Full Breakdown
Hidden NEETs: Persistent Absence in England’s Colleges
9/10/2026, 2:05:33 AM
Core Findings on College Attendance
A report commissioned by the children’s commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, examined attendance data from 262 further-education colleges. It found that about 42,000 16- and 17-year-olds who are officially enrolled are absent for at least half of their scheduled sessions. By school-attendance standards, roughly 52 percent of these students are “persistently absent” (missing 10 percent or more of sessions) and 5.9 percent are “severely absent” (missing half or more). The Department for Education (DfE) estimates that 57,000 young people in the same age group are classified as NEET (not in education, employment or training).
Drivers of Persistent Absence
Dame Rachel attributed the absenteeism to a mix of part-time work, travel costs and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. She highlighted that while occasional work can cause sporadic missed classes, the most vulnerable students—often juggling multiple low-paid shifts—are the ones most likely to be severely absent. Liam Sloan, principal of Bolton College, observed that mental-health challenges and the immediate financial incentive of a £30 shift can outweigh the perceived benefit of a qualification that may take several months to achieve.
Government and Institutional Response
The DfE announced plans to require colleges to track attendance and to centralise the data, addressing the current gap where further-education institutions are not mandated to report attendance. It also pledged a new “stepping-stone” qualification aimed at reducing repeated failures in GCSE English and maths, and pledged accelerated rollout of mental-health support teams. Some colleges, such as Bolton, have already introduced full-time “positive engagement officers” to greet students each morning and follow up with absentees.
Upcoming Recommendations
The first instalment of a multi-part report by former minister Alan Milburn warned that the NEET proportion could rise to one in six within five years, describing the situation as a risk of a “lost generation.” The final instalment, expected in the coming weeks, is set to outline further recommendations for tackling the hidden NEET crisis.
