Truancy warning on raising school leaving age to 18

Thousands more teenagers face ending up with criminal records as a result of the Government's plans to raise the education leaving age to 18, ministers have been told.

Richard Williams, chief executive of the education charity Rathbone, issued his warning at the launch yesterday of an independent inquiry into why 200,000 poorly qualified 16- to 18-year-olds have turned their backs on full-time education or training. Many face a series of short-term jobs or a life on the street trying to make ends meet.

"Research has consistently shown they are more likely to suffer longer periods of unemployment, poorer health and engage in criminal activities than their peers," a briefing note to the inquiry said.

Mr Williams argued that many would still play truant if compelled to stay on and risk prosecution. The inquiry - launched jointly by Rathbone and the Nuffield Foundation - will pose the first independent test of the two key strands of Gordon Brown's education policy.

These are compelling every youngster to take part in education or training until the age of 18 - rather than 16 as at present - and introducing diplomas in work-related subjects into secondary schools.

Leaders of the inquiry team have signalled doubts over whether the policies would work. Mr Williams said: "There remains an alarming number of young people who are not engaged in any work, education or training and it is widely accepted that this is a major social problem as well as leading to great disadvantage for each of the individuals affected."

However, he argued that compelling teenagers to stay on - when truancy rates of pupils under 16 were still high - ran the risk of turning thousands into criminals. A government Green Paper raises the prospect of fines for those who refuse to take part in some form of education or training.

Mr Williams said it would be better to pressure employers to provide training for those teenagers who sought employment - rather than target the youngsters. He insisted that truants would not be lured back into education or training unless there was top-quality provision.

Geoff Hayward, a director of the Nuffield Review, who will jointly be heading the inquiry with Mr Williams, said: "I think it remains to be seen whether middle-class parents will be willing to take up the diplomas and whether diplomas will be attractive to young people across the attainment range and what the response of higher education will be to them."

Under the Government's plans, the first of 14 new diplomas for people aged 14 to 19 will be given trial runs in September and introduced nationally in 2008. The inquiry will be completed by October 2008. It coincides with a ministerial review of education policy for those aged 14 to19.