will be abolished.