Evaluation report
Nov 2025
Educational and psychosocial factors associated with increased risk of becoming NEET
Evidence synthesis exploring risk factors for young people age 11-16 in England
Partners
RAND Europe
Evidence and Research on Youth Employment, What Works: testing youth employment interventions ·
View bioWe commissioned RAND to undertake research to support the design and delivery of our Building Futures programme.
Specifically, we wanted to deepen our understanding of risk factors associated with becoming not in education, employment or training for secondary school-aged children.
The report examines:
- how risk factors are defined and measured
- associations and casual pathways between risk factors and NEET status
- the strength of the existing evidence base
Key insights
The report identifies factors with a strong association with the risk of becoming NEET:
- Educational attainment
- Occupational and educational aspirations
- Attitudes to school and learning
- School absence
- Socio-economic status
- Family and parental characteristics
These factors are often interconnected.
The use of clear standardised definitions verified metrics (such as GCSE scores), and robust longitudinal cohort datasets likely contributed to the transparent and consistent identification.
Definitions and measurements for each identified factor can be found in the full report.
Implications for research
Read more about Implications for research- Enhance causal understanding through Randomised Control Trials (RCTs)
- Increase understanding of the development of aspirations
- Invest in theory-based studies to test and refine theories of change to support the development of more targeted and effective interventions
- Expand longitudinal research through use of existing longitudinal data, such as the Longitudinal Education Outcomes(LEO) and the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE)
- Consistently report details of inclusion criteria, critical appraisal criteria and error minimisation strategies
Implications for policy
Read more about Implications for policy- Focus on quality, tailored, well-timed early intervention for young people aged 11 to 16 who are at greatest risk
- Promote educational attainment and address the broader risk factors that negatively affect it
- Address the aspiration gap
- Focus on educational engagement, as it plays critical role in improving attainment and aspirations
- Implement integrated, comprehensive support systems that include mentoring programmes, career counselling, and mental health services to address the diverse and compounded needs of at-risk youth.
Want to read the full reopo?
More about the programme
Check out more of what we’ve acheived with Building Futures: testing mentoring support
Building Futures: testing mentoring support
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