1

APPENDIX 2

14 - 19 Strategic Commissioning Statement 2012-2013

1. Purpose of the Strategic Commissioning Statement 1.1 Halton Borough Council, under Sections 15ZA and 18A of the Education Act

1996 (as inserted by the ASCL Act 2009), has a statutory duty to secure sufficient suitable education and training opportunities to meet the reasonable needs of all young people in the borough. Young people are those who are over compulsory school age but are under 19 years old; or aged 19-25 and subject to a learning difficulty assessment; and young people subject to youth detention.

1.2 Working with partners, Halton Borough Council will shape provision in the

borough by identifying gaps, enabling new provision and developing the market. The purpose of the Strategic Commissioning Statement is to provide an overview of provision and identified priorities for the borough.

2. Commissioning Environment 2.1 Throughout the process of completing the Strategic Commissioning Statement

the current and emerging commissioning environment is being taken account of. This includes:

National Government

2.2 There currently exists a wealth of government policy documents that impact

on the commissioning environment. These include: The Education Bill 2011; WOLF Review of Vocational Education; Academies Act; SEN Green Paper ‘Support and Aspiration: A New Approach to Special Educational Needs and Disability’; Consultation on School Funding 2011-12; Consultation on the 16-19 Funding Formula Review; Free Schools; University Technical Colleges and; the Marmot Review of Strategic Health Inequalities in England.

Children and Young People Plan 2011-14

2

2.3 Halton Children’s Trust Vision for Children and Young People is:

“Halton’s amibition is to build stronger, safer communities which are able to support the development and learning of children and young people so they grow up feeling safe, secure, happy and healthy, and ready to be Halton’s present and Halton’s future”.

2.4 The Children’s Trust has set 3 main areas for the improvement over the next 3

years and they are:

• Improve outcomes for children and young people through embedding integrated processes to deliver early help and support. This means that we will deliver services in a joined up way to make sure children and their families get the right help at the right time.

• Improve outcomes for children and young people through effective joint commissioning. This means we will plan and fund services for children together, to make sure we deliver high quality services that are value for money and;

• Improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children and young people by targeting services effectively. This means that we will focus services towards the needs of our most vulnerable children and young people to make sure they are getting the right support.

Sustainable Community Strategy

2.5 A new Sustainable Community Strategy for 2011 to 2026 was agreed on the 1st April 2011.

2.6 The Sustainable Community Strategy five priorities for Halton are:

• Healthy Halton

• Environment and Regeneration in Halton

• Halton's Children and Young People

• Employment, Learning and Skills in Halton

• Safer Halton

2.7 The key targets within the Sustainable Community Strategy which relate to 14-19 are:

• Increase the percentage achieving Level 3 at 19

• Reduce the percentage of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET)

• Increase the percentage of young people progressing to Higher Education.

3

Employment Learning and Skills 2.8 The development and promotion of businesses and enterprise in Halton are

identified as key priorities in the borough’s Sustainable Communities Strategy and the supporting Employment Learning and Skills Action Plan (2011-2013).

2.9 Our overall aim is: “To create an economically prosperous borough that

encourages investment, entrepreneurship, enterprise and business growth, and improves the education, skills and employment prospects of our residents and workforce so they can share in all the opportunities Halton affords”.

2.10 The Employment Learning and Skills thematic partnership have identified the

following long term priorities:

• ‘Developing a strong, diverse, competitive and sustainable local economy’;

• Fostering a culture of enterprise and entrepreneurship and make Halton an ideal place to start and grow a business’;

• Developing a culture where learning is valued and raise skill levels throughout the adult population and across the local workforce;

• Promoting and increasing the employability of local people and tackling barriers to employment to get more people into work.

• Maximising an individual’s potential to manage and increase their income, including access to appropriate, supportive advice services.

3. Positive Progress so far…. 3.1 There has been significant progress in a number of key areas for young people

in Halton and these are reflected below:

• Best ever participation amongst 16 and 17 year olds; (DfE data in Strategic Analysis at Appendix A, paragraph 2.4.1 Table 4)

• More young people are going into jobs with training; (NCCIS Activity Survey, DfE in Strategic Analysis at Appendix A, paragraph 2.2.1 Table 3)

• Risk of NEET (RONI) indicators now identified and are recorded to inform prevention strategy; (paragraph 2.6 in Strategic Analysis at Appendix A)

• Significant amount of European funding awarded to provide additional support and provision to help the most vulnerable young people progress into education, training and employment;

• More young people with complex needs accessing local provision than having to move away from families and local community; (paragraph 4.2.5 in Strategic Analysis at Appendix A)

4

• Key Stage 4 results for Children in Care show an increase in young people achieving both at Level 1 and Level 2; (CiC Education Performance 2010/11, paragraph 4.3.3, Table 15 in Strategic Analysis at Appendix A)

• Higher levels of Care Leavers in Education, Employment and Training than both regionally and nationally; (paragraph 4.4.3 in Strategic Analysis at Appendix A)

• Significant increase in the number of young people starting an Apprenticeship; (National Apprenticeship Service data 2009/10, paragraph 5.1.2 Table 19 in Strategic Analysis at Appendix A)

• Higher success rates on Apprenticeships than both regionally and nationally including improvements for young people with Learning Difficulties and / or Disabilities; (National Apprenticeship Service data paragraph 5.7, Table 24 in Strategic Analysis at Appendix A)

• Overall success rates in Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges are above England average and have increased year on year; (paragraph 5.8.1 Table 25 in Strategic Analysis at Appendix A)

• Achievement at GSCE in the borough continues to improve with significant increases in the proportion of school leavers achieving 5 or more A*-C including English and Maths and; (paragraph 6.1 Table 33 in Strategic Analysis at Appendix A)

• Significant improvements in achievement of Level 2 and L3 by 19 including those young people eligible for free school meals (paragraph 5.12.1

Table 29 in Strategic Analysis at Appendix A.

3.2 Whilst significant progress has been made during 2011-12 there are challenges ahead. These challenges have been identified and six key priorities areas are set out below.

4. Halton Borough Council 14 – 19 Priorities 4.1 In order to identify Halton Borough Council’s key priorities for 2012-13 a

Strategic Analysis of provision and need has been undertaken along with an overview of the Employment, Learning and Skills needs of the borough. These are contained within Appendix A and B. As a result of this analysis the following six priorities have been identified.

Priority 1: Improve participation and achievement of vulnerable groups Priority 2: Ensure all Halton young people have access to appropriate independent, information, advice and guidance Priority 3: Put in place effective strategies to reduce the number of young people at risk of becoming or who are already NEET

5

Priority 4: Plan for the raising of the participation age to 17 by 2013 and 18 by 2015 Priority 5: Ensure access to higher level qualifications that supports progression through to learning and employment. Priority 6: Respond to the changes in the Local and National Educational landscape

4.2 To ensure a greater impact is made, within each of the six priorities, key focus

areas have been identified. These have been informed by the national and local commissioning environment, the strategic analysis and information from representative groups across the borough.

5. Priority Areas

5.1 Priority 1: Improve Participation and Achievement of Vulnerable Groups

Key focus areas:

• Work with professionals across the Local Authority and partner agencies to establish a more robust data system to identify and track young people in vulnerable groups in order to identify vulnerable groups within the NEET cohort and to commission appropriate support and educational provision.

• Reduce vulnerable young people in the NEET cohort.

• Work with all providers to raise participation and achievement of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities in Further Education, Sixth Form Colleges, School Sixth Forms, Academies, Apprenticeships and Foundation Learning.

• Further develop local provision to meet the needs of all vulnerable young people including those with more complex needs.

• Ensure a smooth transition for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities from pre16 to post 16 education and training.

• Respond to the outcome of the consultation on school funding reform with regard to funding for high cost Special Educational Needs (SEN) and learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and work closely with the Education Funding Agency (EFA) to ensure arrangements are in place for 2013-14.

• Respond to the outcome of the SEN Green Paper.

6

• Put in place flexible programmes to support Young Offenders and those with ‘at risk’ behaviours

Context

5.1.1 Under Sections 15ZA and 18A of the Education Act 1996 (as inserted by the

ASCL Act 2009), Local Authorities have a duty to secure sufficient suitable education and training opportunities to meet the reasonable needs of all young people in our area aged 16 to 19.

In addition to this:

• young people who are aged 19 to 25 and subject to a learning difficulty assessment and;

• young people subject to youth detention. 5.1.2 The term vulnerable groups covers young people with a wide range of needs

and it was therefore considered that in order to make a real difference the focus needs to be on young people that the Local Authority has a duty to and those that have been identified by the NEET Vulnerable Pupil Group. These are:

• Young People known to YOT

• Young People in Hostel Accommodation

• Young people with Emotional, Health and Wellbeing issues

• Young People who have multiple flags (eg teenage parents, substance misusers, children in care and those ‘at risk’ identified through the Risk of NEET Indicators)

• Young people with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities (LDD) 5.1.3 There are significant issues around identifying and tracking young people

within vulnerable groups. Some data systems exist and are currently being developed to enable the identification and tracking of young people pre 16 however this needs further development in order to provide robust information on which to plan and commission provision post 16.

5.1.4 Within the Post 16 sector there is no statutory duty to report on learners within

vulnerable groups other than LDD and disadvantage and therefore we cannot accurately identify the participation and achievement of vulnerable groups across the post 16 sector.

NEET Vulnerable Groups 5.1.5 The information on vulnerable young people within NEET is limited to those

with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, care leavers and young offenders

7

and does not provide all of the data relating to the vulnerable groups identified in paragraph 5.1.2.

Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities 5.1.6 2011/12 Quarter 1 data from Connexions shows that there were 465 Halton

16-24 year olds with LLDD. 64.73% of this cohort were ‘In Education, Employment or Training’ at this reporting period, which is slightly lower than the Greater Merseyside average (66.86%). 11.83% of the 16-24 LLDD cohort were NEET in June 2011 compared to 15.78% in June 2010. Additionally, 23.01% of Halton LLDD destinations in June 2011 were ‘Not Known’.

5.1.7 Young people with LDD who are NEET remain a key priority group. When

broken down by age, data from the previous quarter show that 14.55% of 16 years old with LDD were NEET, 16.49% of 17 year olds, 16.67% of 18 year olds, 38.46% of 19 year olds and 44.09% of 20+ year olds. Anecdotally, many young people with LDD aspire to employment however opportunities have been limited. Progression routes from education and training needs to be considered within the Transition Sub Group and appropriate actions identied.

Care Leavers 5.1.8 Data from the Local Authority monitoring report for 2010/11 indicate slightly

more care leavers aged 16-19 are in Education, Employment or Training as opposed to NEET. Two care leavers engaged in Higher Education.

5.1.9 NCCIS data from DfE confirms that at March 2011 there were 9 Halton 19

year old care leavers. 67%, of this cohort (6 learners) were in EET at this reporting period, which is higher than both the regional (47%) and national average (45%). The activities of all 9 learners were known, compared to over a quarter of 19 year old care leavers nationally recorded as Not Known in March 2011. Although this is positive by comparison care leavers remain a key priority group.

Young Offenders

5.1.10 Information from the Young Offending Team (YOT) states that the number of

school age young people who finished their YOT Order between 1st July 2010 and 30th June 2011 was 24 and they all had a school place to return to. There were 60 post 16 young people, 39 went into education, employment or training and 21 were NEET.

5.1.11 Information provided by Connexions indicates that at Quarter 1 (June 2011),

50.00% of the Halton 16-18 Youth Offender cohort was in EET, this is a slight decrease compared to the same period in 2010. Connexions reported that the total number of Halton 16-18 youth offenders was 34 in June 2011 compared to 32 in 2010.

8

Preventing NEET – pre 16

Children in Care 5.1.12 In Quarter 1, March 2011 there were a total of 127 Halton children in care. Of

these 18 were in Years 9, 10 and 11. Of the 18, 50% have a special education need.

5.1.13 Provisional GCSE results for 2010/11 show improvement in national

performance benchmarks. 44% of Halton CiC achieved a Level 2 qualification compared to 30% in 2010 and a quarter achieved the national standard benchmark of 5+A*-C grades including A*-C in English and Maths. Performance in these two measures compares to provisional LA GCSE results of 86% and 56% respectively.

Risk of NEET Indicator (RONI) for year 7 and year 8

5.1.14 A number of common vulnerable indicators have been identified from previous

analyses of the Halton 16-18 NEET cohort. This analysis has led to the 14-19 Team developing a Risk of NEET Indicator (RONI) tool to assist Secondary Schools in identifying learners potentially at risk of becoming NEET upon leaving school. The analysis consists of identifying multiple indicators, to help schools to target those learners identified as being most ‘at-risk’ and will feed into consideration of the data available.

Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilties

5.1.15 The Local Authority has a duty to secure sufficient suitable provision for young

people aged 19-25 and have a learning difficulty and/or disability and are subject to a learning difficulty assessment.

Pre 16 cohort 5.1.16 There are currently 573 learners in NC Years 9, 10 and 11 identified as having

LDD. Just under half of these are eligible for free school meals. Of the 573, 174 have a SEN Statement. These learners are identified and tracked through the Tracking Panel which is a multi agency panel that meets termly to identify any issues and agree progression pathways and support needs.

5.1.17 However of the 573 learners, 385 are identified as School Action Plus, this is

when the child’s needs are such that the school needs to seek advice and support from external support services. Closer working with mainstream schools needs to be put in place to understand the needs of this cohort and to plan support and provision post 16.

9

Achievement at KS4 5.1.18 Achievement at Key Stage 4 for young people with a statement achieving 5+

A*-C inc. English and maths was 8.8% in 2008, it dipped in 2009 increased to 6.8% in 2010. For young people with a statement achieving 1+ A*-G this has remained around 70% in the last 3 years.

Transition

5.1.19 Local Authorities have a crucial role in securing provision for learners with

learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and are expected to look strategically at provision for learners from pre to post 16, to improve transition for young people. The Transition Sub Group is leading on this area and is currently developing an action plan to address this.

5.1.20 Transition from Children’s Services to Adult Services will be considered fully

by the Transition Sub Group and the Transition Operational and Strategy Group.

16-19 Cohort

5.1.21 Department for Education NCCIS data identifies that at March 2011, 7.2% of

the Halton 16-19 year old cohort have LLDD which is similar to the previous year.

Participation and Achievement

FE and Sixth Form Colleges 5.1.22 In 2009/10, the proportion of 16-19 Halton learners with LLDD studying in

Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges was similar to the regional average (15% of the Further Education and Sixth Form College cohort compared to 16% of the cohort in the North West) with a higher proportion of Halton learners with LLDD studying Level 1 and entry level qualifications with almost half of those in ‘Preparation for Life and Work’.

5.1.23 Overall success rates for Halton residents with LLDD studying in Further

Education and Sixth Form Colleges decreased slightly in 2009/10 compared to the previous year, though rates remain well above those achieved in 2007/08. Success rates for learners undertaking level 3 learning aims have increased year on year since 2007/08, however success rates at Entry Level to Level 2 have declined.

5.1.24 The YPLA funds learners aged 19-24 who are in receipt of Additional Learner

Support (ALS) over £5,500. The number of Halton young people aged 19-24 within this category declined slightly from 24 in 2007/08 to 19 in 2009/10. In 2009/10, most enrolments were at ‘Entry Level’ and ‘Level 1’ and nearly all were in ‘Preparation for Life and Work’. A further increase is predicted in

10

2010/11 and in future years due to the further development of local provision for those young people who would traditionally gone out of borough to specialist providers. Funds for these young people have come from the LLDD placement budget rather than ALS and this will be considered as part of the funding reforms.

Work Based Learning

Apprenticeships 5.1.25 Between 2008/09 and 2009/10 the number of young people with LDD

participating in apprenticeships has remained the same with around 15 LLDD learners undertaking Advanced Level apprenticeship and around 30 undertaking intermediate level. Overall apprenticeship success rates for learners with LLDD have improved by 5.2% since 2009/10 (57.5% in 2008/09 compared to 62.7% in 2009/10) however there remains a gap with mainstream success rates.

Foundation Learning 5.1.26 Following a national pilot, Foundation Learning officially began in 2010/11.

Part year figures for 2010/11 indicate a total of 111 learners aged 16-19 undertaking 5.4.26 Foundation Learning programmes; 16.2% identify themselves as having LDD. The Local Authority will work with the Foundation Learning Providers to ensure that key vulnerable groups are able to fully participate, achieve and progress onto further learning.

School Sixth Forms and Academies

5.1.27 In School Sixth Forms and Academies in 2009/10, 10.1% of the 16-19 year

olds participating had a special educational need (SEN). This is higher than the regional average.

5.1.28 16-19 Halton residents with LLDD in School Sixth Forms and Academies

show a similar proportion of Level 3 qualification aims were studied by young people with SEN (70%) compared to other young people (69%).

Independent Specialist Providers

5.1.29 There were 11 Halton residents aged 16-24 in Independent Specialist

Providers (ISPs) in 2009/10. Part year data show a decrease with 9 studying in 2010/11. This reflects the drive to develop local provision to meet the needs of all young people including those with complex learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

5.1.30 The Transition Sub Group is currently identifying gaps in local provision for

young people with specific learning difficulties and/or disabilities to ensure, where possible, there is sufficient provision locally to meet their needs in

11

terms of support needs and education and training to live as independent as possible and gain employment.

5.1.31 The Government is undertaking a Consultation on School Funding Reforms:

Proposals for a Fairer System. The consultation is based on schools requiring a system that is funding transparent, where funding follows the pupils and where pupils with additional needs attract additional funding.

Young People in Youth Detention

5.1.32 Local Authorities have a duty to ensure that young people detained in youth

accommodation can fulfil their learning potential while they are in custody, and on their release and ensure continuity of education provision from custody to community.

5.1.33 Analysis for Local Authority held youth offender data indicates that there were

77 Halton 16-18 year old youth offenders whose order closed between 01/07/2010 and 30/06/2011. An analysis of these 77 young people indicates that 62.3% had a SEN requirement;

• 16 learners were identified as School Action (20.8%)

• 22 learners were identified as School Action Plus (28.6%)

• 10 learners were identified as Statemented (12.9%) 5.1.34 In addition four learners within this 16-18 youth offender cohort are in care

and two are identified as children in need as at July 2011. 5.1.35 Information received from the Youth Offending Team suggests that there is a

gap in terms of GCSE provision at pre 16 and English and Maths and personal and social development at post 16. This provision needs to be flexible enough for young people to participate following their order which can be at any point in the year. Young people aspire to employment and therefore need these employability skills initially with progression routes through to vocational areas.

5.1.36 Academic achievement for this youth offenders are difficult to interpret with

small cohort numbers which can distort the overall percentage figures within a given year. Provisional KS4 results for 2010/11 show over a quarter of the cohort had achieved a Level 2 (equivalent to 5+ A*-C grades) and one third had achieved a Level 1 (equivalent to 5+ A*-G grades), though performance against both measures is down compared to 2009/10 by around 20%.

5.1.37 Suitable appropriate accommodation is a significant issue for Halton and the

NEET Vulnerable Pupils Group are working closely with the commissioners of hostel accommodation to ensure that they commission more appropriate services to meet the needs of vulnerable groups. Without appropriate accommodation young people cannot easily consider engaging in education and training.

12

5.2 Priority 2: Ensure all Halton young people have access to appropriate independent, information, advice and guidance

Key focus areas:

• Work with the 14-19 Partnership to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the borough Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) Programme of Study.

• Work with Greater Merseyside colleagues to consider the service specification for the commissioning of IAG provision from April 2012.

• Work with Greater Merseyside colleagues to consider the service specification for the commissioning of data collection, recording, analysis and reporting in relation to young people and their destinations from April 2012.

Context

5.2.1 Access to information, advice and guidance about the options that are open to young people from year 9, and the progression routes to which those options lead, is an important factor in ensuring young people are able to make the most of the opportunities that are available.

5.2.2 Subject to the passage of the Education Bill 2010/11 schools will be responsible for securing access to independent and impartial careers guidance for pupils in Years 9-11, this new duty will come into force in September 2012. The Government are currently consulting on extending this duty down to Year 8 and up to Year 13.

5.2.3 The governing body of a school will have the freedom to decide how best to

fulfil this duty in accordance with the needs of their pupils. Guidance, independent of the school, must be provided in an impartial manner, and should promote the best interests of the person to whom it is given.

5.2.4 In September 2010 the 14-19 Partnership implemented an Information, Advice

and Guidance Programme of Study for delivery to learners from Year 7 to Year 13. This Programme of Study has now been in place for a full academic year and implementation needs to be reviewed, including consideration of changes to the education landscape since the development of the Programme of Study.

5.2.5 Local authorities will continue to play a crucial role in the provision of support

to young people up to age 19, and young adults assessed as having learning difficulties and disabilities up to age 25, in order to meet their statutory duty to encourage, enable or assist the effective participation of those persons in education or training

13

5.2.6 As part of this support there must be a good mechanism for tracking young

people’s participation in order to identify those who need further guidance. The local National Client Caseload Information System (NCCIS) provides local authorities with the means of recording young people’s post-16 plans and the offers they receive along with their current circumstances and activities. The data within the NCCIS is a valuable resource for Local Authorities and reporting outputs from this service will form part of the service specification from April 2012.

5.2.7 Halton will continue to work with Greater Merseyside local authorities to

commission IAG provision, as is the current practice.

5.3 Priority 3: Put in place effective strategies to reduce the number of young people at risk of becoming or who are already NEET.

5.3.1 Non-participation in employment or training between the ages of 16 and 18 is

a major predictor of later unemployment, low income, depression, involvement in crime and poor health, mental health and early mortality.

Key focus areas:

• Reduce the number of young people who are NEET with a particular focus on NEET at 17

• Understand and reduce churn in and out of NEET and explore the issues behind this, and reduce the length of stay of young people in NEET

• Use information gathered to inform the delivery of current programmes and progression routes to level 2 and above

• Provide opportunities for young people to achieve GCSE Level 2 or equivalent in maths and English

• Continue to provide risk of NEET indicator (RONI) information to secondary schools, evaluate the impact interventions pre-16 are having on NEET at 16 and explore the development of RONI information for young people post-16

• Continue to implement the Local Authority’s statutory duty to encourage, enable and assist young people to participate in education or training through the ‘September Guarantee’

• Evaluate the outcomes of learners accessing the KS4 Engagement Service and the Pupil Referral Unit to track the achievement, progression and reintegration of these learners into education or learning.

• Link to the NEET Vulnerable Group to inform a reduction in the number of young people from identified vulnerable groups who are NEET.

14

• Ensure young people are consulted with to assess the impact of interventions and provision.

• Ensure timely data is available to enable close monitoring of the NEET cohort

Context

5.3.2 From April 2011 NEET is being reported by residency and by academic year,

which means that learners turning 19 within the academic year will be counted as NEET. In May 2011 the change in methodology resulted in an increase of 114 recorded NEET learners and an increase in the cohort size by over 500 learners.

5.3.3 As of June 2011 16-18 year olds not engaged in education, employment or

training in Halton is at 11.57%. This can be separated by locality as 267 young people in Runcorn, which equates to a 15.99% NEET cohort and 204 young people in Widnes, which is a NEET cohort of 8.37%. Figures remain similar to June 2010 when NEET was 11.12%.

5.3.4 When examined by age the proportion of 16 year olds in the NEET cohort

June 2011 is broadly static at 8.70% when compared to 8.53% at June 2010. However the proportion of 17 year olds has risen by 2.71% from 11.07% to 13.78% over the same period. The number of 18 year olds in NEET has risen marginally by 0.68% from 11.5% in June 2010 to 12.18% in June 2011.

5.3.5 A Halton study conducted in November 2010 found that within the NEET 16-

18 cohort more than half had achieved a Level 1 qualification, 40% had achieved a Level 2 and only 6% had no qualifications upon completing year 11. The average continual length of stay in NEET for 16 year olds was 10 weeks, this increased to 25 weeks for 17 year olds and 28 weeks for 18 year olds. Focusing on the achievement of maths and English GCSE Level 2 or equivalent only 20.9% of the cohort had achieved English and only 20% had achieved maths.

5.3.6 Analysis of the previous destinations of joiners to the NEET for the year April

2010 to March 2011 indicates that 61% come from WBL/E2E/other Government Supported Programmes (GSP). This figure is over 50% above the England mean percentage of joiners from this group, identifying an issue of ‘churn’: young people repeatedly joining NEET from this group of programmes. This churn category previously contained programmes that included E2E, Programme Led Apprenticeship and ESF programmes that have now concluded. Further analysis is required to understand which programmes and issues led to the churn to inform current delivery.

5.3.7 In addition to Government Supported Programmes Education has the highest

percentage churn at 73% but this is on a par with England mean percentages. However, there is also a need to understand the reasons behind this

15

alongside ensuring that progression routes to employment with training or education are in place when discussing options with young people.

5.3.8 There has been a reduction in the number of young people offered a place in

education or employment with training through the September Guarantee. The September Guarantee is a process that helps local authorities to meet their statutory duty to secure enough suitable education and training places for 16- to 18-year-olds in their area. Local authorities provide all 16- and 17-year-olds with an offer, by the end of September, of a suitable place in education or training. The offer should be appropriate to meet the young person’s needs and may be in a school, college or in work-based training. At September 2011 the figure is 95.15% for 16 year olds and 84.99% for 17 year olds; this is lower than the September 2010 figures of 96.89% for 16 year olds and 86.50% for 17 year olds. The process and resources supporting delivery of the September Guarantee shall be evaluated by the NEET Strategy Group to inform the 2012/13 September Guarantee.

5.3.9 The Key Stage 4 Engagement Service has seen an increase in the numbers

of young people at risk of exclusion from school starting on Engagement Programmes. 2009/10 starts have risen to 60 from 42 in 2007/08. Destination data for 2008/09 identified 78% of Engagement Service leavers progressing to EET with this percentage decreasing to 58.6% by January 2010. Alongside the increase in starts there is a need to capture more recent and timely information, to track achievement and progression, to assess the impact provision is having on the post-16 destinations of young people.

5.4 Priority 4: Plan for the raising of the participation age to 17 by 2013 and 18 by 2015

Key focus areas:

• Work with the 14-19 Partnership to review and amend the IAG Programme of Study to ensure appropriate information is being provided to learners and their parents/guardians about the raising of the participation age. The priority group will be the Year 10 cohort from September 2011, although forward planning will also include younger year groups.

• Work with the Employment, Learning and Skills division to communicate to local employers about the raising of the participation age from 2013 and the need to ensure all employment opportunities for 16 + year olds comes with training.

• Review the results of current locally led Raising Participation Age projects in other local authorities to gain information about effective strategies and good practice.

16

5.4.1 In addition to these key focus areas Priority 3 will also support the work in planning for the raising of the participation age in continuing to reduce the number of 16 year olds not in education, employment or training and by continuing to implement the September Guarantee.

Context:

5.4.2 The Education and Skills Act 2008 increases the minimum age at which young people in England can leave learning, requiring them to continue in education or training until the end of the academic year in which they turn 17 from 2013 and until their 18th birthday from 2015.

5.4.3 Raising the participation age (RPA) does not mean young people must stay in school; they will be able to choose one of the following options:

• full-time education, such as school, college or home education

• work-based learning, such as an Apprenticeship

• part-time education or training if they are employed, self-employed or volunteering for more than 20 hours a week.

5.4.4 The percentage of Halton 16 year olds who became NEET upon leaving

secondary school has halved since 2006. In 2010 4.1% of the Year 11 cohort were regarded as NEET. Of those 16 year olds who enter employment upon leaving school in 2010 0.5% entered employment without training.

5.4.5 Analysis shows that participation of 16 years olds has remained high and a

significant amount of progress has been made in increasing participation amongst 17 year olds. Data from 2009 shows an increase to 86% of the 17 year olds participating in employment, education or training.

5.4.6 Whilst participation rates have improved in recent years, the borough still

faces a significant challenge to meet the legal requirement to have all 16-18 year olds participating in Education or Training by 2015.

5.4.7 The current Year 10 cohort, who will be the first year group to stay in

education an additional academic year, includes 30% of learners who are eligible for free school meals and 32% who are identified as having special educational needs. There is a total of 1467 learners in this cohort.

17

5.5 Priority 5: Ensure access to higher level qualifications that supports progression through to learning and employment

Key focus areas:

• Forge closer links with employment sectors to better understand the needs in the borough.

• Increase Apprenticeship provision within local economy and city region sector growth areas

• Increase the take up of Level 3 and Higher Level Apprenticeships

• Work with the 14-19 Partnership to promote alternative routes to higher level qualifications

• Apprenticeship Strategy Group to link to the NEET Vulnerable Group and Transition Sub-Group to inform increased participation of vulnerable young people.

• Monitor the impact of Government policy on progression to higher level Apprenticeships, Foundation Degrees and University courses for 2012.

• Work with partners to identify whether young people are progressing to higher level qualifications and employment.

• Work needs to be undertaken to consider whether the offer for young people is linked to local and regional employment opportunities.

Context

Apprenticeships 5.5.1 The three major growth sectors in Halton are Logistics and Distribution;

Science, Technology and Advanced Manufacturing, and Construction and the Built Environment. The top three Apprenticeship Frameworks for 16-18 year olds at April 2011 are within Customer Services, Engineering, and IT & Telecoms; and two of these have been appearing in the top ten frameworks for Halton since 2007, which suggests that Apprenticeships are well-established within these areas. However there is further engagement required with employers within Halton’s growth sectors to widen opportunities for young people and ensure that Apprenticeship provision is aligned with and meeting the needs of the local economy.

5.5.2 Whilst Apprenticeship starts showed a large increase in 2009/10,

Apprenticeship starts within the 16-18 age group show a 4% reduction from August 2010 to April 2011 compared to the same period in 2009/2010. This decline in starts contrasts with regional and national increases of 15% and 11% respectively. The reduction is mainly at Level 2 due to an increase in Level 3 starts and 1 Level 4 start. Data demonstrates that locally this may be due to the end of non-employed Programme Led Apprenticeships, which

18

further supports the need for greater engagement of employers to increase opportunities for young people. Historically, less than one third of 16-18 Apprenticeship starts are at Level 3, cumulative figures at quarter 3 2010/11 show an improvement from 22% in 2009/10 to 32% which brings the figures back to 2008/09 levels.

5.5.3 The potential reduction in the number of full-time HE places available to young

people identifies a possible need for a clear alternative technician route. From Level 2 achievement through to Higher Level qualifications, this could include Level 4 and 5 Apprenticeships, Higher National Certificates and Diplomas, and Foundation Degrees.

5.5.4 Between 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 the number of young people with LLDD

participating in Apprenticeships remained the same. 5.5.5 There is a local focus on increasing Apprenticeship opportunities. Halton

Borough Council, as a key partner within the Halton Employment Partnership and supported by the National Apprenticeship Service, is committed to securing 100 new Apprenticeship opportunities across the borough by the end of 2011.

Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges

5.5.6 Participation has increased by 14.7% between 2007/08 and 2009/10, which is

higher than the England average, with a higher level proportion of enrolments at Level 3 that maybe attributed to increased to higher achievement of Level 2 at Key Stage 4.

5.5.7 Success rates for Halton residents at Level 3 have increased by almost 11%

between 2007/08 and 2009/10. This demonstrates that more young people are participating and succeeding at Level 3. Success rates, when split by level, have decreased at Entry Level to Level 2.

5.5.8 There has been a reduction in the number of young people participating within

the key growth areas of Science, Technology and Advanced Manufacturing; Construction and the Built Environment, and Logistics and Distribution.

5.5.9 In addition to this there has been a reduction in Leisure, Travel and Tourism;

IT and Retail and Commercial. 5.5.10 There has been an increase in Health, Public Services and Care, and

Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care. 5.5.11 Further work will be carried out to ensure that young people have the

opportunity to participate on programmes that align with local economic growth areas.

19

School Sixth Form and Academies 5.5.12 Participation in School Sixth Forms and Academies has increased by 20.3%

between 2007/08 and 2009/10. There has been an increase in providers locally.

5.5.13 History, Philosophy and Theology accounts for the highest volume of

enrolments in School Sixth Forms, reflecting the provision available locally. 5.5.14 The majority of learners are studying Science and maths and this increased

significantly in 2009/10 and again in 2010/11. This is in line with local growth sector areas. There has been an increase in Arts, Media and Publishing and Languages, Literature and Culture and Health, Public Services and Care.

5.5.15 Over the last three years there has been a 29% increase in the number of

qualifications undertaken in School Sixth Forms and Academies with 88% of qualifications being studied at NVQ Level 3 or equivalent, which reflects the higher attainment levels at Key Stage 4.

Level 3 at 19

5.5.16 There has been a significant increase in attainment of L3 at 19 from 33.3%

2009/10 to 42% in 2010/11. The number of 18-19 year olds progressing into HE in 2009/10 was 24% and therefore the increase at L3 at 19 to 42% should translate into more young people accessing HE in 2010/11.

5.6 Priority 6: Respond to the changes in the Local and National Educational landscape

Key focus areas:

• Work with the 14-19 Partnership to respond to the implementation of the WOLF review of vocational education.

• Work with the 14-19 Partnership to analyse the Key Stage 4 subject option choices available and being made by 14 year olds in response to the introduction of the English Baccalaureate and amendments to the GCSE equivalences vocational subjects carry. Following the analysis consider and report on the potential changes required to the Post 16 curriculum offer and to the Pre 16 Alternative Provision offer to reflect Pre 16 changes.

• Work with the 14-19 Partnership to maintain an overview of where borough learners are accessing Post 16 provision, what provision is being accessed, and the success of learners accessing that provision.

20

• Work with Post 16 institutions to review the progression of learners from Level 3 courses to higher education and analyse any changing patterns in numbers progressing and entry requirements set.

Context WOLF Review of Vocational Education

5.6.1 Professor Alison Wolf was commissioned by the Secretary of State to carry out an independent review of vocational education. Following the recommendations published in the review in May 2011 the Government stated that it would take action on all individual recommendations and would deliver on three key themes. These are:

• Ensure that all young people study and achieve in English and mathematics, ideally to GCSE A*-C, by the age of 19. For those young people who are not immediately able to achieve these qualifications, we will identify high quality English and maths qualifications that will enable them to progress to GCSE later. We will also reform GCSE to ensure that they are a more reliable indicator of achievement in the basics, in particular by ensuring that GCSEs are reformed alongside our current review of the National Curriculum.

• Reform performance tables and funding rules to remove the perverse incentives which have served only to devalue vocational education, while pushing young people into qualification routes that do not allow them to move into work or further learning. Those vocational qualifications that attract performance points will be the very best for young people – in terms of their content, assessment and progression.

• Look at the experience of other countries to simplify Apprenticeships, remove bureaucracy and make them easier for employers to offer.

5.6.2 A National Implementation Team is in place to take forward the recommendations in WOLF and events are being held late 2011 / early 2012.

School Performance Tables:

5.6.3 From 2014 only GCSEs and valued vocational qualifications that meet strict new criteria will be recognised in performance league tables. All these qualifications will count equally. At the moment, some qualifications are worth as much as six GCSEs in the tables.

21

5.6.4 Schools will retain the freedom to offer any qualification approved for 14- to 16-year-olds. Teachers will still be able to use their professional judgment to offer the qualifications which they believe are right for their pupils. But only the most rigorous will count in league tables.

5.6.5 The Government proposes that all full-course GCSEs, established iGCSEs and AS levels should continue to count in the tables.

5.6.6 The Government also proposes that other qualifications should only count if:

• They have a proven track record - only qualifications that have been taught for at least two years with good levels of take-up among 14-16 year olds should be included.

• They offer pupils progression into a broad range of qualifications post-16 rather than a limited number in one or two occupational areas.

• They are the size of a GCSE or bigger.

• They have a substantial proportion of external assessment.

• They have grades such as A*-G (those with simple pass or fail results will be excluded).

5.6.7 In order to ensure that students are encouraged to follow a balanced curriculum which encourages progress, only two non-GCSEs will be allowed to count towards the existing five A*-C GCSE indicators.

5.6.8 The number of GCSE equivalent qualifications taken in schools nationally up to age 16 has exploded in recent years - from 15,000 in 2004 to 575,000 in 2010.

5.6.9 In 2009-10, 125,367 students achieved Level 1 (grades D to G) in GCSE equivalent qualifications, up from 11,007 in 2003-04.

5.6.10 In 2009-10, 462,182 students achieved Level 2 (grades A* to C) in GCSE equivalent qualifications, including BTECs, up from 1882 in 2003-04.

5.6.11 In Halton the percentage of GCSE equivalent qualifications exam entries has risen from 10.8% in 2006 to 30.1% in 2010.

The English Baccalaureate:

5.6.12 The Government believes that all young people have the right to a broad and balanced education that includes English, maths, science, a language and a humanity subject. They believe these academic subjects reflect the knowledge and skills young people need to progress to further study or to rewarding employment. The overall term for a package that includes these five subject areas is the English Baccalaureate.

22

5.6.13 The detailed make-up of the Baccalaureate is:

• English: a C grade or higher in GCSE English or enter both GCSE English language and GCSE English literature and achieve a C or better in GCSE English language.

• Mathematics: a C or better in GCSE maths or additional maths.

• Science: enter all three single GCSE sciences and achieve C or better in two of them or achieve a C or better in both science and additional science GCSEs.

• History or geography: a C or better in GCSE.

• Languages: a C or better in one GCSE modern or ancient foreign language.

23

APPENDIX A

Strategic Analysis to support the 14-19 Strategic Commissioning 2012-13

This section contains data and information that has been analysed and used to identify the key focus areas for each priority.

1. Priority 1 is not included here as the context section of priority 1 contains the relevant information; there is no data analysis to supplement the priority focus areas.

2. Priority 2 – Plan for the raising of the participation age to 17 by 2013 and 18 by 2015 2.1 16 year old NEET 2.1.1 NCCIS Activity Survey data indicates that the percentage of Halton 16 year

olds who become NEET upon leaving Secondary School has halved since 2006. In 2010 4.1% of the Year 11 cohort were identified as NEET, equivalent to 65 sixteen year olds, however only 3.6% of this cohort were active for engagement, equivalent to 57 sixteen year olds. The comparison to previous years is shown in Table 1 below.

NEET

Year No. of 16 year olds Total Active Not Active

2005/6 1644 8.6% 7.8% 0.9% 2006/7 1708 7.4% 0.4% 1.6% 2007/8 1665 8.5% 7.9% 0.6% 2008/9 1594 5.4% 5.0% 0.4%

2009/10 1575 4.1% 3.6% 0.5% Table 1. Source: NCCIS Activity Survey Headlines, DfE

2.1.2 Quarter 1 (June 2011) figures from Greater Merseyside Connexions indicate

that 8.70% of the Halton 16 year old cohort (2010 Activity Survey) are NEET, this equates to 118 young people. Percentage figures vary significantly across both Runcorn and Widnes however this is in part due to the different 16 year old cohort sizes across both areas. Comparative percentages and numbers for previous years are shown in Table 2.

June 2008 June 2009 June 2010 June 2011*

Runcorn 16 y/o

12.09% (11)

15.60% (17)

17.39% (12)

11.96% (66)

24

Widnes 16 y/o

7.55% (12)

6.00% (9)

4.23% (6)

6.31% (50)

Halton 16 y/o

9.20% (23)

10.04% (26)

8.53% (18)

8.70% (118)

Table 2. Source: GMCP Instant Atlas Tool, Q1 June 2011

* 2011 figures based upon new Connexions Methodology 2.2 16 year olds in jobs with no training

2.2.1 NCCIS Activity Survey data from DfE indicates that the proportion of Halton

16 year olds progressing from Year 11 into employment without training destinations has declined in recent years. In 2010 the figure was less than 10 learners, equivalent to 0.5% of the total 16 year old cohort. The historical comparison is shown in Table 3.

2.2.2 Overall, Halton has experienced a reduction in the proportion of young people

in jobs without training in recent years. In March 2011 only 4.3% of the Halton 16-18 year cohort were within this group which was in line with the national position.

2.3 16 year old ‘Not Known’ 2.3.1 Robust tracking of Halton 16 year old learners as part of the Activity Survey

has reduced the percentage of the year 11 school leavers whose activity is classed as ‘not known’. Table X above shows that the ‘No Response’ figure for 2010 was 0.2%, equivalent to just 9 learners. This percentage has increased during the academic year with Quarter 1 (June 2011) figures from Greater Merseyside Connexions indicating that the percentage of 16 year old ‘Not Known’ learners is 4.16% equivalent to 58 learners; Runcorn 30 young people (4.73%) compared to Widnes 28 young people (3.22%).

2.4 Participation of 16 & 17 year olds 2.4.1 Overall participation rates for 16 and 17 year olds in Halton continue to

increase and are now in line with the North West and national rates. Participation of 16 year olds in Halton has grown at a slightly slower rate than nationally whilst participation of 17 year olds has grown at a much faster rate

Year No. of 16 year olds

Emp. Without Training

No Response

2005/6 1644 1.7% 0.5% 2006/7 1708 1.6% 1.0% 2007/8 1665 1.9% 0.2% 2008/9 1594 0.9% 0.6%

2009/10 1575 0.5% 0.2% Table 3.

Source: NCCIS Activity Survey Headlines, DfE

25

and is now above the national average. Participation by 17 year olds is 7% less than that of 16 year olds in 2009, a smaller difference than the regional and national gap of 9%. The comparison is shown by both age bands and total in Table 4.

Age 16 Age 17 Age 16 & 17 2007 2008 2009 2007 2008 2009 2007 2008 2009

Halton 88 91 93 71 74 86 79 82 89 North West 87 90 93 78 80 84 83 85 89

National 88 91 94 78 80 85 83 86 89 Table 4.

Source: DFE SRF; http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001011/index.shtml

2.4.2 Overall, participation at the age of 16 and 17 has increased by 10% since 2007. Over this period participation at age 16 increasing by 5% and is performing in line with the North-West average. Significant progress has been made in increasing participation amongst Halton 17 year olds with latest figures showing a 15% increase since 2007. Halton has the highest 17 year old participation rate of all the Greater Merseyside Local Authorities, the success of which can be attributed to the implementation of retention and engagement strategies through the Halton 14-19 Partnership.

2.5 Current Year 9 cohort 2.5.1 Halton Learners that started Year 10 in September 2011 will be the first cohort

of learners required to participate beyond year 11 study. Analysing this cohort can highlight any specialist need for planning purposes. Based upon the January 2011 School Census:

• There are a total of 1467 learners within this cohort

• 445 of these learners are eligible for Free-School Meals (FSM), equivalent to 30.3% of the total Year 9 cohort

• 472 of this cohort have been identified as having Special Educational Needs (SEN), equivalent to 32.2% of the total Year 9 cohort. These SEN consists of;

- 21.1% with School Action

- 8.0% with School Action Plus

- 3.1% with a Statement

• There are currently a total of 11 learners within this cohort whose first language is not English

• 155 of the cohort have been identified as Gifted & Talented, equivalent to 10.6% of the year 9 cohort.

2.6 Risk of NEET Indicator (RONI) for year 7 and year 8 2.6.1 A number of common vulnerable indicators have been identified from previous

analyses of the Halton 16-18 NEET cohort. This has led to the 14-19 Team developing a Risk of NEET Indicator (RONI) tool to assist Secondary Schools in identifying learners potentially at risk of becoming NEET upon leaving

26

school. The analysis consists of identifying multiple predictive characteristics to help schools target those learners identified as being most ‘at-risk’. These indicators are split into three categories;

•••• Contextual – information regarding the leaner’s background such as NEET postcode ‘hot-spots’ and school related evaluations or issues.

•••• Prior Attainment / Estimates – prior educational assessment data as well as KS4 estimate examination data.

•••• Prior Attendance – previous attendance data from Year 6 and Year 7 as well school absence data relative to the LA average.

2.6.2 An at-risk ‘score' is calculated for each learner, with this score being derived

from a total of 19 indicators across the 3 categories above. The higher the score, the more ‘at-risk’ of becoming NEET the learner can be said to be. Currently the LA has produced the analysis for the 2010/11 Year 7 and Year 8 school cohorts with plans to continue development with future learner cohorts. Halton Secondary Schools are keen to continue working with the RONI tool to develop a better understanding of learners progressing from Year 6 to Year 7. It is intended to expand the tool capture issues with transitional data such as poor attendance or attainment when at Primary School.

2.7 Employer Training Activity 2.7.1 Only 38% of Halton employers have a training plan whilst only 30% have a

dedicated budget for training. Halton performance for both indicators is below the Greater Merseyside average and performance is ranked in the bottom third of the North West. However, 63% of Halton employers have trained staff within the last 12 months, with 46% of employers providing off-the-job training. Halton has the highest proportion of employers that have trained staff in the year prior to the survey, and related to this is also the local authority where the highest proportion of employers have undertaken training via an FE college in the last year.

27

3. Priority 3 – Put in place effective strategies to reduce the number of young people at risk of becoming or who are already not in education, employment or training (NEET) 3.1 NEET Methodology & Reporting timetable 3.1.2 Since April 2011, the proportion of young people Not In Education,

Employment of Training (NEET) has been reported on a residency basis for Halton learners ‘academic age 16-18’ i.e. learners in Years 12, 13 and 14. Published figures have previously been calculated based upon the number of young people strictly aged 16-18 who accessed a Halton Connexions service regardless of where they lived.

3.1.3 The change to residency based NEET has resulted in both the cohort size and

the number of NEET learners increasing, though current percentages figures remain similar to last year’s performance. A comparison of June 2010 (old methodology) compared to June 2011 (new) is shown below in Table 5.

June 2010 (old) June 2011 (new)

Number of NEET 322 481

16-18 cohort 2895 4159 % NEET 11.12% 11.57%

Table 5. 3.1.4 From April 2011 NEET will be reported quarterly in line with the following

dates using the new counting methodology;

• Quarter 1 – June

• Quarter 2 – September

• Quarter 3 – December

• Quarter 4 – March

Source: GMCP Balance Scorecard

28

3.2 NEET by Age 3.2.1 Quarter 1 figures from Connexions indicate an increase in the percentage of

Halton 16-18 year olds in NEET, though the figures remain similar to those seen at the same point in previous years. In terms of numbers the June 2011 figure represents 481 NEET young people aged 16-18. The split by Halton locality is also show in Table 6.

3.2.2 NEET is seen to be a particular issue in Runcorn where percentage NEET is

almost double that of Widnes; however the percentage figures can be misleading. The difference in terms of actual numbers of NEET between the two areas is 63. The difference in percentage terms is attributed to the overall 16-18 different cohort sizes of Runcorn and Widnes.

3.3 September Guarantee 3.3.1 September Guarantee data for 2009/10 shows that 95.89% of the year 11

cohort had an offer of learning made to them upon leaving Secondary School, which was a slight increase compared to the 2009 recorded figure. Final reported results for 2011 indicate 95.15% of the 2010/11 Year 11 cohort has received an offer of learning. The September Guarantee offer for learners in Year 12 were 86.50% in 2009/10, a 0.50% increase upon the 2009 recorded figure of 86.00%. Final reported results for 2011 indicate 84.99% of the 2010/11 Year 12 cohort has received an offer of continued learning.

3.3.2 A comparison of Year 11 September Guarantee data to that reported in the

Activity Survey for the same academic year group of learners indicates that a proportion of the cohort receive an offer of learning which is not taken up. The comparison of both census measures is shown below in Table 7.

June ‘08 June ‘09 June ‘10 June ‘11

Runcorn 12.09% 15.60% 17.39% 11.96%

Widnes 7.55% 6.00% 4.23% 6.31% 16 Year

olds Halton 9.20% 10.04% 8.53% 8.70%

Runcorn 15.11% 14.70% 14.29% 19.14%

Widnes 11.08% 11.99% 8.72% 9.99% 17 Year

olds Halton 12.84% 13.06% 11.07% 13.78%

Runcorn 20.43% 19.41% 14.44% 16.72%

Widnes 12.17% 12.91% 9.55% 8.77% 18 Year

olds Halton 15.87% 15.67% 11.50% 12.18%

Runcorn 17.32% 17.03% 14.63% 15.99%

Widnes 11.26% 11.92% 8.75% 8.37% 16-18 Year

olds Halton 13.09% 14.02% 11.12% 11.57% Source: GMCP Instant Atlas, Q1 Table 6.

29

Academic Year 11 % September

Guarantee %

Into Learning % Diff

2008/09 95.54% 92.97% - 2.57% 2009/10 95.89% 94.47% - 1.42%

Table 7. Source: GMCP September Guarantee MI & DfE NCCIS Activity Survey

3.3.3 The difference between the measures of around 2% over the last two academic years equates to around 40 year 11 learners per academic year not taking up their offer.

3.4 Joiners and Leavers to the NEET cohort 3.4.1 The NEET cohort itself is not a static cohort. NCCIS data indicates that

between April 2010 and March 2011 a total of 777 16-18 year olds joined the NEET cohort with 630 NEET learners leaving the group. A breakdown of the number of learners joining and leaving the NEET cohort by destination over this period is shown in Table 8.

Destination Number of

learners

% of Total

NEET cohort

% of

Joiners /

Leavers

Education 251 32% 73%

Employment 108 14% 31%

Government Supported Training 212 27% 61%

‘Currency’ re-established 38 5% -

Other reason 168 22% -

Joined

From

Total Joined 777 100% 165%

Education 78 12% 23%

Employment 177 28% 51%

Government Supported Training 200 32% 58%

‘Currency’ Expired 56 9% -

Moved Away 68 11% -

Other reason 51 8% -

Leaving

To

Total Leaving 630 100% 132%

Table 8.

Source: NCCIS NEET Figures March 2011, DfE

30

3.4.2 The data suggest a high ‘churn’ of NEET young people both ‘joining from’ and ‘leaving to’ Government Supported Training. In terms of the total NEET cohort over the period both sets of figures (27% Joiners and 32% Leavers) are more than fifty percent above the England average.

3.4.3 Based upon the average number of Halton NEET learners between April 2010

and March 2011, Table X indicates that there is a cycle of learners continually joining (61%) and leaving (58%) Government Supported Training.

3.4.4 A Halton study of the NEET cohort indicated that on average, learners within

the cohort are not engaged for 24 weeks, though there is variance depending upon the age of the learner. 16 year olds are NEET for an average of 10 weeks, this increases to 25 weeks for 17 year olds and 28 weeks for 18 year olds.

3.5 Academic Achievement of NEET Learners 3.5.1 Within the Halton 16-18 NEET cohort there are various levels of academic

achievement. Historically, LA analysis indicates that more than half of the current NEET cohort had achieved a Level 1 qualification upon completing Year 11. In addition, around 40% of the cohort had achieved a Level 2 whilst at Secondary School and only 6% achieved no qualifications at Key Stage 4.

3.5.2 A breakdown of GCSE achievement in English and Maths by the NEET cohort

is shown below in Table 9. The majority of learners across both subjects have either not achieved a grade or achieved a Level 1, equivalent to a D-G grade.

GCSE

English

GCSE

Maths

No Achievement 38.5% 37.1%

Level 1 40.7% 42.9%

Level 2 equivalent 4.4% 2.7%

A*-C 16.5% 17.3%

Table 9. Source: Connexion NEET cohort Matched to NCER

3.6 KS4 Engagement Service 3.6.1 The KS4 Engagement Service provides provision for 14-16 year olds learners

who are at risk of exclusion from school. The number of young people starting on an engagement service programme from 2007/08 to 2009/10 is shown below in Table 10.

31

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

School Referrals 42 69 60 Table 10.

Source: KS4 Gateway Review Report

3.6.2 Across three academic years the KS4 Engagement Service identified all

engagement service leavers that progressed onto post-16 provision as potentially at risk of becoming NEET. Year 11 destination data for the Service learners in 2007/08 indicated that 79.3% progressed into EET from Year 11 and were still engaged in EET activities in the following January. Data for 2008/09 identified 73.9% of leavers progressing into EET after Year 11 with this percentage decreasing to 58.6% by January 2010.

4. Priority 4 – Improve participation and achievement of Vulnerable Groups 4.1 Teenage Mothers 4.1.1 Official of National Statistics (ONS) estimates suggest the number of Halton

teenage mothers under 20 years old at March 2011 is 145, an 18% reduction compared to the estimate 12 months prior in March 2010. NCCIS data from DfE indicates that only 38% of the March 2011 cohort were in EET, though this is an increase from the March 2010 EET figure of 32%. The proportion of Teenage Mothers engaged in EET tends to be higher in Widnes than in Runcorn.

4.1.2 Latest data from Connexions at Quarter 1 (June 2011) indicates high

concentrations of Teenage Mothers within the following 5 wards in Halton;

• Grange, Runcorn – 23

• Appleton, Widnes – 13

• Mersey, Runcorn – 13

• Hough Green, Widnes – 9

• Kingsway, Widnes – 9 4.1.3 Table 11 below summarises the academic achievement at Key Stage 4 of

the Teenage Mothers cohort from 2007 to 2009.

Year*

Teenage

Mothers

cohort

5+ A*-C

Grades at

GCSE

At least

1 A*-C

Grade

Did not achieve

GCSE results

2007 89 11.2% 38.2% 27.0%

2008 67 20.9% 50.8% 20.9%

2009 83 7.23% 33.7% 37.4%

Table 11. Source: HCRC local midwifery data/ Synergy PSS

32

* Year indicates ONS reporting year of conception, not academic year of KS4 achievement

4.2 Learners with Learning Difficulties or Disabilities (LLDD) 4.2.1 NCCIS data from DfE identifies that at March 2011, 7.2% of the Halton 16-19

year old cohort have LLDD, this is broadly inline with the National picture and similar to the recorded figure for Halton in March 2010.

4.2.2 In 2009/10, the proportion of 16-19 Halton learners with LLDD studying in

Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges was similar to the regional average (15% compared to 16% in the North West). In 2009/10:

• A higher proportion of Halton learners with LLDD studied level 1 & entry qualifications (22%) than non LLDD learners (11%).

• 43% of all qualifications studied by learners with LLDD were in ‘Preparation for Life and Work’ compared to 31% for non LLDD learners.

4.2.3 The YPLA funds learners aged 19-24 who are in receipt of Additional Learner

Support over £5,500. The number of Halton young people aged 19-24 within this category declined slightly from 24 in 2007/08 to 19 in 2009/10. In 2009/10, most enrolments were at ‘Entry Level’ and ‘Level 1’ and nearly all were in ‘Preparation for Life and Work’

4.2.4 For 16-19 Halton residents with LLDD in School Sixth Forms and Academies:

• The proportion of learners receiving School Action (8.6%), School Action Plus (0.6%) or with a Statement (0.8%) showed a higher proportion with School Action than the regional average in 2009/10.

• A lower proportion of ‘Science and Mathematics’ qualification aims were studied by young people identified as having special educational needs in 2009/10 and 2010/11, around (12%) compared to other young people (20%)

• Somewhat unusually, a similar proportion of Level 3 qualification aims were studied by young people with SEN (70%) compared to other young people (69%).

4.2.5 There were 11 Halton residents aged 16-24 in Independent Specialist

Providers (ISPs) in 2009/10. Part year figures show a slight decrease with 9 studying in 2010/11. This reflects the drive to develop local provision to meet the needs of all young people including those with complex LDD needs.

4.2.6 Quarter 1 figures from Connexions indicate that at June 2011 there were 465

Halton 16-24 year olds with LLDD. 64.73%% of this cohort were ‘In Education, Employment or Training’ at this reporting period, which slightly lower higher than the Greater Merseyside average (66.86%). 11.83% of the 16-24 LLDD cohort were NEET in June 2011 compared to 15.78% in June 2010.

33

Additionally, 23.01% of Halton LLDD learner destinations in June 2011 were ‘Not Known’.

4.2.7 At the end of the previous Quarter there were a total of 118 recorded 16-24

year old LLDD NEET young people in Halton, out of a total LLDD cohort of 444. This equates to 26.58%. In terms of an age profile:

• 14.55% of the 16 year old LLDD cohort are NEET (8 out of 55)

• 16.49% of the 17 year old LLDD cohort are NEET (16 out of 97)

• 16.67% of the 18 year old LLDD cohort are NEET (18 out of 118)

• 38.46% of the 19 year old LLDD cohort are NEET (35 out of 91)

• 44.09% of the 20+ year old LLDD cohort are NEET (41 out of 93)

4.2.8 Achievement at Key Stage 4 for LLDD has varied over the last three years. As would be expected the proportion of LLDD achieving that nationally expected 5+ A*-C inc. E&M is significantly below achievement for those learners without LLDD, as shown in Table 12.

5+ A*-C inc. E&M 1+ A*-G

2008 2009 2010 2008 2009 2010

School Action 22.6% 15.4% 22.8% 97.7% 97.9% 100.0% School Action Plus 23.8% 5.2% 18.7% 92.4% 94.1% 96.4%

Statemented 8.8% 1.2% 6.8% 70.3% 72.0% 71.2% No SEN 60.7% 59.0% 65.8% 99.5% 99.8% 100%

Table 12. Source: NCER

4.2.9 The percentage of the LLDD cohort achieving a least 1 A*-G grade has

increased since 2007;

• Learners with School Action have increased inline with Halton LA with 100% of the School Action cohort achieving 1+ A*-G grade in 2010.

• Learners with School Action Plus have increased performance year on year with 96.4% achieving 1+ A*-G grade in 2010.

• Over three years around 70% of the Statemented cohort achieve at least 1+ A*-G

4.2.10 The overall Success Rates for Halton residents with LLDD studying in

Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges decreased slightly in 2009/10 compared to the previous year, though rates remain well above those achieved in 2007/08. Success rates for learners undertaking level 3 learning aims have increased year on year since 2007/08, however success rates at Entry Level to Level 2 have declined. Table 13 below shows success rates by level for the LLDD cohort from 2007/08 to 2009/10.

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

Entry Level 77.3% 86.6% 83.3% Level 1 79.5% 84.9% 83.2%

34

Level 2 72.1% 87.9% 76.9% Level 3 65.0% 76.8% 83.0% Total 70.9% 82.4% 81.8%

Table 13. Source: YPLA Success Rate Pivot Table, May 2011

4.2.11 Local Authority held data identifies the following LLDD learners currently in

Years 9, 10 and 11 in 2010/11. Analysing this cohort can highlight any specialist need for future planning purposes.

• 174 have a SEN Statement

• 385 are identified as School Action Plus (SA+)

• 4 are identified as School Action Plus Enhanced 4.2.12 Of these 573 learners:

• 47.1% are eligible for Free School Meals 4.3 Children in Care (CiC) 4.3.1 Table 14 below summarises the number of Halton CiC across all age bands

by Quarterly reporting period throughout 2010/11. Figures indicate the number of CiC across both ‘12-15’ and ‘16-18’ year olds to be similar at around 32.

Q1 – June

2010 Q2 – Sept

2010 Q3 – Dec

2010 Q4 – Mar

2011

0-4 year olds 39 41 34 35

5-11 year olds 41 37 31 30

12-15 year olds 36 33 35 31

16-18 year olds 35 30 28 31

Table 14. Source: CiC Profile Q4, 2010/11

4.3.2 Local Authority held CiC data identifies a total of 18 Halton CiC learners currently in NC Year 9, 10 and 11. Analysing this cohort can highlight any specialist need for future planning purposes. Of these 18 learners:

• 3 are eligible for Free-School Meals

• 9 have been identified as having Special Educational Needs (SEN), equivalent to 50% of this cohort of learners. These SEN consists of;

� 5 with School Action Plus � 4 with a SEN Statement

• 3 learners from this cohort have a historic exclusion from school.

• 2010/11 % Attendance � Year 9 CiC – 7 learners with an average attendance of 93.8% � Year 10 CiC – 4 learners with an average attendance of 92.2% � Year 11 CiC – 7 learners with an average attendance of 85.4%

35

4.3.3 Provisional KS4 results for 2010/11 show improvement in national performance benchmarks. 44% of Halton CiC achieved a Level 2 qualification compared to 30% in 2010 and a quarter achieved the national standard benchmark of 5+A*-C grades including A*-C in English and Maths. Performance in these two measures compares to provisional LA GCSE results of 86% and 56% respectively. A historic summary of the academic achievement of Halton CiC at Key Stage 4 is shown in Table 15.

No. in

CiC Cohort 5+ A*-C (Level 2)

5+ A*-C (Level 2

inc. E&M)

5A* - G (Level 1)

1A* - G

2004/05 14 18% 18% 35% 57%

2005/06 10 20% 10% 30% 50%

2006/07 9 11% 11% 56% 56%

2007/08 16 31% 18% 56% 63%

2008/09 13 15% 8% 31% 46%

2009/10 20 30% 15% 55% 85%

2010/11 16 44% 25% 56% 63%

Table 15. Source: CiC Education Performance, 2010/11

4.4 Care Leavers 4.4.1 In 2009/10 the average age that the post year 11 care leavers left care,

ranged from 16.9 to 17.7 years old. The age at 31st March 2010 was the highest it had been during the year and indicated a very positive situation for Halton’s care leavers and demonstrated that they are not leaving care before they are ready and have clear plans in place.

4.4.2 Figures for 2010/11 indicate more care leavers in Education, Employment or

Training as opposed to NEET. In addition, across the year two Care leavers were engaged in Higher Education. The EET/NEET breakdown for Care Leavers during 2010/11 is shown in Table 16.

Q1 – June

2010 Q2 – Sept

2010 Q3 – Dec

2010 Q4 – Mar

2011 Care Leaver cohort 47 48 50 49

% EET (No.) 55.3% (26) 47.9% (23) 54.2% (26) 53.1% (26)

% NEET (No.) 44.7% (21) 52.1% (25) 43.8% (21) 42.9% (21) Not in contact (No.) 0 0 1 0

Table 16. Source: CiC Profile Q4, 2010/11

4.4.3 NCCIS data from DfE indicates that at March 2011 there were nine Halton

19 year old care leavers. 67% of this cohort (6 learners) were in EET at this reporting period, which is higher than both the regional (47%) and national

36

average (45%). The activities of all nine learners were known, compared to over a quarter of 19 year old care leavers nationally recorded as ‘Not Known’ in March 2011.

4.5 Youth Offenders 4.5.1 Information provided by Connexions indicates that at Quarter 1 (June 2011),

50.00% of the Halton 16-18 Youth Offender cohort was in EET, this is a slight decrease compared to the same period in 2010. Connexions reported that the total number of Halton 16-18 youth offenders was 34 in June 2011 compared to 32 in 2010. The historical EET and NEET breakdown for the YOT cohort is shown in Table 17.

Sept ‘08 Sept ‘09 Sept ‘10 Sept ‘11

16-18 YOT EET

52.73% 44.83% 56.25% 50.00%

16-18 YOT NEET

40.00% 44.83% 40.63% 32.35%

Table 17. Source: GMCP Instant Atlas Tool, Q2 Sept 2011

4.5.2 Analysis for Local Authority held youth offender data indicates that there

were 77 Halton 16-18 year old youth offenders whose order closed between 01/07/2010 and 30/06/2011. An analysis of these 77 young people indicates that 62.3% had a SEN requirement;

• 16 learners were identified as School Action (20.8%)

• 22 learners were identified as School Action Plus (28.6%)

• 10 learners were identified as Statemented (12.9%) 4.5.3 In addition four learners within this 16-18 youth offender cohort are in care

and two are identified as children in need as at July 2011. 4.5.4 The Key Stage 4 results of these 77 youth offenders, across three academic

year cohorts is shown in Table 18.

5+ A*-C (Level 2)

5+ A*-C inc. E&M (Level 2 inc. E&M)

5+ A*-G (Level 1)

1+ A*-G

2008/09 20.0% 0.0% 50.0% 100.0% 2009/10 46.2% 7.7% 53.8% 84.6% 2010/11 26.7% 13.3% 33.3% 53.3%

Table 18. Source: NCER / Synergy PSS 4.5.5 Academic achievement for this group has varied over the last three years;

trends are difficult to interpret with small cohort numbers which can distort the overall percentage figures within a given year. Provisional KS4 results for 2010/11 show over a quarter of the cohort had achieved a Level 2 (equivalent to 5+ A*-C grades) and one third had achieved a Level 1(equivalent to 5+ A*-G grades), though performance against both measures is down compared to 2009/10.

37

5. Priority 5 – Ensure access to higher level qualifications that supports progression through to learning and employment 5.1 Apprenticeships Starts 5.1.1 Final 2009/10 data shows large increases in the number of both 16-18 and

19-24 year olds starting an apprenticeship programme. 16-18 starts have increased by 42.2% since 2008/09 meaning that an estimated 9% of 16-18 year old residents begun apprenticeship programmes last year. Larger growth can be seen within the 19-24 age cohort; starts have increased by 69.6% since 2008/09, though this only accounts for an estimated 5 percent of 19-24 aged residents undertaking apprenticeship programmes.

5.1.2 A historic summary of Apprenticeship starts by age band is shown in Table 19 below.

2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 No. 282 293 310 306 435

16-18 % 6% 6% 6% 6% 9%

No. 240 313 296 250 424 19-24

% 3% 3% 3% 3% 5% Table 19.

Source: NAS 2009/10 Final report, % based on 2010 ONS Mid-year population estimates

5.1.3 Cumulative part-year figures at Q3 2010/11 (Aug 2010 – April 2011) show a 4% decline in 16-18 apprenticeship starts when compared to the same period last year (319 starts in 2010/11 compared to 333 starts at same point in 2009/10). The decline in starts contrasts with regional and national increases of 15% and 11% respectively.

5.2 Apprenticeship Starts by Programme Level 5.2.1 Whilst the number of Halton residents starting Apprenticeship programmes

has increased in recent years, the majority of Apprenticeship starts are undertaken at Level 2. The significant increase in success at Key Stage 4 within the borough has not increased the uptake in Apprenticeships at Level 3 as would be expected. The trend of starts by programme level is show in Table 20.

16-18 Starts 19-24 Starts

Level 2 Level 3 Total Level 2 Level 3 Total

2006/07 76% 24% 100% 61% 39% 100%

2007/08 72% 28% 100% 67% 33% 100%

2008/09 71% 29% 100% 67% 33% 100%

2009/10 78% 22% 100% 67% 33% 100%

Table 20.

Source: NAS Halton LA Apprenticeship Profile 2010/11 Q3

38

5.2.2 Historically, less than one third of 16-18 apprenticeship starts are at Level 3,

cumulative part-year figures at Q3 2010/11 show an improvement with this figure rising to 32%. Though figures from the same period indicate the proportion of starts for 19-24 year olds at level 3 have decreased slightly to 31%. Part-year figures show that in 2010/11 there have been 8 apprenticeships starts at Higher Level; one 16-18 year old and seven 19-24 year olds.

5.3 Apprenticeship Starts by Sector Subject Area

5.3.1 Table 21 below shows a breakdown of 16-18 Apprenticeship starts by

framework between 2007/08 and 2009/10, the part-year position at P10 is shown for 2010/11. The three frameworks with the highest volume of starts per year are shown in red.

Framework 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11

(P10)

Active Leisure & Learning 23 20 50 21

Business Admin 17 20 38 28

Child Care Learning & Development 16 24 35 26

Construction 39 32 18 17

Customer Service 14 0 22 49

Electro-technical 14 15 0 0

Engineering 35 30 43 32

Glass Industry 0 25 45 0

Hairdressing 20 28 40 17

IT & Communication 0 0 22 31

MES Plumbing 22 16 0 0

Vehicle Maintenance & Repair 35 18 13 14

Hospitality & Catering 0 0 0 13

Top 10 Totals 235 228 326 248

All 16-18 Starts 310 306 435 319

Table 21. Source: NAS Halton LA Apprenticeship Profile 2010/11 Q3

5.4 Apprenticeship Participation 5.4.1 Final 2009/10 data shows an increase in apprenticeship participation across

both 16-18 and 19-24 year olds. 16-18 participation has increased by 23.7% since 2008/09 indicating an estimated 15% of 16-18 years undertaking apprenticeships.

39

5.4.2 Similar growth can be seen within the 19-24 age cohort where participation has increased by 25.6% since 2008/09 with an estimated 7% of 19-24 aged residents participating through an apprenticeship route. A historic summary of Apprenticeship participation by age band for Halton residents is shown in Table 22 below.

2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 No. 708 646 611 607 751

16-18 % 14% 13% 12% 12% 15%

No. 532 587 561 516 648 19-24

% 6% 6% 6% 6% 7%

Table 22. Source: NAS 2009/10 Final report, % based on 2010 ONS Mid-year population estimates

5.5 Apprenticeship Participation by Level by Gender 5.5.1 Across all age bands in 2008/09, slightly more males participated in

Apprenticeship programmes compared to females, with the largest difference between gender cohorts at Advanced level (56% males compared to 44% females). The gender gap across all levels narrowed in 2009/10, though the gap between males and females is still most pronounced at Level 3.

5.5.2 Table 23 below shows the full breakdown.

Total Level 2 Level 3

Male Female Male Female Male Female 2008/09 53% 47% 52% 48% 56% 44% 2009/10 51% 49% 51% 49% 53% 47%

Table 23. Source: NAS 2009/10 Final report

5.6 National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) Vacancy System 5.6.1 Statistics from the NAS Online Vacancy System show that, at April 2011 there

were a total of 1341 activated system users from Halton aged under 19. As a percentage this is equivalent to around 30% of the Halton cohort, this is a much higher proportion of active users than seen regionally (18%) or nationally (21%).

5.6.2 Full Year figures for 2009/10 indicate that within the Halton region, there were

only 11 vacancies posted on the NAS vacancy system during the year, though there was an average of eight applicants per vacancy. In 2009/10 there were three vacancies within the Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies sector that received no applicants.

40

5.6.3 Figures at Quarter 3 2010/11 show the number of vacancies available so far this year to be higher at 59. There is also evidence of increased demand with an average of 12 Halton applicants per vacancy.

5.7 Apprenticeship Success Rates 5.7.1 The overall Apprenticeship framework success rate amongst Halton residents

aged 16-18 was 74.5% in 2009/10, an 8.4% increase from the 2008/09 position. This moved Halton above both regional and national success rates of 72.7% and 72.4% respectively. Success rates for Apprenticeships programmes increased by 11.3% and Advanced Apprenticeships rates by 3.8% over the same period.

5.7.2 Whilst overall apprenticeship success rates for residents aged 19-24 increased to 70.9% in 2009/10 they remain below both regional and national success rates of 73.6% and 74.9% respectively. Success rates for Halton residents aged 25+ have increased to 78.8% in 2009/10 and are now performing above both regional and national success rates of 72.7% and 72.4% respectively in 2009/10 for learners aged 25+.

5.7.3 A full breakdown of Apprenticeship success rates for both 2008/9 and 2009/10

with regional and national comparisons can be seen in Table 24.

2008/09 2009/10

Level 2 Level 3 Overall Level 2 Level 3 Overall Halton 61.1% 77.4% 66.1% 72.4% 81.2% 74.5%

North-West 67.2% 74.9% 69.2% 71.1% 77.2% 72.7% 16-18

National 68.3% 73.6% 69.6% 71.1% 76.3% 72.4%

Halton 70.3% 68.6% 69.6% 69.7% 73.6% 70.9% North-West 69.7% 70.9% 70.2% 72.7% 74.8% 73.6% 19-24

National 71.7% 70.8% 71.3% 74.6% 75.5% 74.9%

Halton 80.7% 60.7% 75.3% 86.2% 61.2% 78.8% North-West 75.4% 78.7% 76.3% 78.0% 70.9% 75.4% 25+

National 76.6% 73.9% 75.9% 77.5% 71.5% 75.1%

Halton 67.4% 71.3% 68.7% 74.4% 73.2% 74.1% North-West 68.7% 73.0% 70.1% 72.7% 75.0% 73.5%

All Ages

National 70.4% 72.1% 70.9% 73.4% 74.8% 73.8%

Table 24. Source: NAS Success Rate extract report

5.7.4 With even 16-18 cohort sizes, females had greater overall success rates in

2009/10 compared to males (78.5% female compared to 69.9% male). Of particular note is the reduction in Advanced Apprenticeship success for males (77.1% in 2008/09 compared to 71.6% in 2009/10).

5.7.5 Overall apprenticeship success rates for learners with LLDD have improved

by 5.2% since 2009/10 (57.5% in 2008/09 compared to 62.7% in 2009/10).

41

Cohort numbers between years have remained relatively stable with around 15 LLDD learners undertaking Advanced Level apprenticeship and around 30 undertaking intermediate level.

5.8 Further Education & Sixth Form College Success Rates 5.8.1 Overall Success Rates for Halton residents continue to increase and

performed above the England average in 2009/10. The trend for Halton residents by group characteristic is shown in Table 25.

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

England Average 78.8% 80.6% 81.1%

Halton Average 74.6% 81.0% 83.5%

Halton LLDD 70.9% 82.4% 81.8%

Halton Non LLDD 75.2% 80.8% 83.7%

Halton Male 71.8% 79.2% 82.4%

Halton Female 76.9% 82.4% 84.5%

Halton Disadvantaged 72.9% 76.5% 79.8%

Halton Non-Disadvantaged 77.6% 85.8% 87.4%

Table 25.

Source: NAS Success Rate extract

5.8.2 The overall Success Rates for Halton residents attending Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges has increased by 8.9% since 2007/08. Success Rates for LLDD learners in 2009/10 have declined slightly compared to the previous year though the gap in success rates for disadvantaged residents compared to non-disadvantaged has narrowed compared to 2008/09. Females continue to perform better than males though the success rate gap between gender cohorts has reduced from 5.1% in 2007/08 to 2.1% in 2009/10.

5.8.3 Table 26 shows Success Rates by notional NVQ level of the learning aim

undertaken by Halton residents attending Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges from 2007/08 to 2009/10.

Notional NVQ

Level 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

Entry Level 80.5% 82.0% 74.2%

Level 1 69.9% 83.6% 80.2% Level 2 72.8% 79.2% 78.3% Level 3 75.3% 80.9% 86.1% Total 74.6% 81.0% 83.5%

Table 26. Source: YPLA Success Rate Pivot Table, May 2011

42

5.8.4 The overall increase in success rates from 2008/09 compared to 2009/10 can

be attributed to a 5.2% increase at Level 3. Success rates for Entry Level learning aims deceased by 7.8% over the same period despite an increase in the number of aims.

5.9 Further Education & Sixth Form College Subject Areas 5.9.1 Between 2007/08 and 2009/10, participation by residents aged 16-19 has

increased in Further Education (FE) and Sixth Form Colleges. Over this period learner volumes have risen by 14.7% to 2876, during the same period national learner numbers have increased by 4.9%.

5.9.2 Of Halton residents aged 16-19 learning in FE & Sixth Form Colleges in 2009/10:

• There has been a large increase in participation over the last three years amongst Halton 16-19 males (15.1% to 1354 in 2009/10); 16-19 female volumes have also increased (10.8% to 1522).

• 15.4% of 16-19 year olds participating in FE and Sixth Form College declared themselves to have a disability or learning difficulty; this is slightly higher than the North West average.

5.9.3 In 2009/10 Halton residents have a higher proportion of enrolments at Level 3,

and a lower proportion at Entry and Level 1 than the regional and national averages (17% at Entry or Level 1, 24% at Level 2 and 59% at Level 3).

5.9.4 Graph 1 shows the aims studied in Further Education and Sixth Form College

by Sector Subject Area (Preparation for Life and Work excluded) for Halton residents.

0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200

Education and Training

Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care

Construction, Planning and the Built Environment

Retail and Commercial Enterprise

Information and Communication Technology

Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies

Leisure, Travel and Tourism

History, Philosophy and Theology

Social Sciences

Business, Administration and Law

Languages, Literature and Culture

Health, Public Services and Care

Arts, Media and Publishing

Science and Mathematics

2010/11

2009/10

2008/09

Graph 1.

43

5.10 School Sixth Form and Academy Subject Areas 5.10.1 Participation by Halton residents aged 16-19 in School Sixth Forms (SSF) and

Academies has increased between 2007/08 and 2009/10. Learner volumes have risen by 20.3% to 475 since 2007/08; national numbers have increased by 6.8% over the same period.

5.10.2 Latest 2010/11 in-year figures show 527 residents in school sixth forms and

Academies, a significant increase from the same point in 2009/10, though this increase reflects the provision available locally within the borough.

5.10.3 Of Halton residents aged 16-19 learning in school sixth forms and Academies in 2009/10:

• The largest increase in participation since 2007/08 has been by males (19.1% to 225), whereas female participation has increased by 14.8% to 250.

• 10.1% of Halton residents have a special educational need (SEN). This is higher than the regional average, and the growth rate from 2007/08 is higher than the North West region.

• 6.7% are eligible for free school meals (FSM), a slight increase on 2007/08. Level 3 is the highest level of study for 90.6% of eligible young people compared to 96.2% for those not eligible to FSM.

5.10.4 Over the last three years there has been a 29% increase in the number of

qualifications undertaken in School Sixth Forms and Academies, from 1513 in 2007/08 to 1953 in 2009/10. The majority of the 2009/10 qualification aims studied were at A or AS level (1381, equivalent to 71%). Overall, 88% of qualifications studied in 2009/10 were at NVQ level 3 or equivalent; initial figures for 2010/11 show a similar picture.

5.10.5 Graph 2 shows the aims studied in SSF and Academies by Sector Subject

Area. History, Philosophy & Theology accounts for the highest volume of enrolments in School Sixth Forms, reflecting the provision available locally.

44

5.11 Learner progression from Key Stage 4 5.11.1 The increase in attainment of 16 year olds at Key Stage 4 corresponds with

an overall 14.8% rise in the number of Halton residents studying in Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges between 2007/08 and 2009/10 (from 2505 to 2876). The full breakdown by highest academic level undertaken for residents aged 16-19 is shown below in Table 27.

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 % increase

Entry Level 55 66 82 +49.1%

Level 1 279 298 339 +21.5%

Level 2 530 560 642 +21.1%

Level 3 1639 1765 1811 +10.5%

Level 4 0 0 2 -

Other Level 2 3 0 -

Total 2505 2692 2876 +14.8%

Table 27.

Source: YPLA Learner Volume Pivot Table, May 2011

5.11.2 Of particular note is the increase in the number of learners progressing into

Entry Level provision by almost 50%; indicating that those who do not achieve at Key Stage 4 are still progressing in education and learning.

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care

Retail and Commercial Enterprise

Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies

Preparation for Life and Work

Business, Administration and Law

Health, Public Services and Care

Leisure, Travel and Tourism

Information and Communication Technology

Social Sciences

Languages, Literature and Culture

Arts, Media and Publishing

History, Philosophy and Theology

Science and Mathematics

2010/11

2009/10

2008/09

Graph 2.

45

5.11.3 The number of residents studying at Level 3 in School Sixth Forms and Academies has risen by 21% (from 375 in 2007/08 to 455 in 2009/10). Part year figures for 2010/11 indicate further growth within School Sixth Forms and Academy provision at Level 3.

5.11.4 This evidence of progression from Key Stage 4 is supported by NCCIS

Activity Survey data which indicates that Halton young people are making progress in education and learning upon leaving Secondary School. Table 28 below shows the historic breakdown.

Academic Year

% 16 year olds Into Learning

% 16 year olds Into Full Time

Education 2005/6 87.2% 71.5% 2006/7 89.1% 77.6% 2007/8 88.9% 79.6% 2008/9 93.0% 86.1%

2009/10 94.5% 87.0% Table 28.

Source: NCCIS Activity Survey, DfE

5.12 Achievement of Level 2 & 3 qualifications by age 19 5.12.1 Halton young people’s attainment at Level 2 and Level 3 by age 19 continues

to improve; between 2009 and 2010 Halton saw large increases in both performance measures. The achievement gap between Halton and the North West has been steadily reducing over the past three years but overall performance remains below both regional and national levels.

5.12.2 Table 29 shows the historic trend for both measures against national performance.

2007 2008 2009 2010 Halton Level 2

By Age 19 62.7% 65.6% 67.2% 74.8%

National Level 2 By Age 19

73.8% 76.7% 79.1% 81.5%

Halton Level 3 By Age 19

34.4% 33.6% 33.9% 42.3%

National Level 3 By Age 19

48.3% 49.9% 51.6% 54.2%

Table 29. 5.13.3 Level 2 attainment by age 19 increased by 7.6% on the previous year to

74.8% representing the largest annual local authority increase nationally. Overall between 2008 and 2010 Halton saw a 9.2% increase in Level 2

46

attainment; this was one of the highest increases within its group of statistical neighbours. In addition, Halton’s gap to the highest statistical neighbour performance has decreased; 10.1% in 20008 compared to 4.9% in 2010.

5.14.4 Level 3 attainment by age 19 in 2010 has increased to 42.3%, above the

figure reported for the previous year (33.9%). This is an 8.4% increase and represents the second largest annual local authority increase nationally.

5.14.5 Further growth in Level 2 by age 19 performance is forecast for next year with

78.8% of the 2011 cohort having already secured a Level 2 qualification by age 18. Rises are also expected in Level 3 by 19 performance.

5.14.5 In Halton the proportion of young people eligible for Free School Meals (FSM)

achieving level 2 by age 19 has increased over the last three years. In 2010:

• 57% of young people who were eligible for FSM achieved level 2 by age 19, compared with 79% of those who were not eligible.

• The disadvantage gap has therefore reduced to 22% over the past three years and is now only slightly larger than the national gap of 20%.

5.14.6 Attainment of Level 3 by age 19 amongst young people who were eligible for

FSM meals has increased over the past three years. In 2009/10:

• 25% of young people who were eligible for FSM achieved level 3 by age 19, compared with 46% of those who were not eligible.

• This disadvantaged gap of 21% is smaller than the national average of 24%.

5.14.7 Attainment of a Level 2 at age 16 including English and Maths is a significant

factor in progressing and achieving a Level 3 qualification by age 19. In 2010 77% of those attaining a level 2 at 16 including GCSE English and Maths achieved level 3 at 19.

5.14.8 Table 30 below shows the correlation between educational attainment at age

16 and the Level 3 by age 19 achievement in the corresponding reporting year.

Year at

Age 16

% 5+A*-C

inc. E&M

Year at

Age 19 % Level 3

2002/03 33% 2005/06 34%

2003/04 31% 2006/07 34%

2004/05 33% 2007/08 33%

2005/06 33% 2008/09 34%

2006/07 41% 2009/10 42%

Table 30.

Source: DfE Performance Tables & Level 2&3 by 19 SFR

47

5.15 Progression into Higher Education

5.15.1 Data from the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) shows an increase in the number of Halton residents aged 18-19 progressing to study at UK higher education institutions. The number of Halton residents in Higher Education as well as the estimated percentage of the 18 & 19 year old cohort is shown below in Table 31.

Number of

18-19 Learners

Estimated % of

18-19 cohort

2007/08 740 23%

2008/09 730 23%

2009/10 755 24%

Table 31.

Source: HESA, % based upon ONS Mid-year population estimates 5.16 Foundation Learning 5.16.1 After a national pilot, Foundation Learning officially began in 2010/11. Part

year figures for 2010/11 indicate a total of 111 learners aged 16-19 undertaking Foundation Learning programmes; forty-six 16 year olds, fifty-three 17 year olds and twelve18 year olds. A breakdown of Foundation Learning numbers by LLDD status is shown in Table 32.

2010/11

No. % LLDD 18 16.2%

Non-LLDD 93 83.8% Foundation Learning Total 111 100.0%

Table 32. Source: YPLA Learner Volume Pivot Table, May 2011

5.16.2 A total of 97 learners are continuing with E2E programmes in 2010/11.

48

6. Priority 6 – Learning Landscape 6.1 The achievement of Halton young people at the end of Key Stage 4 has

improved since 2008. Provisional 2011 result indicate that Halton has again exceeded the National average in the 5+A*-C (Level 2) measure. Performance at 5+A*-C including English and Maths has also improved in recent years with Halton closing the gap on the national figure in 2011. A historic performance summary is shown below in Table 33.

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11

Halton LA 71.2% 71.5% 81.9% 85.8%

National

5+A*-C

(Level 2) 64.6% 70.0% 76.3% 80.1%

Halton LA 49.3% 44.6% 50.1% 55.7%

National

5+A*-C

Inc. E&M 48.4% 50.9% 55.3% 57.9%

Table 33.

Source: DfE, NCER 6.2 The proportion of GCSE equivalent exam entries at Key Stage 4 has

increased across Secondary Schools in the Local Authority over the last five years. In 2006 10.8% of KS4 exam entries were GCSE equivalents compared to 30.1% in 2010 (1384 entries in 2006 compared to 4858 in 2010).

6.3 This increase as a percentage of total KS4 entries is shown in Table 34.

%

GCSE Entries

% KS4

Equivalent entries

2005/06 89.2% 10.8%

2006/07 83.6% 16.4%

2007/08 76.6% 23.4%

2008/09 75.8% 24.2%

2009/10 69.9% 30.1%

Table 34.

Source: NCER

49

APPENDIX B

Employment Learning and Skills to support the 14-19 Strategic Commissioning Statement for

2012-13

1. Employment Learning and Skills

1.1 The development and promotion of businesses and enterprise in Halton are identified as key priorities in the borough’s Sustainable Communities Strategy and the supporting Employment Learning and Skills Action Plan (2011-2013).

1.2 Our overall aim is: “To create an economically prosperous borough that

encourages investment, entrepreneurship, enterprise and business growth, and improves the education, skills and employment prospects of our residents and workforce so they can share in all the opportunities Halton affords”.

1.3 The Employment Learning and Skills thematic partnership have identified the

following long term priorities:

• ‘Developing a strong, diverse, competitive and sustainable local economy’;

• Fostering a culture of enterprise and entrepreneurship and make Halton an ideal place to start and grow a business’;

• Developing a culture where learning is valued and raise skill levels throughout the adult population and across the local workforce;

• Promoting and increasing the employability of local people and tackling barriers to employment to get more people into work.

• Maximising an individual’s potential to manage and increase their income, including access to appropriate, supportive advice services.

1.4 Findings from the Halton Business Perceptions Survey March 2010 show that

12% of local businesses perceive a gap between the skills they need and those present amongst their workforce. The majority of these businesses also expected to have skills gaps in 2 years’ time. There is therefore a degree of

50

mismatch between the needs of local businesses and the skills of local people. This in turn contributes to the deprivation within Halton. In order for Halton to prosper the balance needs to be redressed and the skills needs of local people and employers needs to be identified and set out as part of the commissioning statement.

2. Labour Economy

2.1 The Labour Market

2.1.1 The Labour Market: the view from the Mersey (v2) – Briefing Paper Dec

2010 2.1.2 CEDEFOP, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training,

is a European agency that helps promote and develop vocational education and training in the European Union (EU). In their report ‘Skills, Supply and Demand in Europe: Medium Term Forecast’ it is clear that ‘it is likely that employment growth in Europe will only gradually recover in the next decade’ and ‘Europe is on its way to an economy where services and knowledge and skills intensive occupations will prevail.’. In a recent review of labour market research, in general the trends that CEDEFOP forecast apply to the UK, the North West region and the Liverpool City Region.

2.1.3 Detailed below are the potential growth areas and the significant challenges

that the UK, NW and in particular the Liverpool City Region faces in the medium term.

2.2 National and Regional Picture 2.2.1 By 2020 it is estimated that there will be 5 million less low skilled jobs in the

UK and that nearly 40% of all jobs will require a graduate level qualification. Although government spending cuts are predicted to lead to a rise in unemployment in the short term, it is technology eliminating old jobs that is the biggest factor in the reduction of low skilled work.

2.2.2 The UK have nearly 50% of the workforce not qualified at level 2 (5 GCSE

grades A- C) or below. North West residents including those in the Liverpool City Region are still less likely to hold a level 4 qualification than those in other regions and 14.7% (623,000) of the region’s working age population have no qualification at all. More encouragingly the NW delivered the most apprentice starts in the country between 2008 and 2010 - 72,000. Though the North West Development Agency estimates that an additional 85,000 people qualified to, at least, level 3 will be required in the region by 2020.

2.2.3 In the past 10 years it is estimated that there have been 12 jobs created in the

‘knowledge industries’ for every one created elsewhere. It is suggested that the UK needs 324,000 more graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering

51

and Maths (STEM) subjects by 2014! Yet 70% of postgraduate students studying STEM subjects at UK universities are from overseas.

2.2.4 There is also a suggestion that employers are seeking higher qualified people

to take jobs that previously may have required lower level skills. 2.2.5 The Local Government Growth White Paper states that Government’s

primary focus is on rebalancing the economy towards private sector employment. There is an emphasis on rebalancing the economy both sectorally and geographically and a move to ‘shift power to local communities and businesses’; ‘increase confidence to invest’; and ‘tackle barriers to growth’. A number of new initiatives have been introduced which are designed to encourage private sector enterprise, and create sustainable private sector jobs.

2.2.6 Additionally, in January 2011, the Department for Business Innovation and

Skills launched the “Bigger, Better, Business – Helping small firms start, grow and prosper” prospectus. The prospectus sets out proposals on how Government ensures that business start-ups, and existing small and medium sized businesses can access the information and business advice they need. The ‘Get Britain Working’ initiative includes support for people who have been out of work for shorter periods and includes support for self-employment, volunteering, work placements and apprenticeships.

2.2.7 Welfare reform is a key priority for Government and will have a major impact

on driving economic growth. The Single Work Programme has been introduced with the underlying principle of ‘making work pay’.

2.2.8 The Government sees the development of the country’s skills base as

fundamental to supporting economic growth and improving individual life chances. Funding is being allocated to help low skilled and disadvantaged people and those seeking work. The Skills for Sustainable Growth Strategy sets out the Government’s reform of the further education and skills system.

2.3 Liverpool and its City Region 2.3.1 The Mersey Partnership declares that the aim is to make the LCR ‘a thriving

international city region by 2030.’ so the LCR needs to:

• create an additional 107,000, but projected growth suggests that between 45,000 and 87,000 jobs will be created in the period up to 2030

• increase the ‘low’ number of businesses – it is estimated that Liverpool City Region needs another 4,800 business start-ups to bring it up to the UK average for a region of its size

• tackle high incidences of deprivation

52

2.3.2 A recent report (February 2010) by Cambridge Policy Consultants outlined the challenges facing the city region over the next 20 years and pins great hope on 4 ‘Transformational Actions’:

• The Culture and Visitor Economy

• Liverpool SuperPort

• The Low Carbon Economy

• The Knowledge Economy

2.3.3 The report makes it clear that it realises that much needs to be done to

achieve its vision of a ‘thriving international city region by 2030. For the LCR’s performance to equal the average in England the region needs to have:

• 26,400 more 19-64 year olds achieving a level 2 qualification

• 43,800 more 19-64 year olds achieving a level 4 qualification

• 46,000 fewer 19-64 year olds who have no qualifications

• 120,000 more people in work. In February 2010 the employment rate in the LCR stood at 66.7% compared to the England average of 80%

2.3.4 At a sub-regional level, several documents have been produced which set out a

strategy for Improving Business Growth. For example, the Liverpool City Region Enterprise and Business Growth Strategy emphasises the need to grow the existing business base through increased business start-ups and improved business survival rates; supporting the creation of value through business growth and expansion; and delivering competitiveness by increasing productivity.

2.4 The Culture and Visitor Economy 2.4.1 Within the North West Liverpool attracts the fewest day visitors (11%). This is

a positive as visitors tend to stay for longer and spend more. Currently the sector supports 23,000 jobs and the Mersey Partnership hope this can grow to 43,000 jobs by 2030.

2.4.2 To compete for these opportunities LCR residents will need to have the ‘soft

skills’ that tourism, retail and leisure require – in particular excellent customer service skills. In addition to entry level opportunities managerial and supervisory opportunities are expected to be available.

2.5 The Liverpool SuperPort 2.5.1 The SuperPort project aims to exploit the potential that exists in the Liverpool

City Region to develop intermodal (transfer) freight and passenger facilities between the Mersey Ports, John Lennon Airport and the rail network.

53

2.5.2 The development of the SuperPort is expected to create 21,000 jobs by 2020

and 30,000 by 2030. The Mersey Multimodal Gateway (3MG) is being developed to be a freight interchange site beside the Runcorn Bridge in Widnes. This is a partnership project by Halton Borough Council and the Stobart Group. The cities of the Northwest form the biggest conurbation outside of London and the 3MG interchange will allow retailers to move goods into the region by rail, with further distribution throughout the region being carried out by road.

2.5.3 The full development of the SuperPort project depends on a complex Action

Plan that will require successful lobbying of Central Government, development of the SuperPort Infrastructure and improvements to access beyond the Liverpool City Region (Mersey Gateway, widening of the M6, Rail Freight Capacity, etc.).

2.5.4 The job opportunities are mainly expected to be in process, plant and machine

operatives (19%) and elementary occupations (18%) but managers and senior officials are expected to make up 15% of the new jobs. Skills in ICT, professional and business services, and transport management will be particularly important.

2.6 The Low Carbon Economy 2.6.1 Rob Wellman (Ecotec) produced a report that identified 3 main types of skills

implications associated with the Low Carbon Economy:

• Greening of existing skills e.g. adapting existing approaches and products

• Expanding and replacing existing skills – including growth in low carbon products and services e.g. energy efficiency/waste disposal

• Totally new skills e.g. associated with research and development or projects in the embryonic stage e.g. wave power, hydrogen fuel cells

2.6.2 There is still, however, a need for generic STEM (Science, Technology,

Engineering and Maths) skills. It will be the engineers and scientists of the future that will enact the green solutions required.

2.6.3 On Merseyside there are 9,000 people directly employed in the Environmental

Technology Sector. It is thought that between 2009 and 2015 a further 6,000 to 15,000 jobs could be created in this sector on Merseyside.

2.7 The Knowledge Economy 2.7.1 Merseyside is a centre of excellence and innovation for certain key sectors

(eg bioscience, pharmaceuticals). These sectors currently support 14,000 jobs. Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus (DSIC) is made up of the world renowned Daresbury Laboratory - one of only two centres for 'big scale'

54

science in the UK - and Daresbury Innovation Centre a brand new, state of the art facility catering for companies at the cutting edge of technological innovation.

2.7.2 In terms of the knowledge economy the report believes that the skills demands of the additional jobs to be created are as follows:

• 37% to 45% are likely to require individuals with level 4 qualifications or above

• around 40% are likely to require level 2 or 3 qualifications 2.7.3 A more recent report by Mike Shields CBE (November 2010) identified 4 main

sub sections of the knowledge economy locally that have the potential to deliver up to 60,000 new jobs. These sub sections are:

• Life Sciences

• Creative and Digital

• Advanced Manufacturing which includes connections to Environmental and Green Technologies

• Advanced

• Financial and Professional Services

2.7.4 The Shields report identifies 9 key priorities for the region with developing a productive long term relationship between the Daresbury SIC, industry and the public sector in the region a key priority for Halton.

2.7.5 The Cambridge Policy Consultants report concludes with 6 strategic objectives. These are:

• to work more closely with employers to focus investment on the skills they need

• to empower employers to drive improvements in skills and productivity within their workplaces, sectors and business networks to create the conditions for business success and future growth

• to engage and empower local people to make informed choices about their learning, jobs and careers

• to build clear and effective career pathways for 14-24 year olds

• to transform performance of services impacting on employment rates for disadvantaged groups and areas

• to simplify employment and skills systems to help individuals an employers engage with and navigate services more effectively

2.7.6 They recognise that the strategy’s implementation needs answers to the

following questions:

55

• are we training in the right areas?

• are employers increasingly recognising the relevance of the qualifications being created?

• are employers utilising effectively the higher skills now more readily available?

2.7.7 The messages are clear that whilst there is no doubt that a university degree

provides a very high currency with employers and a significant effect on a person’s potential earning capacity there are a list of other attributes/skills/talents that employers look for and are not necessarily provable by the possession of a degree certificate. These are:

• Self-reliance skills e.g. self-awareness, self-belief, realistic outlook, proactive, inquisitive, eager to learn, good at networking, decisive, able to prioritise, good at planning

• People skills e.g. team working, organised, co-operative, good communicator, leadership, motivated, friendly, caring, diplomatic, assertive

• General employment skills e.g. problem solving, practical, logical, flexible, multi-skilled, business acumen, good ICT skills, quick thinking, committed, methodical

• Specialist occupational skills e.g. ICT, foreign languages, public speaking, technical skills

Sources: Cambridge Policy Consultants, Liverpool City Region Employment and Skills Strategy and Commissioning: Final Report, February 2010 CEDEFOP, European Council for the Development of vocational Training – Skills, Supply and Demand in Europe: Medium Term Forecast up to 2020, Luxembourg, Publication Office of the European Union, 2010 Mersey Partnership, Merseyside Economic Review 2008 Shields M (2010), The Liverpool City Region Knowledge Economy Plan, Knowledge Economy Group Johnstone I, Willis J, (2010) What do Graduates do? UCAS/AGCAS/HECSU

3. Halton’s Business Demography (June 2011) 3.1 The following key messages are a “data” look at business demography in

Halton as at June 2011: 3.1.1 The borough of Halton :

• has 53,000 people in employment

• has a JSA unemployment rate of 5.3% (4077 claimants)

• is ranked joint 27th highest for unemployment rate (out of 326 LA's in England)

• has seen a rise of 150 in the number of JSA claimants over the last 12 months

56

• sees about 1 in every 5 young people (18-24 year olds) in Windmill Hill claiming JobSeekers Allowance

• has about 6 JSA claimants for every JobCentre Plus vacancy

• sees 1 in every 5 people aged 16-64 claiming an out of work benefit

• has about 9% of 16 to 18 year olds Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET)

• contains 3,540 local units in VAT and/or PAYE based enterprises

• has 13.4% of economically inactive people (who want a job) not looking for one due to long term sickness, this is more than double the national rate (taken from the Annual Population survey, Jan-Dec 2009)

3.1.2 Key Messages

• There are 3,540 registered businesses in Halton (2010) and 52,000 employee jobs* (2008)

• About a third of the 3,540 businesses are within three broad industry groups, these are Construction (11%), Retail (11.2%) and Professional, Scientific and technical (11.9%)

• Over half of the businesses within Halton fall into the 0-4 employment size band (58.3%)

• The number of enterprise deaths in Halton has become greater than the number of enterprise births in 2009

• 92.8% of businesses registered in Halton in 2008 were still trading in 2009; this was the joint lowest rate in the Liverpool City Region but higher than the national rate.

3.2 Halton Science Technology & Advanced Manufacturing (STAM) Skills

Gap Analysis Report 3.2.1 An audit of the STAM skills provision available in the borough compared to the

future jobs demand in the STAM sectors was undertaken by the Halton Science, Technology and Advanced Manufacturing (STAM) Group to identify any gaps in January 2010.

3.2.2 Future demand, both replacement and new, for the period 2010-2030 by

sector and level is detailed below: Total Demand 2010-2030 L4+ L3 L2 >L2 Total Chemical, Process, Food Technology -5 -76 -74 -247 -402 Engineering (incl. Aerospace, automotive) 82 46 36 78 242 Bioscience (incl. Pharmaceutical) 551 146 166 199 1062 Digital (ICT, Internet, Mobile, Gaming) 616 226 206 312 1360 Total 1244 342 334 342 2262

TABLE 1

57

*For comparison purposes of this report, R&D sector jobs have been removed). Source: Halton Borough Council Skills Assessment – Science, Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Report – January 2010 (AMION Consulting)

3.2.3 In order to compare this forecast with current skills provision, the demand per

annum was calculated, assuming a consistent level of demand over 20 years. The table below shows the total demand 2010-2030 again broken down by sector and level:

Total Demand 2010-2030 (per annum) L4+ L3 L2 >L2 Total Chemical, Process, Food Technology 0 -4 -4 -12 -20 Engineering (incl. Aerospace, automotive) 4 2 2 4 12

Bioscience (incl. Pharmaceutical) 28 7 8 10 53 Digital (ICT, Internet, Mobile, Gaming) 31 11 10 16 68 Total 62 17 17 17 113

TABLE 2 3.2.4 Of the net demand for skilled recruits, 55% will need Level 4 or above, 70%

will require Level 3 or above but only 15% of jobs will require Level 2 or below. 3.2.5 Skills gaps have been crudely estimated by calculating the difference in the

total demand of future jobs (per annum) and the places available for 2010/11 and are:

• Below Level 2 – Bioscience

• Level 2 – Bioscience

• Level 3 – No skills gaps

• Level 4 – Bioscience and Digital 3.3 Science Halton Routeway

3.3.1 The Science Halton Routeway (www.sciencehalton.com) was developed to

bring information relating to education, skills, support available and employment opportunities together in one place. The website provides a useful resource to be used by careers advisors, teachers, young people and adults in supporting and guiding choices relating to STAM careers and learning pathways. Together with a range of other initiatives, including supporting local primary schools in achieving the Primary Science Quality Mark, the Science Halton website provides a key local resource to raise awareness of and dispel myths about working in the STAM industries.

3.3.2 Further intense research with the 200+ local STAM businesses in the borough

will be undertaken during the autumn of 2011 to try and understand in more detail the specific skills sets needed by local businesses and what support

58

businesses could be offered with regards to local provision being developed to fit with these requirements.

3.4 Construction Halton 3.4.1 A new project is underway in Halton aimed at achieving community benefits

arising from construction work. 3.4.2 Construction Halton is focused on promoting the use of obligation clauses in

procurement contracts and planning agreements to ensure suppliers and developers address targeted recruitment and training issues to assist unemployed people gain work.

3.4.3 The model was originally developed by a number of North East councils, and

versions of it have already been, or are about to be, implemented, by several councils in Liverpool City Region, including, Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral.

3.4.4 Whilst the project is focused on achieving community benefits from construction work, the principle can be extended to include the procurement of other goods and services. The project will initially be targeted on the Council’s procurement and planning policies, but the ambition is for other publicly funded organisations in Halton to follow the Council’s lead.

3.4.5 Construction projects over £1m or 1000 square metres or 10 residential units

in size will be in scope for the Construction Halton project. Negotiations in relation to employment opportunities, apprenticeships, work experience and careers days will form part of the key performance indicators embedded into contracts. The project is already live for Building Schools for the future, with the creation of:

• 5 jobs

• 10 apprenticeships

• 19 weeks work experience

• 17 days careers and learning input

3.4.6 The management of these KPIs will be undertaken by the Halton Employment Partnership working closely with the Council’s BSF team. Other projects ‘in scope’ include the Mersey Gateway, 3MG Highways & Infrastructure and a new retail development at Tanhouse Yard.

3.5 The Big 100 Campaign 3.5.1 Halton Borough Council, as a key partner within the Halton Employment

Partnership, is committed to securing 100 new apprenticeship opportunities across the borough by the end of 2011 and is looking for local businesses to consider any new job vacancies being advertised as an apprenticeship job opportunity for local people.. More than 300 young people and adults across

59

Halton have already registered their details with the National Apprenticeship Service and Halton People into Jobs to help secure future employment and training.

3.5.2 The National Apprenticeship Service is supporting the Big 100 campaign,

working alongside the other campaign partners to ensure that more Halton organisations, across all sectors and industries, can have the opportunity to enjoy the business benefits that employing apprentices can bring.

3.6 Enterprising Halton 3.6.1 Halton Borough Council’s “Enterprising Halton” service was established in

2007 to increase awareness of self-employment and promote enterprise across the borough.

3.6.2 The aims of this service are to promote a realistic awareness of the

opportunities and risk associated with starting a business in Halton and to guide individuals into a managed network of information, guidance, starts up advice, mentoring, support and aftercare.

3.6.3 The Enterprising Halton Service includes:

• Enterprise Officer to implement enterprise action plan and develop new initiatives

• Enterprise Enquiry Service – business start-up advice, support and aftercare

• Kick Start course – 2 day pre-enterprise awareness course

• £500 Enterprise grant for New Business Starts

Since April 2007:

• The programme has handled over 2000 enquiries from local residents relating to accessing business start-up advice.

• 48 Kick Start courses have been delivered to access information and advice about becoming self-employed or starting up their own business.

• The service has successfully supported 483 new business start ups

3.6.4 HBC continues to market and promote enterprise activity across the borough

and is currently working in partnership with a number of key partners to increase business start-up and job creation rates, including:

• Halton Chamber of Commerce

• Elect

• Princes Trust

60

• A4e

• Ingeus Deloitte

• Job Centre Plus / DWP

• HBC Business Development / Inward Investment

• HBC Procurement

3.6.5 HBC will work in partnership with the above key partners to promote

enterprise activity throughout Enterprise Week – 14th to 18th November 2011. Venues such as Widnes Market will be used to promote the ‘enterprise offer’ available in Halton.

3.6.6 In addition to the “Enterprising Halton” service, HBC currently manages and co-ordinates the ISUS Programme (Intensive Start Up Support) in Halton on behalf of A4e who is the Prime Contractor to the North West Development Agency (NWDA). Customers aged 18 – 30 are referred to Princes Trust and customers aged over 30 are referred to Elect to access the tailored one to one business start up advice.

3.6.7 NWDA funding to deliver the ISUS programme ceases 31st December 2011 and Working Neighbourhoods Funding (WNF) ceases 31st March 2012. HBC is currently working with various partners to identify further funding to continue to deliver a complete ‘employment and enterprise’ offer in Halton post March 2012. HBC has submitted a bid to DWP in August to deliver the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) Scheme in Halton and successful bidders will be notified in Sep 2011.

3.6.8 New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) will be available to Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) customers who have been claiming for 26-weeks or more.

3.6.9 Participants will get access to a volunteer business mentor who will provide guidance and support as they develop their business plan and through the early months of trading. Once a customer can demonstrate they have a viable business proposition with the potential for growth in the future, they will be able to access financial support. This will consist of:

• a weekly allowance worth £1,274 over 26 weeks, paid at £65 a week for the first 13 weeks and £33 a week for a further 13 weeks, and

• if they need start-up capital, they may also be able to access a loan up to £1,000 to help with their start-up costs.

3.6.10 The total package of support could be worth up to £2,274 to each participant who starts their own business.

3.7 Major Developments in Halton

61

3.7.1 There are a number of major projects in the borough particularly in the construction sector and a skills needs analysis is being undertaken to ensure there is an appropriate curriculum offer to meet the needs of employers.

3.8 Widnes Waterfront 3.8.1 Widnes Waterfront is a regeneration programme centred around 80 hectares

of low quality industrial land situated between Widnes Town Centre and the Mersey Estuary.

3.8.2 The vision for Widnes Waterfront is ‘An exciting waterfront destination and

gateway to Widnes offering a range of employment, leisure and residential opportunities. Widnes Waterfront displays notable sustainable design, making the most of this unique and well-connected waterside setting’.

3.8.3 The Masterplan proposes a range of mixed use development opportunities

and to date has delivered commercial developments providing over 200,000sq ft of distribution, office and industrial space. It is estimated that 1,100 jobs generated over the lifetime of the project.

3.8.4 Currently under construction is a leisure development which includes a six

screen cinema, ice rink, bowling alley and Frankie and Benny’s restaurant. This first phase is due to open in Autumn 2011. A second phase consisting of a Premier Inn and pub will open early 2012. These will bring to the Borough new opportunities in tourism, retail and leisure which will need to utilise excellent customer service skills

3.9 Mersey Gateway 3.9.1 The Mersey Gateway is a major £604m scheme to build a new six lane toll

bridge over the River Mersey between the towns of Runcorn and Widnes and is due to open in 2016. The majority of funding comes from the tolls paid by users. The project includes modifications to the existing Silver Jubilee Bridge that will improve facilities for public transport, walking and cycling across the river.

3.9.2 The project is estimated to bring huge benefits for people and businesses in

Halton, the Liverpool City Region, Cheshire and across the North West. The Mersey Gateway will act as a catalyst to kick-start a long-term regeneration programme in Halton and will provide essential support for the delivery of economic growth across the region.

3.9.3 4,650 permanent new jobs will be created as a result of the operation of the

Mersey Gateway, regeneration activity and inward investment. The Mersey Gateway Project will generate 470 permanent full time equivalent jobs on site during the construction phase.

62

3.9.4 A range of construction employment will arise from the Project. Table 3 provides a breakdown between specialist and general jobs.

Specialist General Management and site engineers Administration staff Quantity surveyors General site operatives Land surveyors Catering and support staff

Piling engineers and operatives Joiners Cable stay and stressing engineers Steel fixers Cable stay and stressing operatives Scaffolders Construction foremen Crane drivers Steel erectors Lorry drivers Material testing technicians Excavation plant drivers Various specialist contractors (including safety fences, parapets, white lines, lighting, signs, blacktop, joints and sealing)

Concrete batching plant staff

TABLE 3 3.9.5 Further workforce modelling work aimed at forecasting the number of jobs that

will be required in each discipline and the recruitment and training opportunities that will arise, will be undertaken as part of the Mersey Gateway tendering process.

3.10 3MG (Mersey Multimodal Gateway) 3.10.1 3MG is one of the largest dedicated logistics parks designed for multiple

freight, warehousing, retail and import/export businesses. It builds upon the highly successful rail services already operating from the site and serving major ports.

3.10.2 Located in Ditton, Widnes, it is at the heart of the motorway network and on

the doorstep of two international airports. It offers a unique mix of connectivity, modern infrastructure and location. The vision for 3MG is to build upon the established credentials of the location and allow the park to realise its full economic and regenerative potential. The complete development of 3MG is expected to offer employment to up to 5,000 people and an annual GVA contribution of £235m.

3.10.3 The provision of state of the art bespoke logistics spaces will provide a

highly cost and carbon efficient location and facilities suitable for Regional Distribution Centres (RDCs) of national and international retail operations and will come to the market at a time when existing stock of this quality is very limited, constraining growth potential. It will stimulate the wider SuperPort cluster – creating opportunities in professional and business services, transport, shipping, Port activity etc. this next phase will generate in the region of 3,450 new jobs

63

3.10.4 In summer 2010, a flagship 528,000 sq ft Chilled Distribution Centre was opened by Tesco on 3MG and provided in excess of 420 jobs, the majority of which went to local residents. The pre recruitment process was handled by the Halton Employment Partnership and ensured that, through early engagement with Tesco Limited, local people were able to gain the skills needed to effectively compete for jobs with Tesco. Whilst the majority of jobs were Warehouse Operative roles, a small number of jobs on 3MG were also available within administration, supervisory, shift co-ordinator and bridge hand roles. Future job requirements at 3MG are expected to be similar to the Tesco model.

3.10.5 Independent assessment, by East West Locations, of the 3MG site was

conducted in October 2010 to support the next phase of the 3MG project. The assessment considered conditions in the local labour market over which employers typically recruit from. It is important to note that the assessment covers the working age population and is not broken down by age bands. Some key findings are:

• Three out of five residents hold NVQ Level 2 or above, of which a notable 63,400, are not currently in employment, and 41,330 hold a Level 3 or above. A proportion of this group could be targeted for immediate recruitment.

• Logistics sector in the Journey to Work Area (JTWA) catchment* area serving 3MG is relatively high compared to regional and national rates.

• Within distribution, the 3MG catchment area shows a significant specialism in warehousing and road freight activity. There are twice as many people employed in freight handling in the area than nationally.

*catchment area is a 40 minute peak hour journey.

4. Halton Economic Review 4.1 Halton Local Economic Assessment 4.1.1 The borough’s Local Economic Assessment presents a strong evidence base

around economic issues and in doing so provides a common understanding of Halton’s economic profile. An analysis and interpretation of the data contained in the Local Economic Assessment has informed Halton’s proposed future priority areas which are aligned to the six drivers of economic prosperity as set out by the Local Government Improvement and Development Agency:

• Improving Business Performance

• Supporting Growth and Investment

• Growing the Low Carbon Economy

• Raising Skills and Reducing Unemployment

64

• Place-Shaping and Connectivity

• Enhancing Quality of Life 4.1.2 It is estimated that £2.2bn of GVA was generated within Halton during 2007,

this equates to 2.06% of North West GVA. It is home to a number of nationally and internationally recognised businesses such as Ineos Chlor, Tesco and O2.

4.1.3 The Halton Local Economic Assessment states that the economy of Halton has

traditionally been dominated by manufacturing. However, over the last decade there has been a marked and orderly diversification of the local economy evidenced by greater numbers of local residents employed in higher value occupations.

5. The Halton Employment Partnership 5.1 The Halton Employment Partnership (HEP) offers a one stop shop service to

local businesses and residents and brings together expertise from various employment, learning and skills agencies to present a ‘complete employment offer’. HEP engages with businesses at an early stage to ensure that the required skill set is in place to support future recruitment opportunities. This is achieved through exploration of future job roles and skills requirements with the employer and development of appropriate training and support pathways by HEP organisations. During 2011, HEP will manage the recruitment projects for the new leisure Hive development on Widnes Waterfront as well as the new Widnes based Tesco Extra store. These developments will create 300+ new jobs in the borough. HEP is also working alongside the Council’s Major Projects team in engaging with potential new customers for the 3MG site. Early intervention with employers/investors enables young people and adults to access training and support provision that matches real job opportunities.