Building the NEET Bridge within FE Colleges: Focus Group

EMFEC, the association for Further Education Colleges in the East Midlands, hosted a Focus Group on the 24th of November, 2011, intended to review and test a model developed by Tenon Education Training and Skills and Venture for Life related to keeping "at risk" students in school.   The audience included Curriculum Managers, Student Support Services, Foundation Learning Teams, 14 – 16 Teams, Community Development Teams across the East Midlands.

The discussion revolved around:

• How to make FE courses attractive to students of low aspiration who may not do well in a traditional college environment, increasing retention of students within the FE College
• How to create a bridge for students in alternative provision who may not be ready to attend a traditional FE college, increasing the pool of potential students for the FE College
  

Solving these problems will help overall attack the issue of the growing number of NEETS and the growing number of drop-outs in the 16-19-year-old group within the FE Colleges.