Activity Agreements National Implementation 2011-12

Summary of Key Findings

This paper provides a summary of reported participation in Activity Agreements during the first full year of the national roll-out of the programme (1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012). The paper outlines characteristics and outcomes for young people that have either completed or dropped out of an Activity Agreement during this period.

Summary of Key Findings

Reporting here covers 1035 young people from across 25 local authorities in Scotland. The data was gathered directly by local authorities and has been quality assured by the Scottish Government. However, there remain high levels of missing data on some key variables - this is flagged up throughout the briefing.

KEY FINDINGS:

- Activity Agreements appear to be reaching their target group (the young and most vulnerable
- 3 in 4 participants are able to sustain their involvement and complete their agreed programme of support
- Over 85% of leavers completed their agreement in 9 months or under
- 4 in 5 participants progressed on to further learning, training or work on completion of their agreement
- Most common destinations on completion are Employment and Further Education

FINDINGS IN MORE DETAIL:

Engagement:

- 74% of young people in the sample completed their Activity Agreement. The remainder dropped out before completing their agreed programme.
- The majority of young people were referred into an Activity Agreement through Skills Development Scotland (43%). A further 29% of referrals came through schools and 15% came from 'other' agencies.

Activity Agreement Transition Outcomes:

Data on outcomes has not been returned for almost half of the valid sample (49%). This limits our analysis of outcomes from the programme to only those for whom we have data (530). Analysis of this partial sample shows that 73% in total went on to a participate in further learning and work. This rises to 79% when looking only at those who completed their Activity Agreement (excluding drop-outs), suggesting that completion of the agreed programme has clear benefits for individuals. The most common progressions were to Employment (24%), National Training Programmes (Get Ready for Work, Training for Work, Modern Apprenticeships) (22%) and Further Education (21%).

Factors that influence outcomes:

Age - younger leavers (age 15 & 16) are more likely to go on to participate in learning or work

Gender - male leavers are slightly more likely to go on to participate in learning or work

Qualifications - those with qualifications are more likely to go on to participate in learning or work than those with no qualifications

Substance misuse and history of offending - these issues appear to be associated with less positive progression on from an Activity Agreement

Young Carers and Care Leavers are also more likely (than the average) to move on to an 'other' outcome^[1]

Duration of support:

25% of data on key dates (referral, sign-up and completion) is missing. This limits our reporting on the length of time young people take to complete their Activity Agreements. The partial data available shows that the majority of young people (86%) complete their Activity Agreement in under 9 months (69% in 6 months or under and 16% between 6 and 9 months).

Profile of Leavers:

- Most young people are aged 16-17 (76.5%) and there are slightly more males (55%) than females (45%)
- Levels of EMA receipt are similar to those reported in the pilot evaluation (41%)
- Almost half (49%) of leavers have no qualifications and a further 40% have low qualifications (between SCQF levels 1 and 4).