Prevention not cure is the key to dealing with rising number of NEETs - Matt Bromley
I chaired a roundtable recently on the subject of NEET - the number of young people not in education, employment or training, which is edging towards a million, around 15 per cent of young people aged 16–24. Policy attention often focuses on how to re-engage young people once they’ve become NEET – and training schemes, employability programmes, and post-16 pathways do matter.
But the evidence suggests that by the time many young people disengage from education, the underlying causes are deeply embedded. Prevention, not simply cure, must therefore become the central organising principle of our response.
Research from the University of Bath’s Connected Belonging project identifies five interconnected domains that help explain why some young people become persistently disengaged: structural factors, institutional experiences, social relationships, family circumstances, and personal challenges. Taken together, these offer a framework for earlier, more strategic intervention in schools.
Structural factors are often overlooked because they sit beyond the school gates. Limited transport routes, restricted course availability locally, and the erosion of youth and community services all shape opportunity.
In parts of Yorkshire, a young person’s post-16 options can be constrained as much by bus timetables as by attainment. When vocational pathways disappear locally, participation becomes fragile. Schools can mitigate this through stronger partnerships with colleges, employers, and local authorities, ensuring students understand realistic routes forward before they reach key transition points.
Institutional features also play a role. Persistent low-level disruption, exclusionary behaviour systems, and limited access to pastoral or counselling support can gradually weaken a student’s sense of belonging. Disengagement rarely appears suddenly; it develops incrementally through repeated experiences of marginalisation or perceived failure.
Early warning indicators often include declining attendance, reduced participation, or increasing behavioural referrals. Schools that invest in relational approaches, adaptive behaviour policies, and accessible mental health support are more likely to interrupt this trajectory.
Social relationships remain one of the most powerful predictors of sustained engagement. Experiences of bullying, isolation, or limited peer networks correlate strongly with later disengagement. Young people who feel invisible in classrooms frequently become invisible in labour market statistics. Explicit teaching of social skills, structured peer mentoring, and deliberate cultivation of inclusive school cultures can therefore help.
Family circumstances also shape participation in complex ways. Schools can respond by strengthening transition protocols, sharing information more effectively across institutions and adopting key-worker models to ensure continuity of relationships.
Young people with SEND, anxiety, low confidence, or neurodivergence are disproportionately represented in NEET statistics. Disengagement often reflects a mismatch between the structure of schooling and individual need, rather than lack of aspiration. Where curricula remain narrowly academic and assessment-driven, some students simply stop recognising themselves within the system.
Risk factors rarely occur in isolation. Young people living in poverty and identified with SEND are significantly more likely to become NEET, reflecting cumulative disadvantage rather than single causes. Early identification matters. Patterns such as persistent absence in Key Stage 3, repeated fixed-term exclusions, declining homework completion, or withdrawal from enrichment activities frequently precede later disengagement. These signals should trigger targeted, multi-agency responses rather than punitive measures alone.
Matt Bromley is CEO of bee and chair of the Building Equity in Education campaign. Find out more at http://bee-online.uk