Post-16 pathways to the labour market for lower attaining learners at Key Stage 4

This project uses the Longitudinal Educational Outcomes (LEO) data to explore the post-16 educational pathways taken by learners who achieve grade 3 (D) or below in Maths and/or English at Key Stage 4 (KS4).

Despite many initiatives aiming to support learners gaining the qualifications they need to progress to Level 3 study, in 2018 55% of disadvantaged young people achieved only a grade 3 (D) or below in Maths and/or English GCSE at KS4. This sets them on a very different path from more advantaged peers. Young people with lower attainment face a greater variety of post-16 options, and evidence suggests they have difficulty accessing support to make informed educational decisions. This study will describe the pathways taken by young people and their subsequent labour market outcomes up to the age of 30. Current Technical Education policy focuses on the quality of learning opportunities at Level 3 and above. Less attention is paid to improving access and to the potential of Further Education provision to offer ‘second chance’ learning opportunities at Levels 1 and 2. This research will provide the evidence and impact needed to re-focus debate on the post-16 support needed for those most at risk of poor education and labour market outcomes.

PROJECTS OUTPUT

Nuffield Final Report

This report provides a summary of research conducted as part of a Nuffield Foundation funded study that uses linked National Pupil Database (NPD) and Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) administrative data, to carry out three quantitative investigations. These analyse the experiences of different groups of learners between 2011 and 2019, to shed new light on the educational experiences of lower attaining young people, with a particular focus on their post-16 pathways. We draw together findings from these studies to consider the labour market outcomes secured by lower attainers; identifying a pressing need to improve outcomes for these learners, who are predominantly from disadvantaged backgrounds and often have some form of Special Educational Need (SEN) identified early in their school career.

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How can we get more young people to achieve Level 3 qualifications?

This short FFT Datalab blog post discusses post-16 routes to Level 3 qualifications for those not pursuing A-Levels

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