Scotland
Destination of school leavers
Key points
- In the two years since 2006/07, the proportion of school leavers entering higher or further education has risen considerably, from 53% in 2006/07 to 62% in 2008/09. This rising trend is in contrast to the previous eight years, where the proportion had remained broadly unchanged.
- The flip side of this is that the proportion not in education or training has fallen considerably in the last two years, from 42% in 2006/07 to 33% in 2008/09. Again, this reducing trend is in contrast to the previous eight years, where the proportion had remained broadly unchanged.
- Over the last decade, while the proportion of school leavers entering higher or further education has risen somewhat, the proportion entering training has fallen by a similar amount, the net result being that the overall proportion of school leavers who are in not in education or training is - at 40% - similar a decade ago.
- There are noticeable differences in the destinations of school leavers depending on whether or not they were registered for free school meals (a proxy for deprivation). In particular, the proportion who are not in education, training or work is much higher for those who were registered for free school meals: 29% compared with 12%. But the proportions who are not in education or training (i.e. excluding work) are much more similar: 40% compared with 30%. Note that care should taken when interpreting this analysis as the average age at which they left school may well differ between the two groups.
- There are considerable differences between local authorities in the proportions of school leavers going into different destinations (education, training and work). For example, only a quarter of school leavers in Glasgow go onto full-time higher education compared to half in East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire, while more than a third of school leavers in Shetland, Highland and Moray go into employment compared to less than a fifth in many local authority areas.
- There are considerable differences between the independent and publicly funded sectors in the proportion of school leavers going into full-time higher or further education: 90% of those leaving independent schools continue with their education as opposed to 62% from the publicly funded sector.
Graph 1: Over time
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Graph 2: By local authority
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Graph 3: By sector
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Graph 4: By type of school
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Definitions and data sources
The first graph shows the destination of school leavers from publicly funded schools, represented by the proportions going into full-time higher or further education, training and employment, and with a residual category of 'other'. Most of the 'other' category are unemployed. The data does not distinguish between employment with and without training.
The second graph shows how the proportions going into the different destinations vary between local authorities. It shows the rates for the local authorities with the highest and lowest proportions of school leavers for each category, as well as the average. To improve its statistical reliability, the data is the average for the latest three years.
The third graph shows, for the latest year, how the destination of school leavers differs between those leaving schools in the independent sector and those leaving the publicly funded sector. The categories are again full-time higher or further education, training and employment and 'other'.
The fourth graph shows, for the latest year, how the destination of school leavers varies according to whether or not the school leaver was registered for free school meals (or proxy for deprivation). Care should taken when interpreting this analysis as the average age at which they left school may well differ between the two groups.
The data source for all the graphs is the Scottish Executive's publications entitled Destinations of leavers from Scottish schools.
Overall adequacy of the indicator: high. The indicator is derived from administrative data collected by the Scottish Government. Information on publicly funded schools is provided to the Scottish Government by the Careers Services. Information from independent schools is collected directly from the schools.
External links
- See the Scottish Government's strategy for young people not in education, employment or training.
- See the Education Maintenance Allowance website.