Implementing the United Kingdom's ten-year teenage pregnancy strategy for England (1999-2010): how was this done and what did it achieve?

In 1999, the UK Labour Government launched a 10-year Teenage Pregnancy Strategy for England to address the country's historically high rates and reduce social exclusion. The goal was to halve the under-18 conception rate. This study explores how the strategy was designed and implemented, and the features that contributed to its success. This study was informed by examination of the detailed documentation of the strategy, published throughout its 10-year implementation. The strategy involved a comprehensive programme of action across four themes: joined up action at national and local level; better prevention through improved sex and relationships education and access to effective contraception; a communications campaign to reach young people and parents; and coordinated support for young parents (The support programme for young parents was an important contribution to the strategy. In the short term by helping young parents prevent further unplanned pregnancies and, in the long term, by breaking intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and lowering the risk of teenage pregnancy.). It was implemented through national, regional and local structures with dedicated funding for the 10-year duration. The under-18 conception rate reduced steadily over the strategy's lifespan. The 2014 under-18 conception rate was 51% lower than the 1998 baseline and there have been significant reductions in areas of high deprivation. One leading social commentator described the strategy as 'The success story of our time' (Toynbee, The drop in teenage pregnancies is the success story of our time, 2013). As rates of teenage pregnancy are influenced by a web of inter-connected factors, the strategy was necessarily multi-faceted in its approach. As such, it is not possible to identify causative pathways or estimate the relative contributions of each constituent part. However, we conclude that six key features contributed to the success: creating an opportunity for action; developing an evidence based strategy; effective implementation; regularly reviewing progress; embedding the strategy in wider government programmes; and providing leadership throughout the programme. The learning remains relevant for the UK as England's teenage birth rate remains higher than in other Western European countries. It also provides important lessons for governments and policy makers in other countries seeking to reduce teenage pregnancy rates. BACKGROUND METHODS RESULTS CONCLUSION

Evaluating the impact of career management skills module and internship programme within a university business school

This study evaluates the impact of an intervention on business school graduates’ employability comprising of a curriculum-based career management skills (CMS) module and an industrial placement year. The study uses data from the destinations of leavers of higher education survey to examine the employability of different groups within the cohort (no intervention, CMS module only and CMS module plus structured work experience). It finds that structured work experience has clear, positive effects on the ability of graduates to secure employment in ‘graduate level’ jobs within six months of graduation. Furthermore, participation in the CMS module also has a clear, positive effect upon the ability of participants to secure employment

Employers and schools: how Mansfield is building a world of work approach

There is a keen interest in encouraging employers to engage with schools so that young people can learn more about careers, understand the skills that employers are interested in, broaden their aspirations and be motivated to succeed. Employer engagement in schools in England however is increasingly fragmented because of a loss of brokering infrastructure. This article describes a partnership approach developed in Mansfield where a consortium of local schools has worked with their business community and public sector organisations. Together they have listened to what young people say they both want and need to know about careers and then responded by providing a strategic careers learning programme. The particular contribution of the Mansfield Learning Partnership which is wholly funded by the town’s secondary schools is detailed in the article alongside elaboration of the Mansfield Framework for Career Learning which provides a work experience programme and several imaginative opportunities for young people to engage in meaningful encounters with employers

Surveillance, performativity and normalised practice: the use and impact of graded lesson observations in Further Education colleges

In little over a decade, the observation of teaching and learning (OTL) has become the cornerstone of Further Education (FE) colleges’ quality systems for assuring and improving the professional skills and knowledge base of tutors. Yet OTL remains an under-researched area of inquiry with little known about the impact of its use on the professional identity, learning and development of FE tutors. This paper examines the specific practice of graded OTL and in so doing discusses findings from a mixed-methods study conducted in 10 colleges situated across the West Midlands region of England. Data from a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews were analysed within a theoretical framework that drew largely on aspects of Foucauldian theory as well as the twin phenomena of new managerialism and performativity. This analysis revealed how OTL has become normalised as a performative tool of managerialist systems designed to assure and improve standards, performance and accountability in teaching and learning. It is argued that FE has now outgrown graded OTL and it is time for a moratorium on its use. Colleges and tutors need to be given greater professional autonomy with regard to OTL and be allowed to develop their own systems that place professional learning and development at the forefront, rather than the requirements of performance management systems

Higher education, graduate skills and the skills of graduates: the case of graduates as residential sales estate agents

The UK labour market is subject to significant graduatisation. Yet in the context of an over-supply of graduates, little is known about the demand for and deployment of graduate skills in previously non-graduate jobs. Moreover, there is little examination of where these skills are developed, save an assumption in higher education. Using interviews and questionnaire data from a study of British residential sales estate agents, this article explores the demand, deployment and development of graduate skills in an occupation that is becoming graduatised. These data provide no evidence to support the view that the skills demanded and deployed are those solely developed within higher education. Instead what employers require is a wide array of predominantly soft skills developed in many different situs. These findings suggest that, in the case of estate agents, what matters are the ‘skills of graduates’ rather than putative ‘graduate skills’

Earthquakes, cancer and cultures of fear: qualifying as a Skills for Life teacher in an uncertain economic climate

The Skills for Life (SfL) initiative followed the Moser Report (1999) and incarnated a Third Way agenda that sought to address England's perceived adult skills deficit. SfL marked a large investment in adult education but also a distinct shift to a more focused, instrumentalist role for Further Education (FE) in England. A new structure of teacher standards and qualifications underpinned this development with its own, newly devised and matriculated knowledge base. Teachers emerged from these new programmes with subject specialisms in Literacy, Numeracy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). The landscape that these ‘new professionals' have entered is one that suggests the autonomy of colleges within a competitive market, but this disguises a funding methodology that facilitates ongoing centralised policy intervention. In the last two years policy makers have used this funding methodology to shift monies decisively towards 14-19 provision and away from adult education. This article draws on qualitative data from a study into the experiences of pre and in-service SfL teachers in the final stages of qualification. The data explore the impact of these latest movements in the FE market on these student teachers who are qualifying in some of the newest subjects in FE

“We Don’t Get Into All That”: an analysis of how teachers uphold heteronormative sex and relationship education

Legislation that applies to UK SRE currently advocates inclusive provision. Given the nonstatutory status of SRE, however, it is unclear how teachers incorporate sexual inclusivity, especially as research has shown that teachers’ discursive practices can promote a heteronormative SRE climate (Renn, 2010). Using a discursive psychological approach to analyze interview data, this study examined how teachers account for their provision as inclusive. It was revealed that even when promoting their inclusivity, teachers’ SRE provision upholds heteronormativity. In doing this, they positioned LGB and same-sex practices outside of the classroom, potentially leaving these young people without a sufficient sex education

Employer Skills Survey, 2011-2019: Secure Access

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The UK Commission for Employment and Skills' (UKCES) Employer Skills Survey (ESS) is a biennial UK-wide individual establishment telephone survey, providing the most detailed picture of training, vacancies, skills gaps, and investment in training. The aims are to provide rigorous and robust intelligence on the UK labour market and the market for skills. The ESS harmonised skills surveys from across the four UK nations, following individual surveys undertaken in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Two previous studies, the National Employer Skills Survey, 1999-2009: Secure Access, covering England only, and the Scottish Employer Skills Survey, 2008-2010: Secure Access, covering Scotland, are held at the UK Data Archive under SNs 6705 and 6857 repectively. Both studies are subject to restrictive secure access conditions (see the SN 6705 and 6857 catalogue records for full details). The UKCES also conducts the Employer Perspectives Survey (UKCEPS) series (held at the Archive under SN 33466), which began in 2010. The UKCEPS provides a comprehensive examination of employer perspectives on key aspects of the employment, skills and business support systems in the UK. Secure Access data: The Secure Access version of the ESS contains the mainstage questionnaire data which includes Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) enterprise reference numbers, Local Education Authorities (LEAs) and Local Authority Districts (LAs). The 2011 data also include postcodes. There are two data files for 2011. One file contains Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) enterprise reference numbers but no postcodes, and only includes cases where the enterprise reference number is known. The other file contains postcodes but no enterprise reference numbers, and only includes cases where the postcode is known. The follow-up Investment in Training Survey data are also available for all years. The Archive also holds standard End User Licence versions which do not include IDBR reference numbers, postcodes or local authority districts available under GN 33477. There are also Special Licence versions which do not include IDBR reference numbers and postcodes which are available under GN 33510 Further information may be found on the GOV.UK&nbsp;Employer Skills Survey 2019&nbsp;web page. Linking to other business studies These data contain IDBR reference numbers. These are anonymous but unique reference numbers assigned to business organisations. Their inclusion allows researchers to combine different business survey sources together. Researchers may consider applying for other business data to assist their research. For the sixth edition (March 2023), a new version (V5) of the 2019 data has been added to the study.Main Topics:The Employer Skills Survey covers the following topics:establishment characteristicsretention and recruitmentvacanciesdemand for skills and skills gapshard-to-fill vacanciesworkforce development and trainingskills utilisation and high performance workingbusiness strategy and structure</ul