Welcome to Impetus Insights... a place where we discuss ideas, articles and interesting reading about education and employment policy - and what we think it means for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. We share this every month alongside news and updates about our own policy work. We’d love to hear what you think of this edition, and what you’d like to see in future newsletters. 

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In an increasingly turbulent political landscape, the need for practical, evidence-led solutions to deep structural challenges has never been greater. I'm proud of the role Impetus plays in this by bringing together the frontline insights of our portfolio with the expertise of our team to support funders and policymakers who are looking to make meaningful and lasting change for young people.

So it was wonderful to introduce several of our portfolio CEOs to policy leads at both the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education recently to discuss two urgent issues: reducing the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), and improving inclusion for those at risk of losing learning. These conversations created an opportunity to share frontline experiences, practical challenges, and emerging solutions that we hope will help shape future government policy.

At a time when policy can often feel distant from lived experience, making sure the voices of organisations working closest to young people are heard where decisions are being made is vital.

If you want to understand more about the work we do, and the challenges I think organisations supporting young people face, I spoke to Oppidan Education for their leadership podcast last month - you can listen here.

Enjoy reading,

Susannah

In this issue

• Ahead of Alan Milburn’s much-trailed Interim report of his Young People and Work Inquiry, we have been absorbing Shuab Gamote and Peter Hyman’s powerful supporting research: ‘Inside the Mind of a Young NEET’ and a report from IFS and the Kings Trust on the drivers of rising youth unemployment.

• We’ve been talking and thinking about best practice for Inclusion Bases with our portfolio partners and the DfE.

• Some things we enjoyed reading, from how to get policy ideas noticed, to the relationship between social mobility, happiness and wellbeing.

• And finally, we welcome four new members of our busy Public Affairs team!

News and views

Our focus here at Impetus is on the outcomes that we know work to improve the life chances of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds – school engagement, educational attainment, and sustained employment.  

• The recently released Inside the Mind of a Young NEET, by Shuab Gamote and Peter Hyman, is one of the most powerful - and harrowing - pieces of qualitative work I have read. Commissioned to support the Milburn Review - the research draws on conversations with more than 400 young people across all four nations of the UK. Uniquely, the report swaps in the statistics for voices: the teenager in Belfast for whom failing her GCSEs felt like "the end"; the young man with autism who walked out of his first job because nobody had bothered listening to what he needed (or explaining what bruschetta was); the young carer who was told from childhood, “don’t be surprised if you wake up one day and your sister’s dead.” This last story really stuck with me. This is not something that an adult would know how to navigate, let alone a young person who is on the brink of being expected to make decisions which will affect the course of their life. Together, these accounts paint a picture of a generation that is not disengaged - over 90% said they wanted to work - but let down at every transition point by a system struggling under the weight of neglect. It beggars belief that we have so much rich, unequivocal evidence on how seminal this age is, and yet it has not always been seen as a priority for government attention or investment, (though I’m pleased to see that changing). The research is also a reminder of what centring lived experience looks like when done well: not extractive or tokenistic but led by genuine curiosity and respect. I would encourage everyone to read it. (Ayesha Baloch, Head of Youth Employment Policy)

• The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act is now law after receiving Royal assent. There’s a lot in there, but things to watch include: the extension of free school meals to all children in households on Universal Credit, caps on the cost of branded uniform, the register of children not in school, and new requirements that will see greater cooperation on admissions between councils and academies. The new law has had a bumpy legislative ride with over 700 amendments tabled during Committee Stage alone. And as if this wasn’t enough, in a day of high drama at Westminster, the King announced the government’s intention to legislate the proposed SEND reform in the “Education for All” Bill. Whilst the irony of this being announced by a man in a gold hat whose ancestors have never, and will never, be educated inside the walls of their nearest comprehensive school was not lost on me, the government stated belief that “that every child deserves the chance to succeed to the best of his or her ability and not be held back due to poverty, special educational needs, or a lack of respect for vocational education” is one I’m fully signed up to. Ministers will know this is likely to be an even more difficult process and over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be carefully monitoring events and acting if we think the White Paper’s commitment to building a system that is inclusive for all, including young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, is at risk. In the meantime, this handy TES piece sets out the true scale of the policy challenge facing schools over the coming year. (Dr Carlie Goldsmith, Head of Education Policy)

• For over two years, Impetus – with our partners The Difference - has supported The Two Counties Trust and Co-op Academies Trust to design, deliver and scale inclusive Internal Alternative Provision (or Inclusion Bases, in new money), and this month we were lucky enough to share our learning with DfE colleagues. The timing matters: a major new EEF/YEF study – the biggest of its kind so far and published this month - finds there is still little evidence on which models best improve attendance or reduce suspensions, even as schools increasingly build their own in-house alternatives to exclusion. Researchers found “embedded” provision - where pupils stay largely in mainstream classes with tailored support - is now as common as more traditional separate units, but most models are being developed from scratch in response to local pressures rather than shared evidence. We are clear: as this policy is implemented schools will need support to ensure their IB provision benefit from deliberate design, clearer theories of change and smarter use of data so they can genuinely improve outcomes for young people. We’re doing some interesting work in this space later this year, and if you’d like to get involved do get in touch (Dr Carlie Goldsmith, Head of Education Policy)

• The final report of NFER research into the distribution of SEND pupils in schools finds a high concentration of pupils with special education needs concentrated in some schools and a perceived attainment–inclusion tension in the system that discourages schools from admitting higher-need pupils. It recommends, amongst other things, more oversight of admissions and greater alignment of the accountability system to ensure pupils can go to school in their own community. I think this is also crucial for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom have additional needs that include, but often extend beyond, learning. This is an issue the Who is Losing Learning Coalition called for action on in early 2025 and it’s good to hear it being said again. (Dr Carlie Goldsmith, Head of Education Policy)

Top reads

Here’s our roundup of some of the most useful and thought-provoking reads (and listens!) across a range of interesting areas... 

• I really enjoyed this recent Substack from Peter Hyman 'The sink hole where policy goes to die', which demystifies what happens (or should happen) 'in that liminal space between policy and comms' for policy ideas to get noticed. He argues that in today’s crowded media environment, where multiple messages are competing for short attention spans, policy success depends as much on storytelling and emotional connection as on the policy itself. Although it’s written for government, a key insight for Public Affairs teams like ours is that communications and policy functions need to work closely together from the outset, using audience insight, framing and narrative development to shape how policy ideas are designed, explained and reinforced over time. Done well, that alignment can help make policy more visible, more credible and achieve that elusive cut-through. (Nicola Robbins, Head of Communications)

• There has been no shortage of research on young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) over the past month, as we await the interim report of the Young People and Work Inquiry, led by Alan Milburn. One that stands out is this report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and fellow Youth Employment Group (YEG) co-chairs, The King’s Trust. As Longitudinal Educational Outcomes (LEO) data is now more than four years out of date, the IFS have used payrolled employment and out-of-work benefit claims as proxies for the NEET rate. The report corroborates what we’ve been hearing a lot of: that the proportion reporting sickness or disability as their main reason for being out of work has risen steadily, while young people who are NEET are now nearly twice as likely to have a health condition as the wider 16-24 population. The finding that concerned me most, however, is the IFS's conclusion that this rise may not be cyclical at all. NEET rates are higher than historical patterns would predict, and regional trends in youth and adult employment are not strongly correlated. This suggests that NEET rates may not return to previous levels without specific policy interventions. At Impetus, we have long held that this is a structural problem, and we echo the calls of the IFS and The King's Trust for continued resource and attention towards targeted and specific policy interventions. (Ayesha Baloch, Head of Youth Employment Policy)

• This month the IFS published the 6-year long Deaton Review into Britain’s multiple stacked inequalities, accompanied by a policy toolkit that draws out key lessons from the review for policy makers. Both are chunky documents that I’m only beginning to ingest, so look forward to hearing more from me over the coming months. For now, I see both as essential reading for those of us interested in, or grappling with, how to effectively reduce inequalities in income, education, housing, health in an uncertain and utterly unprecedented political environment. (Dr Carlie Goldsmith, Head of Education Policy)

• A new UK study explores how social mobility is closely linked to happiness and wellbeing, beyond just jobs or income. Using national survey data and interviews, it finds a clear “happiness gap” based on childhood background. People from professional households who remain in similar status jobs are about a third more likely to report high wellbeing than those who stay in routine occupations. Moving up the social ladder is associated with higher wellbeing, supported by better incomes, financial stability, improved health, stronger employment chances, and home ownership. However, even those who are upwardly mobile do not fully reach the same levels of happiness as those who were born into and remain in higher-status households. The research also shows that education, moving region, and a strong sense of community belonging all matter for wellbeing. Overall, the findings suggest that happiness is shaped not only by social mobility itself, but also by wider conditions such as opportunity, stability, and connection to place. (Dr Chihiro Kobayashi, Research and Evidence Officer)

• I love it when great things come together in a seemingly random but beautiful way. Regular readers know I’m an avid podcaster and this month Tutor Cast, the podcast of Impetus portfolio partner Tutor Trust, released the final episode of a three-part mini-series on attendance that was a deep dive into our school attendance report that explored young people’s views on the crisis. I really enjoyed every episode and would highly recommend. (Dr Carlie Goldsmith, Head of Education Policy)

Look ahead

• Imminently: The Young People and Work Review, led by Alan Milburn, releases its Interim Report
• 28th May: The Office for National Statistics’ quarterly release on young people not in education, employment or training
• 2nd June: Hosted by FE News and Edge Foundation, the Breaking Barriers Collective brings together sector leaders to tackle the NEET crisis and shape solutions to influence the Milburn Review.
• 18th June: IfG event, ‘How can government close the opportunity gap for boys from low-income families’?

And finally...

We are incredibly lucky here at Impetus to attract great talent, and it's a privilege to work every day alongside such committed, curious and clever people. Our newest recruits are no exception, and we have recently welcomed no fewer than four new colleagues to the Public Affairs team.

• Chihiro Koyabashi joins us as Research and Evidence Officer, and - with a PhD in Education and recent roles at the National Foundation for Educational Research and The Association of Employment and Learning Providers - she perfectly bridges our mission domains across education, skills and employment.
• Meerah Nakaayi is our new Public Affairs Officer, having completed a Policy Studies Apprenticeship with Ofcom. She is a current Youth Ambassador for the Youth Futures Foundation, and is already well versed in many of the key issues facing young people today.
• Emily Dalton comes to us from local journalism and democracy reporting, and as our new Comms and Media Officer will use her journalistic nous to ensure we get our work out to as wide an audience as possible.
• And finally, Flora Scott-Maxwell will support our digital communications, having worked on digital comms at Impetus partner organisation Khulisa and - most recently - at New Philanthropy Capital.