If passed, it will see the education leaving age rise to 18 in 2015. But how will the new legislation be enforced, who will be responsible and will it work? Nancy Rowntree reports.

They probably don't realise it, but the children who will be starting secondary school next year could be part of what the government has branded the biggest reform of education, training and skills in a generation.

If the Education and Skills Bill published in Parliament a fortnight ago is passed, they will be the first young people with a legal duty to stay in education or training until the age of 18. At the moment there are about 200,000 young people between the ages of 16 to 18 not in education or training. That's too many, ministers say, if the UK is to compete successfully on the global economic stage.

Vocational options

The government stresses no one will be forced to stay at school under the new plans. "There will be a range of exciting qualifications and options to go into, including new diplomas and 90,000 more apprenticeship places," says Children's Secretary Ed Balls. "Those who want to leave school to begin working at 16 will still be able to do so, as long as they participate in part-time training."

But local authorities will nonetheless have fairly wide-reaching powers to enforce sanctions on young people who refuse to play the game, firstly through taking away any financial backing they received and then through punitive measures such as attendance orders and fines.

John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, has serious reservations about the proposed sanctions.

"While the government has said no young person will be forced to stay at school, it has also indicated it will make non-participation a criminal offence," he says. "This is wrong. Young people under 18 should not be criminalised for refusing to learn a skill, or there will be very little chance of ever getting them back into education or training."

Brian Lamb, chair of the Special Educational Consortium, is concerned that there are simply not enough resources out there to give children with special needs the extra support they need to stay on.

"There are major problems in ensuring children with special needs have the right provision and some schools currently struggle to provide a properly differentiated curriculum. With the changes in the Bill, schools are going to need more resources and we will be looking for a commitment from government on how they will ensure specialist support services are available."

But Lamb welcomes provisions in the Bill requiring local education authorities to assess the education and training needs of young people with special needs beyond the age of compulsory education.

At present only 15 per cent of 16-year-olds with special educational needs statements stay on at school. These figures drop further for 17-year-olds, with only seven per cent of those with special needs and statements staying on at school, according to government figures.

"The problems children with special needs face when they leave school is that they fall off a cliff edge," says Lamb. "We welcome anything that makes sure there is more co-ordination when young people transfer to further education."

As well as legislating for raising the participation age, ministers are at pains to explain that the Bill also paves the way for making sure young people are fully supported in staying on and making career choices.

The responsibility for delivering Connexions services will transfer to local authorities and careers education will be strengthened by placing a duty on schools to provide impartial advice to help pupils make the most appropriate learning and careers choices.

Careers guidance

But Chris Evans, executive director of the Institute of Careers Guidance, thinks careers guidance has been overlooked. "Subsuming careers guidance into the broader responsibility of schools isn't good enough," says Evans. "There is no mention of the responsibility of local authorities for careers guidance and that is worrying."

The focus of the Bill is on young people engaging in training, but what about the world of work, asks Evans. "These young people will end up in work at some stage, yet the Bill says nothing about preparation and progression into work," he says.

And Steve Stewart, executive director of Connexions Coventry and Warwickshire, worries about the possibility that local authorities will not be able to deliver. "There is a risk that different places will do things differently and there will be quite a mixed level of service," he says.

As it jostles for a place on the parliamentary schedule for its second reading one thing is for sure; this ambitious Bill certainly won't go through quietly.

KEY POINTS

- The Education and Skills Bill published in Parliament on 28 November and focuses mainly on the over-16s (CYP Now, 5-11 December)

- The Bill develops the green paper Raising Expectations: staying in education and training post-16, published in March, and the government's response to the Leitch Review of Skills published in July

- The education and training leaving age would be raised to 17 from 2013 and 18 from 2015

- Local education authorities would be required to co-operate with partners who are responsible for 14-19 education and training

- The Learning and Skills Council would be required to make sure 16- to 18-year-olds can access apprenticeships

- The Bill also proposes that independent schools will be overseen by Ofsted rather than directly by the Children's Secretary.