Participation by 16-19 year olds in education and training

Book excerpt: The Education Committee accepts that changes to student support needed to be made, but says that the delay in deciding on allocations and the guiding principles for distribution should not have been allowed to happen. The report states that the Government should have done more to acknowledge the Educational Maintenance Allowance's (EMA) combined impact on participation, attainment and retention, before it decided how to restructure financial support. The bursary scheme which is to replace the EMA will inevitably lead to inconsistencies which could distort young people's choices of where to study. It is not persuaded that bursaries administered by schools and colleges will necessarily be fairer or more discriminating than a slimmed-down, more targeted entitlement such as the EMA. The report also highlights the difficulty of transferring data between schools and colleges and encourages the Department for Education to do more to ensure that information about pupils' needs can move easily between educational institutions. The Committee supports the Government's focus on Apprenticeships but urges it to protect quality at the same time as increasing numbers participating. It also urges the Department for Education to fund the National Careers Service to provide face-to-face careers advice for young people