Annual Participation Measure 2021-22
Argyll and Bute Council · 15 December 2022
Back to Community Services Committee — 15 December 2022 and its agenda
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE EDUCATION 15 DECEMBER 2022 ANNUAL PARTICIPATION MEASURE 2021-22 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 The main purpose of this report is to provide members with information on the most recent Annual Participation Measure published in August 2022, covering the period April 2021 – March 2022. 1.2 The Annual Participation Measure (APM) reports nationally on the economic and employment activity of the wider 16-19 year old cohort including those at school. The measure is used to inform policy, planning and service delivery and to determine the impact of the Opportunities for All commitment. 1.3 The APM was incorporated into the Scottish Government’s National performance Framework from August 2017 as the source of the indicator, “increase the proportion of young people in learning, training or work”, replacing the School Leaver Destination Reports. 1.4 The previous measure, School Leaver Destination Reports collected data on young people in the senior phase of school (S4-S6) who left school during the school year and essentially offered a snapshot at the time of reporting (October/February). The APM takes account of all statuses for 16-19 year olds in Scotland over a full calendar year (1st April – 31st March).
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE EDUCATION 15 DECEMBER 2022 ANNUAL PARTICIPATION MEASURE 2021-22 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 The Annual Participation Measure (APM) is published in August each year and used to inform policy, planning and service delivery, and also to assess progress in the delivery of the Scottish Government’s commitment to offer a place in learning or training to every 16 to 19-year-old in Scotland not already in employment, education or training. 2.2 The 2022 APM marks the eighth release of statistics detailing the participation of 16-19 year olds at a national and local authority level. The report takes account of the status for 16-19 year olds from 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022. 2.3 The statistics are produced using data collected by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and a range of partners, which is shared through the 16+ Data Hub. 2.4 The report is based on a cohort of 209,984 young people in Scotland aged between 16 and 19, of whom 3,172 are from Argyll and Bute. 3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that the Community Services Committee: 3.1 Notes the publication of the 2021-2022 Annual Participation Measure, and the strong performance of Argyll and Bute as a council area in facilitating the participation of 16-19 year-olds. 3.2 Recognise the good progress which has been made by the Education Service and our schools in relation to pupil progress in this area.
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4.0 DETAIL 4.1 The APM is compiled from data collected from the 16+ Data Hub, a multi- partner secure data sharing gateway managed by Skills Development Scotland (SDS). Data input is provided from Local Authorities, Colleges, the Department of Work and Pensions, the Students Awards Agency Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council. It is estimated that approximately 90% of young people in Scotland in the 16 to 19 age group are recorded on the system. 4.2 The participation status of each young person is identified by combining the number of days spent in each status between 1st April 2019 and 31st March 2020. Their overall headline classification (participating, not-participating or unknown) is then decided by the heading under which they have spent the most days over that year. 4.3 The classifications are defined as: Participating – school pupil, higher education, further education, employment, modern apprenticeships, training and voluntary work. Not Participating – unemployed and seeking employment or training, unemployed and not seeking employment or training. Unconfirmed Status – information on individual not available for reporting. Some of these young people may be in employment but not in contact with partner agencies. 4.4 The 2022 APM headline figures confirm that 93.9% of 16-19 year olds in Argyll and Bute were participating in education, training or employment compared to 92.4% nationally. 3.8% of 16-19 year-olds were not participating, which is 0.2% below the national figure for non-participation, and 2.3% in Argyll and Bute have an unconfirmed status compared to 3.6% nationally. The 2022 headline figure of 93.9% participation represents an increase of 0.4% (13 young people) on 2021, while the reduction in those of unconfirmed status in Argyll and Bute from 3.3% to 2.3% has led to a slight increase in those not participating. The table below summarises participation in Argyll and Bute over time: 2015-2016 Argyll and Bute 2016-2017 Argyll and Bute 2017-2018 Argyll and Bute 2018-2019 Argyll and Bute 2019-2020 Argyll and Bute 2020-2021 Argyll and Bute 2021-2022 Argyll and Bute 2021-2022 Scotland Participating 94.2% 93% 94.2% 94.8% 94.1% 93.5% 93.9% 92.4% Not Participating 3.1% 2.8% 2.7% 2.2% 2.4% 3.2% 3.8% 4.0% Unconfirmed 2.7% 4.2% 3.1% 3.0% 3.5% 3.3% 2.3% 3.6%
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4.5 The 2022 APM figures for Argyll and Bute exceed the Scottish average in all three classifications. Argyll and Bute ranks 5th for participation rates out of all local authorities in Scotland, and increase from 10th in 2020-2021 4.6 Participation – Employment and Education • In 2021-22 there was a increase in the number of young people in employment in Argyll and Bute from 21.9% in 2020-21 to 24.2%. Nationally, 17.5% of young people are in employment. • There was an accompanying slight reduction in the number of 16-19 year-olds in Argyll and Bute in education, from 70.6% in 2020-21 to 68.5%, against a national figure of 73.0%, which itself fell from 74.8% in 2020-21. 4.7 Equality Characteristics: • In Argyll and Bute, females (94.1%) were slightly more likely to participate than males (93.7%). This constitutes a 0.3% reduction in female participation, contrasted with a 1.0% increase in male participation. The difference is possibly due to the higher rate of females in education. • Also in Argyll and Bute, participation rates for young people from the most deprived backgrounds were lower than those of less deprived young people – 89.1in % the lowest SIMD group, and 95.5% for the highest SIMD group. The addressing of the poverty-related gap in participation levels is one of Argyll and Bute Council’s “stretch aims”, in the context of the Scottish Government’s Scottish Attainment Challenge and National Improvement Framework, and planning and intervention around reducing this gap are ongoing. 4.8 Geography: • Nationally, between 2020-21 and 2021-22, the participation rate rose in 19 of the 32 local authorities and fell in 13. • The increase of 0.6% in those participating in Argyll and Bute has resulted in a rise from 10th in ranking of local authorities in 2020-21 to 5th in 2021-22. • In Argyll and Bute, participation rates were lowest in the Helensburgh Central ward (91.3%) and highest in Kintyre and Islands ward (96.6%). • Across Argyll and Bute, participation rates rose in six wards, fell in four wards and remained unchanged in one ward. 4.9 Link to Skills Development Scotland Annual Participation Measure 2021-2022: Annual Participation Measure | Skills Development Scotland 5.0 CONCLUSION 5.1 The Annual Participation Measure provides data on the economic and employment activity of 16 to 19 year-olds and enables local authorities to
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measure progress against the National Improvement Framework indicator - “increase the proportion of young people in learning, training or work.” 5.2 There was a 0.4% increase (equating to 13 individuals) in the percentage of young people from Argyll and Bute participating in education, training or employment in 2021-22. Participation rates in Argyll and Bute are above the national average in all categories, while the rate of young people not participating, although it has risen slightly as a result of less young people being categorised as unconfirmed, remains below the national average. Argyll and Bute are in the top five local authorities in Scotland for participation rates. 5.3 Education, Developing the Young Workforce, Skills Development Scotland (SDS), Community Learning and Development, local colleges, the Third Sector and other partners are working coherently to ensure participation rates in Argyll and Bute continue to rise, and that all young people move into their chosen, sustained positive destination post-school. 5.4 The robust, current information provided by the Annual Participation Measure and the SDS Data Hub will continue to be used to identify potential issues and inform partner agencies. This will enable all agencies to be proactive in providing the necessary targeted and tailored intervention to support young people in achieving and sustaining their chosen area of participation in society. 6.0 IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Policy - This report links directly to Outcome 3 in the Argyll and Bute Single Outcome Agreement (Education Skills and Training Maximises Opportunities for All). 6.2 Financial – None. 6.3 Legal – None. 6.4 HR – None 6.5 Fairer Scotland Duty: 6.5.1 Equalities - The Opportunities for All programme and Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce recommendations actively seek to address inequalities in employment, training and education. 6.5.2 Socio-economic Duty - None 6.5.3 Islands – None 6.6 Climate Change – None
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6.7 Risk – Failure to support young people into positive destinations will impact on the life chances of young people across the Local Authority area and may result in outward migration of young people. 6.8 Customer Service – This report provides elected members with an overview on Service performance. Douglas Hendry, Executive Director with responsibility for Education Councillor Yvonne McNeilly, Policy Lead for Education For further information contact: Simon Easton, Education Manager Telephone: 01436 657681 Email: simon.easton@argyll-bute.gov.uk 15th December 2022