In a move to get more young people out of NEET status and into employment, the careers office in Coventry and Warwickshire will be sending out letters to over 1500 young people inviting them to take part in the government’s Entry to Employment scheme:
There are 1,692 16, 17 and 18-year-olds in Coventry and Warwickshire who fall into the category.
Numbers have increased this year because of the credit crunch which is hitting 18-year-olds leaving college or school and looking for a job particularly hard.
Staff from young people’s careers service Connexions are …

The recent YouGov index shows that out of work young people feel unhappy about more aspects of their life than people in work:
While 15% say that their life lacks direction, 13% claim to feel down or depressed all or most of the time and 12% feel isolated all or most of the time.
These Northern Ireland results come as part of a UK-wide survey of 2,088 16-to-25-year-olds which suggests that unemployed young people are twice as likely to feel down or depressed than those in work.
Via 4NI

Can working for free provide a path out of a NEET lifestyle for young people?
Courtney Theobald worked 14-hour days for nothing to prove her worth and escape life as a NEET. The 18-year-old, from Stroud, Glos, was unemployed at the end of a one-year course in childcare.
But she refused to spend her days lounging in front of the telly and did six months’ unpaid work at a clothes shop, only to be told they couldn’t afford to take her on.
Then Courtney found that a 99p store was looking for employees …

According to an Ofsted report, Swindon council workers are among the best in the country:
Ofsted has graded Swindon Council as the top performing local authority in the country for safeguarding and looking after children in care.
Seven years ago, the council’s Children Services department was branded as one of the worst in the country.
Councillor Garry Perkins, Cabinet Member for Children Services, said: “I am very proud of this result which has been achieved through sheer determination and a real team effort across Children Services to raise standards even further.
via Swindon Advertiser

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said on Thursday that it had found that the UK young are suffereing from "nature starvation":
The survey of 1,000 people found that only about a third (37 percent) of under 35s feel connected to the natural world, compared with more than half (55 percent) of those aged over 35.
People who grow up with regular access to the natural world often find it therapeutic, feel better mentally and physically and continue enjoying visits to places like nature reserves, parks and forests throughout …

Responses to a recent anti-social behaviour survey show that although residents feel crime has dropped it is still an issue that needs further addressing:
Children’s Secretary Ed Balls and Schools Minister Vernon Coaker will today visit Limehouse Youth Centre in East London to highlight the Government’s progress in tackling anti-social behaviour and youth crime over the last two years in 69 priority areas. Ministers will also meet with young people and members of the community who have benefited from Government initiatives to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Other figures also show that:

Street based teams …

The Princes Trust YouGov Youth Index survey details the lasting effects of the recession and unemployment on the country’s youth, and warns could cause a ‘lost generation’:
The young unemployed are already significantly less happy and confident – even about health, family relationships and friends – than those in work, it claims.
The extent to which feelings of lowered self-esteem permeate the lives of youths not in employment, education or training (so-called Neets) is revealed in a poll.
Conducted for The Prince’s Trust, the YouGov Youth Index documents the psychological setbacks inflicted …

As part of a new initiative, Cambridge council is asking residents to suggest sites within the area that could benefit from maintenance or repair from youth offenders in the community:
People have until January 31 to nominate projects that allow young people, who have broken the law and been referred to the Youth Offending Service, to make good the harm they’ve caused. It is called the ‘Pick a Site, We’ll Put it Right’ initiative.
To be considered, the project has to benefit the community, not take paid work from anyone else and …