The educational provision for 14 to 16-year-olds in further education in England

AoC and IOE UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society are delighted to be launching our project report: ‘The educational provision for 14 to 16-year-olds in Further Education in England’. This Nuffield-funded project ran over two years from September 2022 to October 2024. We are grateful to the Nuffield Foundation for their funding and support.

Up until now, there has been no research conducted on the collective experience of 14 to 16-year-olds receiving either part, or all, their education in colleges. And yet, data for the 2023/24 academic year shows that around 10,000 students are enrolled on 14 to 16 provision at 160 further education colleges in England, an increase of around 30% since 2020/21. This research tackled the evidence gap surrounding 14 to 16-year-olds in colleges, a group of young people who are often invisible in government policy. It used linked National Pupil Database (NPD) and Individual Learner Record (ILR) data; a survey of colleges in England; interviews with senior leaders from colleges, and in-depth fieldwork visits to 10 colleges to shed light on this hitherto neglected educational provision.

Interim report

This first report sets out the initial findings from a survey of colleges in England on the educational provision for 14–16-year-olds in FE and 19 semi-structured interviews that were undertaken with leaders of this provision. The survey and interviews covered a range of topics impacting on the experience of 14 to 16-year-olds in three groups: Alternative Provision, Direct Entry and Elective Home Education. Staff perceptions from the surveys and interviews were largely positive about the value of the provision. The next stage of the project will explore these findings further including analysis of the outcomes and progression for students and the perspectives of the learners themselves.