Extra Article.  w/c 21st April 2008.  Stephen Ladyman MP

Getting enough young people to stay on at school after 16 has always been a challenge. Of course, some young people see themselves as set on an academic future from an early age but many don’t see themselves in that way. Some don’t find school motivating, some are looking for new challenges and some just cannot afford to stay beyond the age of 16.

Changes to the curriculum and to the way people are taught as well as an increase in the range of vocational training on offer is part of the answer but another is to make ‘staying on’ affordable for kids from low income families.

That is why the Government introduced Educational Maintenance Allowances (EMA). This is a scheme that was piloted in 1999 and went nationwide in 2004. Weekly payments of £30, £20 or £10 per week are now made to children from families that have a combined income of less than £30,810 if they are participating in approved full-time further education or an appropriate apprenticeship. Young people aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 on the 1st September 2007 can apply this year, the EMA does not affect other household benefits and young people receiving an EMA can still have a part-time job.

And it’s paying off. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has been studying the impact of the EMA and their figures show that the number of young people staying on in learning at 16 and the number of learners achieving qualifications at 19 are both increasing.

Figures from 2005/06 also show the highest proportion of 16 year olds in learning since 1994, with 89.1 per cent of the cohort participating in some form of learning. This equates to 1.5 million young people in further education which is the highest figure ever recorded, part of this increase being down to changes in the range of courses available and other education based initiatives but a significant part being due to the introduction of the EMA.

It’s also having an impact here in Kent. In 2004 5,317 young people were in receipt of an EMA, a figure that rose to 9,814 the next year and to 12,494 last year.  And, in just the first 5 months of this year, we already have 15,045 Kent’s young people supported to stay on in learning with an EMA.

In the world of the future our prosperity will depend on having a highly trained workforce and the ability of every person to get a good job will depend on their qualifications and the expertise they can offer. The EMA is removing the financial barriers faced by many young people to staying on in learning – it is a major success story.