A significant number of 16- and 17-year-olds in England who are enrolled in college are not attending classes regularly, leading to a hidden crisis of youth disengagement, according to new analysis from the Children's Commissioner's office. As many as 42,000 young people in this age group are signed up for further education but attend less than half of their scheduled sessions. This means they are not being counted in official figures tracking those not in employment, education, or training (NEETS).
The analysis suggests the number of NEETS in this age bracket could be nearly double previous estimates. Unlike schools, attendance is not consistently tracked by the Department for Education in further education settings, creating a blind spot for identifying disengaged students.
To address this, the Children's Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, gathered data from 262 of England's 290 college groups. The findings revealed that 28,528 16- and 17-year-olds were 'severely absent' in Spring 2026, missing half or more of their expected sessions. Extrapolated across all college groups in England, this data points to an estimated 41,995 students disengaging from education without appearing in official NEETS statistics.
Former health secretary Alan Milburn, who is reviewing the NEETS crisis for the Labour party, commented that the lack of obligation for colleges to report attendance allows tens of thousands of young people to disengage without clear accountability. He called for a better system to ensure no young person is lost.
Dame Rachel expressed concern that these students are counted as 'in education' while barely attending, leaving them with the negative impacts of being outside of employment, education, or training without access to targeted support. She has called for consistent capture of attendance data, increased mental health support for young adults, and improved links between education and employment.
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott criticized Labour's approach, stating that their policies make businesses less likely to hire young people and less able to invest in early careers staff. Reform UK's education spokesperson, Suella Braverman, argued that the system is failing working-class children by prioritizing less practical degrees over essential skills.
A Department for Education spokesperson acknowledged the importance of engaging young people in further education and stated that the report highlights the need to prioritize students in further education in future reforms. The department is introducing attendance monitoring and tracking in colleges, accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams, and continuing to work with the further education sector to address student absenteeism. The government also highlighted its new Level 1 qualifications in English and maths aimed at building foundational knowledge and skills.