When is a pupil considered disadvantaged?
Pupils are defined as disadvantaged if they were eligible for pupil premium when they were in Year 11 at school. This includes pupils who had:
- Been eligible for free school meals at any point in the previous six years
- Been looked after by their local authority for at least 1 day
- Left care through adoption, a special guardianship order, or a child arrangements order (previously known as a residence order).
This information comes from local authority records and the School Census.
Disadvantage Status
The gap between disadvantaged students and non-disadvantaged students sustaining an overall destination was widest 5 years after finishing key stage 4 study.
Students who were disadvantaged at the end of key stage 4 were 7.6 percentage points less likely to have an overall sustained destination in the year that followed compared to non-disadvantaged students. This was driven by non-disadvantaged students being more likely to sustain an education destination than disadvantaged students. The gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students widened three and five years after finishing key stage 4 (13.8pp and 18.2pp, respectively).
The gap after 5 years had been steadily widening between cohorts: from 16.8 percentage points for the 2012/13 group of leavers to 21.0 percentage points for 2015/16 leavers. While the disadvantage gap has narrowed for 2016/17 leavers (18.2pp), it is important to note that year 5 for the 2015/16 leavers was affected by disruption caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, causing employers and apprenticeship providers to take on fewer individuals. The narrowing of the disadvantage gap for 2016/17 leavers sees the gap broadly return to pre-pandemic levels.
Non-disadvantaged students were more likely to sustain an apprenticeship destination in their first, third and fifth years after finishing key stage 4 study compared to disadvantaged students.
Disadvantaged students were 1.8 percentage points more likely to sustain an employment destination in the first year after finishing key stage 4. However, non-disadvantaged students were 3.5 percentage points more likely to sustain an employment destination 3 years after finishing key stage 4. Sustained employment destinations were broadly similar in the fifth year, 33.4% and 32.9% for disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students respectively.
Prior Attainment
Students who achieved 9-4 in English and maths at key stage 4 were more likely to sustain an overall destination than those who did not achieve these grades
2016/17 leavers who achieved 9-4 in English and maths at key stage 4 were 23.3 percentage points more likely to sustain a destination 5 years after finishing key stage 4 than those who did not achieve the grades.
This gap was mainly driven by students with higher prior attainment being more likely to sustain an education destination than those with lower prior attainment. The gap in participation in sustained education between the two groups grew from 16.1 percentage points after 1 year, to 22.3 percentage points and 40.1 percentage points in years 3 and 5.
Students who did not achieve 9-4 in English and maths were more likely to sustain apprenticeship destinations 1 and 3 years after finishing key stage 4 than those students who did achieve these grades (2.4 percentage points and 0.5 percentage points gap respectively). Students with higher prior attainment were 1.2 percentage points more likely to sustain an apprenticeship destination 5 years after finishing key stage 4 study than those students with lower prior attainment.
Students who did not achieve 9-4 in English and maths were more likely to sustain employment destinations in each of the measured periods than those who did.
Gender
Female students were more likely to have an overall sustained destination 1, 3 and 5 years after finishing key stage 4 than male students
Female students were 1.2 percentage points more likely to have an overall sustained destination than male students in the first year after finishing key stage 4. This gap grew to 4.5 percentage points in year 3, then decreased to 3.2pp in year 5. This difference is driven by female students being more likely to sustain an education destination than male students across the three measured time periods.
Male students were more likely than female students to take up apprenticeships. The gap between the proportion of female and male students who sustained an apprenticeship destination widened at 3 years and narrowed slightly 5 years after finishing key stage 4 study.
Male and female students were similarly likely to be in sustained employment in years 1 and 3 after key stage 4, with close to 1 in 4 being found in work in year 3. However, male students were more likely to sustain employment destinations 5 years after completing KS4 compared to female students.
Special educational needs
Students with special educational needs (SEN) in state-funded mainstream schools were less likely to have a sustained destination 1, 3 and 5 years after completing key stage 4
Students without special educational needs (SEN) were 5.4 percentage points more likely to sustain a destination than students with SEN support one year after completing key stage 4. This gap widens to 12.6 and 17.4 percentage points 3 and 5 years after completing key stage 4, respectively. This is driven by education destinations, with the gap in sustained education destinations increasing from 7.4 percentage points in year 1 to 21.6 percentage points in year 5.
SEN students with an EHC plan or statement were 3.1 percentage points less likely to sustain a destination than students without SEN one year after completing key stage 4. After 3 years, the gap in sustained destinations widened to 10.6 percentage points. This was driven by a 12.6 percentage point gap in employment destinations compared to students without SEN. In year 5, sustained destinations for SEN students with an EHC plan or statement dropped substantially, with the gap widening to 24.3 percentage points in comparison to students without SEN. This is driven by education destinations, with a 25.3 percentage point decrease in education destinations compared to year 3 for SEN students with an EHC plan or statement.
Ethnicity
Pupils from Indian and Chinese backgrounds were most likely to sustain a destination 1, 3 and 5 years after completing key stage 4
Sustained destinations one year after completing key stage 4 were at 97.5% and 97.8% for students of Indian and Chinese backgrounds, respectively. By the fifth year, sustained destinations for students of Indian and Chinese backgrounds were at 90.2% and 92.2%, respectively. Students of Indian and Chinese backgrounds also had the lowest decline in sustained destinations across 5 years at 7.3 and 5.6 percentage points, respectively.
Students of Gypsy Roma and Traveller of Irish Heritage backgrounds were most likely to sustain an employment destination one year after completing key stage 4 (8.4% and 4.8%, respectively). By year 5, students of White British, and White and Black Caribbean backgrounds were most likely to sustain an employment destination (37.7% and 32.9%, respectively).