Implementation of Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) school coordinators - child rights and wellbeing impact assessment (CRWIA)

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA)

CRWIA for a non-legislative policy/measure

CRWIA title: Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) School Coordinators

Publication date: August 2021

Summary of policy aims and desired outcomes

The main role of DYW School Coordinators will be to support senior management in the school to embed the Developing the Young Workforce Strategy and other employer offers within the curriculum.

They will create and implement a structure for employer engagement which reflects the school's demographic and maintain a robust network of partners within the local business community. In doing so they support school management in fulfilling national priorities around employability, Career Education Standard and Work Placement Standard.

Executive summary

Established in 2014, the Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Regional Groups are a network of 21 industry led groups tasked with strengthening employer engagement with education. The establishment of the groups was a key recommendation in the Youth Employment Strategy – Developing the Young Workforce.

Strengthening the role of Regional DYW Groups was outlined in recommendations published by the Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board (2020) (ESSB) and the Young Person Guarantee No One Left Behind (2020). The ESSB recommendations identified a need to add capacity through the introduction of funded DYW School Coordinators across public mainstream secondary schools in Scotland.

The implementation of DYW School Coordinators will have an impact on young people in public mainstream secondary schools, particularly those in the senior phase (aged 15 – 18).

In particular, Officials identified the need for this Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) due to: the volume of young people that will be affected by the new DYW School Coordinator role; the vulnerability of certain young people who will engage with the DYW School Coordinators; the funding that has been allocated to this policy in order to better engage employers and young people; and DYW is one of the key delivery routes of the Young Person's Guarantee – a highly ambitious policy.

The implementation of DYW School Coordinators has also required us to consider young people who have protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010: disability, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race and ethnicity, and religion or belief. An Equality Impact Assessment on this policy can be found at: Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) School Coordinators: equality impact assessment.

A CRWIA has also been undertaken for the wider Young Person's Guarantee – in which DYW plays an important role – and can be found at: Young Person's Guarantee: children's rights and wellbeing impact assessment (CRWIA)

Background

Established in 2014, the Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Regional Groups are a network of 21 industry led groups tasked with strengthening employer engagement with education. The establishment of the groups was a key recommendation in the Youth Employment Strategy – Developing the Young Workforce. The groups work to support employers, and pupils, teachers and school leaders in Scotland's publicly funded secondary schools to bring about a permanent improvement in how employers engage with schools. Through engagement with a network of employers they have enriched the school experience for tens of thousands of young people and seek to address longstanding issues in the youth labour market (e.g. occupational segregation in certain sectors). This includes activity such as employer-led career inspiration activity, support for contextualised learning, work experience, promotion of vocational pathways and practical support to you young people transitioning to work (e.g., support for CV writing and interviews).

Despite the challenges presented by Covid-19, the network developed and implemented a package of support targeted at the summer leaver cohort in 2020, which included DYW Skills Academy, a series of virtual Scottish Biggest Parents Events & E-DYW 1.0.

The main role of DYW School Coordinators will be to support senior management in the school to embed the Developing the Young Workforce Strategy and other employer offers within the curriculum. They will create and implement a structure for employer engagement which reflects the school's demographic and maintain a robust network of partners within the local business community. In doing so they support school management in fulfilling national priorities around employability, Career Education Standard and Work Placement Standard

In addition, the introduction of DYW School Coordinators will help meet the National Performance Framework, particularly:

• Education – "We are well educated, skilled and able to contribute to society" and
• Fair Work and Business – "We have thriving and innovative businesses, with quality jobs and fair work for everyone."
• Economy – "we have a globally competitive, entrepreneurial, inclusive and sustainable economy"

Therefore, the implementation of DYW School Coordinators will have a positive impact on young people as they seek to engage with employers and young people in order to make young people aware of the pathways they can explore.

In order to promote equality and align with the Young Person's Guarantee – with the ambition that within two years, every person aged between 16 and 24 will have the opportunity, depending on their circumstances, to study; take up an apprenticeship, job or work experience; or participate in formal volunteering - we have articulated 4 overarching policy ambitions that the additional investment for the DYW School Coordinators should fulfil:

• Supporting those furthest away from the labour market
• Embodying "No Wrong Door" approach
• Enhancing capacity within core DYW Regional Groups
• Enable integration of Young Person's Guarantee

In addition to these ambitions, 4 KPIs have been created which DYW Regional Groups and DYW School Coordinators are responsible for delivering and reporting on. In particular KPI 4 focuses on equality, suggesting that DYW regional groups should consider:

• support for young people at risk of a non-positive destination;
• addressing gender imbalance in certain work sectors - particularly STEM and growth sectors;
• improving employment outcomes for disabled young people;
• addressing challenges for young people from minority ethnic backgrounds; and
• supporting the aspirations of young people from lowest 20% of SIMD areas.

Each of these steps put in place help advance young people's rights and wellbeing – particularly around non-discrimination, rights to an education and goals of an education.

Scope of the CRWIA, identifying the children and young people affected by the policy, and summarising the evidence base

Evidence

In order to gather evidence for the Young Person's Guarantee EQIA – and therefore contributing to the DYW School Coordinator EQIA and this CRWIA - a range of steps were taken. This includes: researching a number of Government documents and partner papers to find information; consulting with analysts to determine the robustness of the information; and allowing internal colleagues as well as the Young Person's Guarantee Advisory Board to make comments and add to the evidence.

For the purposes of this CRWA, the following evidence has been identified:

Labour Market Monthly Briefing: February 2021

According to the Labour Market Monthly Briefing for the period October to December 2020, the unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds in Scotland was 9.7%, compared with 3.5% for 25-34 year olds and 3.7% for 35-49 year olds. Whereas the overall unemployment rate rise (16+) over the year to Oct-Dec 20 was 1 percentage point, the unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds rose by 2 percentage points over the same period.

This is a strong piece of evidence, clearly identifying the increased unemployment rates for those aged 16-24. The DYW School Coordinators aims to help tackle this challenge by increasing employer engagement with education.

IFS (2020), "Sector shutdowns during the coronavirus crisis: which workers are most exposed?"

Employees aged under 25 were about two and a half times more likely to work in a sector in those sectors impacted by public health measures.

Gustafsson, M. (2020) Young workers in the coronavirus crisis: Findings from the Resolution Foundation's coronavirus survey.

The Resolution Foundation have found a 'disproportionate impact of the coronavirus crisis on the youngest and oldest earners': 9% of 18-24 year olds have lost their job (compared to 3% of all employees) and 24% have been placed on furlough (compared to 15% of all employees).

Young people who have recently left education and have recently entered, or are about to enter, the labour market are more susceptible to long-term unemployment and pay scarring. Individuals in employment and education make up large numbers of employees in sectors which have been hardest hit.

As previously mentioned in this assessment, the Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board (2020) (ESSB) and the Young Person Guarantee No One Left Behind (2020) outlined the need to strengthen the role of Regional DYW Groups. In particular, the ESSB recommendations identified a need to add capacity through the introduction of funded DYW School Coordinators across all secondary schools.

All pieces of evidence, not including other evidence that has been captured in the DYW School Coordinator EQIA on protected characters (https://www.gov.scot/publications/developing-young-workforce-dyw-school-coordinators-equality-impact-assessment-results/pages/7/ ), points to a clear need for DYW School Coordinators to be implemented across Scotland to support young people during these challenging times.

Young people impacted

Young people in public mainstream secondary schools will be affected by this policy, particularly those in the senior phase (aged 15 – 18). Due to the policy being rolled out across each of the 21 Regional Groups in Scotland, this policy will have a positive impact on: young people in rural areas, looked after young people, young people in the justice system, victims of abuse or exploitation, and young people living in poverty.

As evidenced by labour market statistics and other publications, the unemployment rate of young people – some of whom are of secondary school age – is higher than those who are older. In addition, employees aged under 25 were about two and a half times more likely to work in a sector that have been impacted by public health measures as other employees (e.g. retial, hospitality and tourism). Therefore, the DYW School Coordinators will contribute to tackling this challenge by engaging young people with a wider group of employers.

To ensure equity amongst young people, funding has been made available for every public mainstream secondary school across Scotland to have a dedicated DYW School Coordinator – regardless if schools are rural or urban based.

In addition, the DYW School Coordinators will be able to provide support in some Additional Support Need (ASN) schools in order to help those who have a disability and not exclude them. However, the DYW School Coordinators will not be available in ASN schools who's majority destination is not in the labour market.

However, as evidence indicates that those with a disability do want access the right support and at the right time, and in order to ensure equality and equal opportunities for disabled young people, we are engaging with Enable to provide a more suitable service for these young people – further detailed later in this document.

We are also working with policy leads in Race Employment, Disability Employment and Gender Employment policy to develop a suite of training to support DYW School Coordinators which will address challenges for young disabled people and include a section on gender inequality. We will work with Intercultural Youth Scotland to develop an evidence base for a pilot to recruit additional coordinators who can relate to young people from minority ethnic and racial backgrounds people. Intercultural Youth Scotland will also be working with DYW Regional Groups to develop work to support young Black people and young people of colour to access available opportunities.

Children and young people's views and experiences

Young People are at the heart of the Young Person's Guarantee.

Throughout the creation on the Young Person's Guarantee EQIA, DYW School Coordinator EQIA and therefore this CRWIA, officials have taken on board a range of evidence.

This includes publications which relate to children and young people. By engaging with organisations which work with/behalf of young people - such as IYS and Glasgow Disability Alliance - we have been able to capture important information and reflect this into our impact assessments. For example, by engaging with Glasgow Disability Alliance we have been able to hear information about young disabled people.

In addition, the Youth Leadership Panel is a group of young people from across Scotland, with a vital remit to embed youth engagement and leadership across the governance and implementation of the Young Person's Guarantee at a local and national level. The Panel are facilitated by Young Scot, as part of a wider programme of activity to ensure young people are at the heart of the Guarantee.

Key Findings, including an assessment of the impact on children's rights, and how the measure will contribute to children's wellbeing

Although the impact assessments – including this CRWIA – identified a range of positive impacts when looking at the implementation of DYW School Coordinators, we were also aware of the unintended negative impacts that could face young disabled people who are not in schools covered by a coordinator.

To address this we have engaged with Enable to create a programme to provide appropriate support to young people attending ASN schools. Enable deliver and support, employability and skills services, and advocate on behalf of people with additional support needs and their families in communities across Scotland. Therefore, Enable can provide the necessary support for young disabled people.

We are funding Enable approx. £440k to deliver a pilot programme that will tailor support to young disabled people and provide them with focused and tailored career advice and work experience opportunities to help them to develop and realise their potential. The Stepping Up Project will contribute to the Young Person's Guarantee by connecting disabled young people to fair work, education and productive activities designed to ensure a successful transition into adult life and work.

Stepping Up comprises of a 3-stage model and will engage 1152 young people on the programme aged 14-19. Enable's proposal has required the Scottish Government to be flexible in applying the budget intended to fund school coordinators in order to provide this support.

Stage 1 focuses on 'Life after School' including interactive workshops to develop soft skills, resilience and develop aspirations, combined with school-based learning events. Stage 2 is 'Make the Move', where each young person is assigned a dedicated Employment Coordinator who will offer personalised support and interventions to support a successful transition from school. Further training activities could include independent travel, employability skills and exploring options like employment, apprenticeships and further or higher education. Stage 3 is the aftercare service that ensures young people sustain their position destination and supports employers to make the process successful for all involved.

This is currently a pilot however the Scottish Government will consider adapting this, where appropriate and possible within available budgets.

In addition, this CRWIA and other impact assessments recognise that this policy is directly discriminatory as it focuses on supporting young people (Secondary school pupils) to better access and sustain opportunities, and therefore is not available to other age groups. This focus is justified as a range of evidence (as referenced in the EQIA) indicates that young people in the senior phase require additional support to better access and sustain opportunities compared to other age groups. This is particularly acute due to the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, it is important that other age groups are not displaced as a result of implementing the Young Persons Guarantee – to which the DYW School Coordinators contribute to - particularly those which evidence suggests are also likely to have worse labour market outcomes. As such, the Guarantee will be an important part of a range of interventions that support people of all age groups access and sustain opportunities. For example, the Scottish Government has committed to delivering a National Transition Training Fund to provide support to 10,000 people facing redundancy and unemployment. These interventions will also be impact assessed under the equality duty.

Wellbeing Indicators

This CRWIA has considered the eight wellbeing indicators and recognised the policy could contribute to the Achieving indicator - which focuses on children/young people being supported and guided in their learning and in the development of their skills, confidence and self-esteem at home, at school and in the community.

The policy may also, to a small extent, contribute to the Included and the Respected indicators due to the support that DYW School Coordinators will provide young people, in order for them to understand the pathways available to them.

UNCRC Rights

All UNCRC rights are underpinned by the four general principles: non-discrimination; the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and the child's right to have their views given due weight. The implementation of DYW School Coordinators recognises these four general principles.

In particular, we expect the DYW School Coordinators to be relevant to the following articles:

• Article 2 - Non-discrimination
• Article 3 - Best interests of the child
• Article 17 - Access to information; mass media
• Article 28(2) - Right to education
• Article 18(1,2) - Parental responsibilities and state assistance
• Article 23 - Children with disabilities
• Article 28 - Right to education
• Article 29 - Goals of education

Monitoring and review

We will keep the focus of DYW School Coordinators under review and will seek to widen the impact to younger age groups if possible.