Data shapes support for young people in North Ayrshire
Real-time data and targeted support are helping more young people in North Ayrshire achieve positive destinations
When it comes to helping young people achieve positive destinations after school or being able to offer appropriate support when they need it, having accurate, up-to-date information about what they are doing – whether they are employed, in further or higher education, or economically inactive – is absolutely vital.
While this is true for all young people, it is especially pertinent for those who are care experienced or do not have help and support from family members.
For Justin Jones, Programme Delivery Officer (Youth Engagement, Tracking and Progressions) at North Ayrshire Council, the 16+ Participation Portal developed by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) offers the opportunity to make a real difference. It is now much easier to track the progress of individual young people and trace ‘unconfirmed’; those for whom no destination is recorded. Additionally, he uses the Portal – a secure online database – to analyse data and study destination trends in specific postcode areas so that tailored services can be delivered there in partnership with other services.
Turning insight into action
“I wanted to use the Portal in a way that was meaningful for our colleagues and partners and as a key data source that would help us deliver our programmes and make sure that we are targeting the right young people,” explains Justin.
“One of the issues we had was around identifying young people who were ‘unconfirmed’; we didn’t know whether they were unemployed or economically inactive.
“Now I can use the Portal to find them, along with relevant information like which school they went to, whether they are care experienced or have additional support needs, and then Barnardo’s project workers will actually go and knock their door and offer support. Going to them directly with this soft engagement approach is one of our proudest achievements.”
The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. Sometimes a young person is working, but the system hasn’t been updated, so it is a quick fix, but equally they might be experiencing challenges around mental health.
Justin said: “We have seen young people who haven’t left the house in two years, whose parents don’t know what to do, and then we can actually offer support for the family as well as the young person.”
Two years ago in 2024, 91.7% of young people aged 16 to 19 in North Ayrshire were in a positive destination, 3.9% were given as not participating and there was no data for 4.4%. Last year ‘unconfirmeds’ were down to 3.5%, while 4% were not participating and 92.5% were participating.
Justin is not put off by the slight increase in non-participants. “I see it as a positive because it means that we have identified young people we didn’t know about before and, alongside our partners, we can work out how to support them,” he explains.
Supporting care experienced young people
In North Ayrshire the Local Employability Partnership (LEP) focus is on care experienced young people who have enrolled at Ayrshire College.
Justin explained: “We have a data sharing agreement in place so that we can use information the college adds to the Portal to create a case management approach for care experienced young people. My colleague at the college can monitor attendance patterns so if there are any concerns we can take a multi-agency approach to work through the issues and implement whatever support we can offer.
“The first thing we do is identify a key person in that young person’s life – a careers adviser, social worker or key worker – to offer guidance. It’s about being a corporate parent and making sure they have a person pushing them forward if there isn’t a family member doing that for them; the Portal is a vital tool in this.”
The results speak for themselves: Ayrshire College has the second highest successful completion rate – 70.4% – for care experienced young people across every college in Scotland.
Breaking down barriers
Using data on the Portal responsively and bringing partners from the local SDS team, education, social work and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) around the table has also led to innovative programmes to help boost engagement and retention.
Justin said: “We’ve been able to identify school leavers who are moving on to college but aren’t doing anything over the summer and we now work with them to make sure we don’t lose them after the holidays. It breaks down barriers and means they can start building a relationship with the SDS adviser.
“When I started, we had lots of programmes that only tackled one issue, but the Portal is a key data source that saves significant amounts of time, helps us manage our resources better and is driving how we deliver services.”
The Scottish Government’s Opportunities for All commitment “offers a place in learning or training to every 16-19-year-old not in employment, education or training”.
The 16+ Participation Portal – a secure online Portal managed by Skills Development Scotland – helps to identify young people without an offer.
The Portal joins up information between colleges, local authorities (including schools), the Department for Work and Pensions, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) and Skills Development Scotland.
Find out more on the 16+ Participation Portal webpage.