Mapping interventions for NEET young people in England
Overview
Research summary
This longitudinal research project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, aims to understand the nature and scope of early intervention programmes targeted at young people at risk of not being in education, employment or training (NEET).
It will provide the first comprehensive national picture of early intervention provision focusing specifically on the typology of intervention, target groups and prediction tools used to identify young people at risk.
Both short and longer-term outcomes for young people will be recorded to explore the factors that make particular interventions effective. Additionally, it will foreground the voices of young people accessing provision using a longitudinal ethnographic approach. This will provide an understanding of how their experiences of early interventions connect with previous experiences of school, education and the labour market.
Methods
This is a three-stage mixed methods research project comprising of three phases:
- Mapping
- School-based data collection phase
- Post-16 data collection
Data will be generated with research participants in six social sites of investigation across England using an ethnographic approach. This will involve semi-structured interviews with young people, observations and extensive field notes. The views of key stakeholders will be gathered through semi-structured interviews.
Outcomes
We’ll share findings and updates on this page, in our newsletter, and at an international conference in 2026. We’ll also publish journal articles and a monograph.
Image competition
We invited young people with experience of being NEET to depict how it felt in images. A prize for the competition was provided by Oxford Ethnography and Education.
The two paintings by the winning artist, aged 18, illustrate how she felt while NEET. She shared how her perspective has changed since attending a support programme.
The competition winner said: “It’s a tough piece. I have a love/hate relationship with it because I like it, but I hate what it is. It’s like it’s messy on purpose, everything was a mess. It’s a bit muddy on purpose, because, you know, I don’t really know what I’m doing, and no one really did. Everything was tough. I don’t know, there’s just so much like weighing me down and holding me back from actually trying things.”
“This is a happier piece,” continued the winner. “It’s a better piece. It’s me coming to terms with the fact that, you know, sometimes things wear you down. You know, she’s still chained down, she’s still suffering, but she’s, you know, she’s embracing it a bit more. Even though there’s still, you know, that darkness, or that sadness, and whatever, she’s still striving to do better and be a better person.”
Annual project reports
Research evidence
The project team contributed evidence to pages 48-55 of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Youth Employment Report.
Meet the team
Research team
Manchester Metropolitan University
- Professor Lisa Russell, Principal Investigator
- Dr Katherine Davey
University of Huddersfield
- Dr Jo Bishop
- Dr Ron Thompson
Funders
With funding from
Leverhulme Trust
Funded by a research project grant from the Leverhulme Trust from 2021 to 2026. Reference: RPG-2021-144