Raising of school leaving age in England and Wales

The Raising Of School Leaving Age (often shortened to "ROSLA") is the name given by Government to refer to changes regarding the legal age a child is permitted to leave compulsory education, usually falling under an Education Act. In most countries, the school leaving age often reflects when young people are seen to be mature enough within their society, but not necessarily when they are old enough to be regarded as an Adult.

In England and Wales, this age has been raised numerous times since the introduction of compulsory education in 1870. The most recent Raising of School Leaving Age occurrence was on 1 September 1973, following preparations which began 8 years prior in 1964. [http://www.dfes.gov.uk/schoolattendance/faq/#faq18 School Attendance FAQ] DfES.gov.uk] This increased the legal leaving age from 15 to 16, leaving a gap year of school leavers who, by law, had to complete an additional year of education from 1973 onwards.

There are several reasons why the Government may wish to increase the school leaving age, considering it has raised the age numerous times over the 19th and 20th century, with plans to do so again in 2013. With past age raisings, the reasons given have been focused mainly on generating more skilled labour by providing additional time for students to gain additional skills and qualifications. In recent years, it has become apparent that most 16-18 year olds aren't as motivated to continue their education after completion of their GCSEs, thus increasing the overall unemployment rate, as many are unable to find work. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6254833.stm School leaving age set to be 18] news.bbc.co.uk, 12 January 2007] The British Government is hopeful that by making education compulsory up to the age of 18 by 2013, they can change this attitude. [http://web.archive.org/web/20071223141431/http://www.politics.co.uk/issuebrief/education/schools/school-leaving-age/education-leaving-age-$474737.htm Education leaving age brief] Politics.co.uk, 12 June 2007]

19th century

Prior to the 19th century, there were very few schools. Most of those that existed were run by the church, for the church, stressing religious education. In the latter part of the 19th Century, compulsory attendance at school ceased to be a matter for local option, with the introduction of the Elementary Education Act 1870 a milestone in the British school education system. [http://www.genuki.org.uk:8080/big/eng/LIN/schools.html Lincolnshire School Resources] Genuki.org.uk] Children had to attend between the ages of 5 and 10 though with some local discretion such as early leaving in agricultural areas. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6135516.stm School leaving age may be raised] news.bbc.co.uk, 10 November 2006]

The introduction of the Elementary Education Act 1870 (applying to England and Wales), commonly known as "Forster's Education Act" having been drawn up by William Edward Forster, created the concept of compulsory education for children under thirteen, although didn't insist on compulsory attendance initially, as it only required the provision for education of children up to 10 years of age. [ [http://www.mountstmarys.org/History%20of%20School.htm History of Mount St Mary's] ] In areas where education was considered a problem, elected school boards could be set up. These boards could, at their discretion, create local by-laws, confirmed by Parliament, to require attendance and fine the parents of children who did not attend. There were exemptions for illness, living more than a certain distance (typically one mile) from a school, or certification of having reached the required standard (which varied by board) which were made mandatory across England and Wales by the 1880 Act.

The Elementary Education Act 1880 insisted on compulsory attendance from 5-10 years. For poorer families, ensuring their children attended school proved difficult, as it was more tempting to send them working if the opportunity to earn an extra income was available. Attendance Officers often visited the homes of children who failed to attend school, which often proved to be ineffective. Children under the age of 13 who were employed were required to have a certificate to show they had reached the "educational standard". Employers of these children who weren't able to show this were penalised. An act brought into force thirteen years later went under the name of the Elementary Education (School Attendance) Act 1893, which stated a raised minimum leaving age to 11. Later the same year, the act was also extended for blind and deaf children, who previously had no means of an official education. This act was later amended in 1899 to raise the school leaving age up to 12 years of age. [ [http://www.thepotteries.org/dates/education.htm Key dates in British Education (1000-1899)] ThePotteries.org]

20th century

The start of the 20th century saw School Boards abolished in 1902 and replaced with Local Education Authorities, which are still in use to the present day.

The "Fisher Act" of 1918

The year 1918 saw the introduction of the Education Act 1918, commonly also known as the Fisher Act as it was devised by Herbert Fisher. The act enforced compulsory education from 5-14 years, but also included provision for compulsory part-time education for all 14 to 18-year-olds. There were also plans for expansion in tertiary education, by raising the participation age to 18. This was dropped because of the cuts in public spending after World War I. This is the first act which starting planning provisions for young people to remain in education until the age of 18. [http://education.independent.co.uk/news/article2383878.ece Under-18s who leave school to be fined] education.independent.co.uk, 23 March 2007] The 1918 act was not immediately implemented, instead waiting until an act in 1921 before coming into effect. [ [http://www.dg.dial.pipex.com/history/text03.shtml Education in England - 3] www.dg.dial.pipex.com]

Butler's post-war education changes

In 1944, Rab Butler introduced the Education Act 1944 which amongst other changes, including the introduction of the Tripartite System, included raising the school leaving age to 15. Although the act should have been brought into effect as from September 1939, it was not implemented because of the effects of World War II, but was eventually enforced from April 1947. The Comprehensive school system has since replaced the Tripartite System brought in by this act across most of England. [ [http://www.catholic-history.org.uk/nwchs/plumb/laws.html Catholic History Laws] Catholic-History.co.uk] This act also recommended compulsory part-time education for all children until the age of 18, but was also dropped similarly to Act 1918 to cut spending after World War II.

Reasons

Changes in Government approaches towards education meant that it was no longer regarded adequate for a child to leave education aged 14, as that is the age when they were seen to really understand and appreciate the value of education, as well as being the period when adolescence was at its height. It was beginning to be seen as the worst age for a sudden switch from education to employment, with the additional year in schooling to only provide benefits for the children when they leave. Although there were concerns about the effects of having less labour from these children, it was hoped that the outcome of a larger quantity of more qualified, skilled workers would eliminate the deficit problem from the loss of unskilled labour. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0036-6773(194711)55%3A9%3C523%3ARTSAIB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-6 Raising the School-Leaving Age in Britain] links.jstor.org, November 1947]

Effects

This act introduced the concept of the famous 11+ examination, which determined whether a child would be entitled to schooling in a grammar school, secondary modern or technical college, under the Tripartite System. The examination was devised by Rab Butler, but has since been phased out across the majority of the United Kingdom, with just several boroughs in England and Northern Ireland still using it. [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ED1944.htm 1944 Education Act] spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk] League tables published in March 2007, however, show that existing grammar schools throughout the country are outperforming comprehensive schools. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=PYMF2Y1EU1NQBQFIQMGSFFWAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2007/03/01/nschools01.xml Grammars still dominate league tables] Telegraph.co.uk, 2 March 2007]

Changes in society and approaches towards education, including equal opportunities, has meant that all children now deserve to have the same education and not singling out those who learn at a slower rate than others, thus every child has the opportunity to gain secondary school level qualifications or similar, regardless of background or intelligence.

Leaving age raised to 16

In 1964, preparations began to raise the school leaving age to 16 to be enforced from 1 September 1973 onwards. As well as raising the school leaving age in 1973, the year also saw the introduction of the Education (Work Experience) Act, allowing LEAs to organise work experience for the additional final year school students. [http://www.dg.dial.pipex.com/history/timeline.shtml Education in England - Timeline] dg.dial.pipex.com] In some counties around the country, these changes also led to the introduction of Middle schools in 1968, where students were kept at primary or junior school for an additional year, meaning that the number of students in secondary schools within these areas remained virtually constant through the change. As of 2007, there are now fewer than 400 Middle Schools across England, situated in just 22 Local Education Authorities. [http://www.politics.co.uk/issuebrief/education/schools/school-leaving-age/education-leaving-age-$474737.htm Politics.co.uk: School Leaving Age Brief] ]

ROSLA Buildings

For many secondary schools around England and Wales in areas without a Middle School, accommodating for the new 5th year students would be a struggle. A popular solution was to provide those schools with a pre-fabricated building (often referred to as "ROSLA Buildings" or "ROSLA Blocks") that were in need of additional capacity [http://www.politics.co.uk/issuebrief/education/schools/school-leaving-age/education-leaving-age-$474737.htm Politics.co.uk: School Leaving Age Brief] ] , providing them with the resources to cope with the new generation of 5th year students. This solution proved popular with many schools across the country, not least due to the low cost involved for materials and construction, but also the speed which these buildings could be erected.

The ROSLA Buildings were delivered to schools in self assembly packs, being assembled by a team often in a matter of days, regardless of weather conditions. Consequentially, they were not intended to stand long-term, though some have proven to have stood much longer than was initially planned. Many ROSLA Buildings shared similar exterior attributes such as their design, with the only difference being the separation of rooms within the building. The room separation within the building was decided upon by senior school management, hence many walls are false from being added in after construction.

Although the majority of schools around England and Wales have since replaced the ROSLA Building at their site, there are still numerous schools around the country which are still actively using these buildings. Some schools which still have a standing ROSLA Building that isn't in use serve for youth centres for the community or are simply derelict. [http://www.nightingalehighschool.co.uk/rosla.html rosla ] ] The majority have since been demolished or extensively refurbished.

Education Act 1996

Between 1976 and 1997, the minimum school leaving arrangements were:
* A child whose sixteenth birthday falls in the period 1st September to 31st January inclusive, may leave compulsory schooling at the end of the Spring term (the following Easter).
* A child whose sixteenth birthday falls in the period 1st February to 31st August, may leave on the Friday before the last Monday in May.

Under section 8(4) of the Education Act 1996, a new single school leaving date was set for 1998 and all subsequent years thereafter. This was set as the last Friday in June in the school year which the child reaches the age of 16. [ [http://newydd.cymru.gov.uk/legacy_en/keypubstatisticsforwales/content/publication/schools-teach/2006/siwgs2005/siwgs2005-app/siwgs2005-app3.pdf Appendix III - Public Schooling Statistics for Wales] ]

21st century

Proposed increase of leaving age to 18

Reports published in November 2006 suggested that England's Education Secretary Alan Johnson was exploring ways to raise the school leaving age in England and Wales to 18, just over 40 years later than the last raise back in 1972, pointing to the decline in unskilled jobs and the need for young people to be equipped for modern day employment.

A year later on 6 November 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown set out his Queen's Speech plans for the year ahead, unveiling the Government's plans for the increase in school leaving age. It included the duty for parents to assist their children in education or training participation until the date of their 18th birthday, as well as detailing proposed moves to reform the apprenticeship system and to improve achievement for children in care. The act, to officially come in to force in the 2013 academic year, will initially insist on participation until the school year in which the child turns 17, followed by the age being raised to the young person's 18th birthday by 2015. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7080699.stm School leaving age plans unveiled] BBC News, 6 November 2007]

Reasons

Figures were published in June 2006 showing that 76.2% of all young people aged 16-18 are already in further education or training, meaning that the raise might only affect around 25% of young people who may have otherwise sought employment immediately upon finishing compulsory education. This did not specifically state that young people would remain in secondary school, but rather by law be required to continue their education full or part time, whether that be in sixth form, college or work based training. [http://education.guardian.co.uk/policy/story/0,,1945070,00.html Brown backs idea of raising school-leaving age] education.guardian.co.uk, 10 November 2006] In a survey of 859 people, 9/10 supported the plans for the age increase. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/07/nschool107.xml Education until 18 will prevent life of crime] Telegraph.co.uk, 7 March 2007]

Reports published by the DfES show that although there are around 70% of 16 year olds who remain in education, this declines to less than 50% by the time they reach 18, with the majority finding unskilled employment and even less going into employment where their training has benefitted. There is also a small increase in those who become unemployed by the time they reach 18, which the Government hope to reduce with the proposed act. [http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8559710 School-leaving age | Staying on | Economist.com ] ] It is these cases of unemployment which the Government believes to be the toughest, whom it classifies as NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). An additional 7% of 16 year olds fall into this category and the proportion rises to 13% among 18 year olds. [http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8559710 School-leaving age | Staying on | Economist.com ] ] Although the figure of young people classified as NEET has remained constant between 8-10% from 1993-2004, DfES estimates show rises to 11% in 2005, a representation of 220,000 young people. In practice, only 1% of young people are classified as NEET during their time aged 16-18, due to CHURN between training, employment and NEET classification.

Plans to increase the school leaving age were confirmed in January 2007 by the Department for Education and Skills, with the change to be implemented by 2013. The Government believes that the changes are needed because of the collapse in unskilled jobs in the economy, which means that young school leavers at 16 years of age are finding it increasingly more difficult to find employment, consequentially in many cases making them unemployable. Within the last 40 years, the number of unskilled jobs available have more than halved, from 8 million in the 1960s to 3.5 in the present day, with predictions of further drops to just 600,000 by 2020 due to the increasing demand for skilled labour. [http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=163783 Education and Training to be Compulsory for Under-18s] TrainingZone.co.uk] This, together with less students continuing their further education, increase the difficulty for young school leavers to find work if they were either not able, or chose not to, stay on at school and complete further education.

Opposition

Whilst the Government is eager to implement the changes, many, including opposition parties and the Professional Association of Teachers, have opposed such an act until current problems with the education system can be addressed first. There are still numerous questions which remain unanswered, such as how to extend the capacity of schools and colleges to cope with all 16-18 year olds, as opposed to the current 76% which already stay on in further education. Truancy, a problem which already exists across the country with children who are already in compulsory education, would also need addressing, if the duration which compulsory education lasts for is to be extended. The Professional Association of Teachers are officially opposing the proposal, with Ms Everett, chairman of the union, warning: "Enforcement could lead to mass truancy, further disruption to other learners and staff, maybe even needless criminalisation if 'enforcement measures' are imposed." [http://education.independent.co.uk/news/article2819598.ece Raising school leaving age 'may lead to mass truancy'] education.independent.co.uk, 31 July 2007]

It has also been pointed out [http://www.civitas.org.uk/blog/2007/04/were_nearly_all_infants_now.html We're nearly all infants now] Civitas, 18 April 2007] [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/minette_marrin/article1564029.ece Sentenced to rot in their failed schools] Sunday Times, 25 March 2007] that there are civil liberties issues involved. Compulsory school attendance is usually justified by reference to the argument that minors are incapable of making sufficiently reasoned choices. However, the 16-18 age group falls into a grey area, being regarded as effectively adult in a number of contexts. Indeed, in some jurisdictions (e.g. Scotland), individuals are considered to reach full majority at 16.

The proposal of using criminal sanctions to enforce attendance under this new system was met by fierce opposition by MPs from both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, who believed compulsion and threats were the wrong approach to increasing participation. A spokesperson for the DfES said the proposals were not about "forcing young people to do something they don't want to", and that "we are letting young people down if we allow them to leave education and training without skills at the age of 16." [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6740701.stm Staying on 'must not be forced'] news.bbc.co.uk, 11 June 2007] However, the Prime Minister's Queen's Speech in November 2007, which discussed the raise in school leaving age, suggested that pupils who failed to comply with new laws are to be expected to face fines or community service, rather than custodial sentencing which had previously been proposed. Local Authorities will also be expected to ensure pupils are participating up to 18 years of age.

Effects

The trend in the amount of unskilled jobs available throughout the country is continually decreasing. The Government believes by making education compulsory until the age of 18 will mean many more young people will leave education being in a much better position to find skilled employment. Speaking in March 2007, Chancellor Gordon Brown stated that around 50,000 teenagers would be paid a training allowance to sign up to college-based courses, with estimates on the available number of apprenticeships available to double to around 500,000 by 2020, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/22/nedu22.xml School leaving age will be raised to 18] Telegraph.co.uk, 23 March 2007] with 80% being available in England, which will be an increase from the current 250,000 apprenticeships available, offered by 130,000 employers.

Speaking in June 2007, Barry Sheerman, Labour MP and chair of the Commons education and skills select committee, says that "young people not in education are one of the biggest social problems facing a modern government". [ [http://www.politics.co.uk/in-focus-main/education/schools/school-leaving-age/raising-education-leaving-age-$474681.htm Reasons behind raising the school leaving age - Barry Sheerman] Politics.co.uk, 11 June 2007] The Government is hopeful that the changes will also have an effect on preventing the increase in crime levels, as currently a substantial percentage of young people leaving school are turning to a life of crime, most unable to find suitable work due to lack of skills and qualifications.

ee also

*School leaving age
*Education in England
*Compulsory education
*Tripartite System

Further reading

* http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/mortarboard/2007/01/incarceration_or_good_economic.html
* http://www.thepotteries.org/dates/education.htm

References

External links

*
* http://www.dfes.gov.uk/schoolattendance/faq/#faq18
* [http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/14-19/index.cfm?go=site.home&sid=42&pid=344&ctype=TEXT&ptype=Single Raising the Participation Age to 18]