I would like Devon County Council to specifically respond as a Freedom of Information request, with statistics regarding how many young people in Devon are accessing further education and how many drop out of Further Education, as compared to the population of England as a whole, as this will show how young people in rural communities are disproportionately disadvantaged from attending college which we know is a major factor in improving life chances, health and well-being, income, life span etc. Further, I want to understand what is Devon County Council’s plan to redress this, to improve access to further education for young people in rural communities.
This is not a question for the bus companies but for Devon County Council who have responsibility for our citizens including young people.
We can confirm the following statistics regarding the attendance at further education:
In the academic year 2021/22, 4,516 young people attended further education in the Devon area, with a further 1,983 remaining within a school or sixth form. This amounted to 88.2% of the 16-18 active population. A further 5.6% entered an apprenticeship, and 2.6% entered employment with a non-apprenticeship training element.
This figure compared favourably with the national average for FE entry between 16-18, with 73.6% in the UK of the cohort in full time education, compared to 88.2% in Devon.
Over the past twelve months, 270 individuals between the age of 16-19 left a full time Further Education place (16 hours or more) to become NEET (not in employment, education or training). A further 68 individuals with NEET status however then entered a further education course during the same period. Overall, this amounts to an net movement of 3% of those in further education within Devon over the year, a churn rate significantly below the national average.
We do not hold any information with regard to the numbers or location of students who have dropped out of further education. We would recommend that you contact the providers of further education to establish this.
Your question regarding a plan to redress a “disadvantage” is based upon your premise. We do not hold this information.