Introduction
Data availability on young people’s participation in education, employment or training varies across different age groups. Local authorities track information about residents who were 16 and 17 at the start of the academic year. This is aggregated into DfE statistics for this age group, which include local authority area totals that can be combined to provide information about the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA) area. Local management information about the September Guarantee is also published by DfE for the same age group. This guarantee aims to provide an offer, made by the end of September, of an appropriate place in post-16 education or training for every young person completing compulsory education.
There is no such tracking of 18 to 24-year olds and broader participation statistics for the 16 to 24 age group are based on responses to the ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS). The sample size for this survey is insufficient to provide robust published estimates of participation for any geography smaller than the nine broad English regions (ITL1 areas). The North East ITL1 area combines the MSA area with Tees Valley. At local authority area level, survey-based estimates of residents aged 18 to 24 in employment and full-time education are published. The two categories overlap, with many full-time students in employment.
Non-participation of 16 and 17-year-olds: background
These statistics based on management information show considerable variations in the extent to which young people are tracked. Hence, the headline DfE measure combines the proportion of young people known to be NEET with the proportion where the activity is not known. Three monthly sets of management data (Dec/Jan/Feb) are averaged to provide estimates for the start of each calendar year. In the 2025 DfE release, Northumberland is noted as having experienced technical or administrative issues affecting data collection. It has a much higher percentage of residents with unknown activity than in previous years. For our analysis, we have calculated two sets of North East rates, one of which excludes Northumberland.
Education and training participation of 16 and 17-year-olds: background
Management information is also the basis for these statistics. They define participation as being by residents with a known education or training type. The headline measures are based on information collected in March each year. The issues with 2025 Northumberland data also affect particpation rates. The September Guarantee dataset is also based on management information.
Rates for 16 to 24-year olds: background
The NEET estimates at a broad regional level for this age group rely on survey responses from a sample of the population. They are therefore subject to some uncertainty and some volatility over time. The headline DfE estimates are for the fourth quarter of the year in question but our report uses four quarter averages to provide a smoother time series. The 18-24 employment and full-time education estimates are also survey-based rates, with similar issues of uncertainty.