We are launching the report of our findings of the evaluation of the Partnership for People and Place 2 (PfPP2) programme by City-REDI based at University of Birmingham. The report findings are timely considering the recently published Milburn Report on Young People and Work. In this report it is estimated the cumulative annual cost to our country of almost 1 million NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) young people at £125 billion annually.
In 2025 Birmingham City Council invested Household Support Funding into a pilot supporting young people at risk of NEET as part of earlier intervention to support the household incomes in the future. The ‘PfPP2’ pilot was delivered in five schools across East Birmingham by Loconomy, a Community Benefit Society based in the area that aims to promote social justice by building strong local economies. The programme targeted young people at risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment, or training) after leaving school.
PfPP2 focused on Year 10 pupils, a key transitional stage where decisions about post-16 pathways begin to take shape. Using Risk of NEET Indicators (RONI), schools identified students who could benefit most from support. The aim was clear: intervene early to build confidence, motivation, and informed decision-making, before disengagement could take hold.
What Did PfPP2 Deliver?
The programme combined four complementary strands:
- One-to-one mentoring for young people at risk of being NEET: Up to 24 weekly sessions in an accessible15-minute format with independent local mentors formed the backbone of the programme, providing personalised guidance and trusted relationships.
- Group career-readiness sessions: Structured activities helped pupils explore skills, aspirations and pathways.
- Employer engagement: Activities included exposure to real-world roles and a large-scale Big Careers Event.
- Light-touch support: which included broader engagement with young people and parents beyond the core group.
The programme supported a core group of 102 young people between January and October 20025 who received intensive one-to-one mentoring and group career-readiness sessions. This core group was the focus of the evaluation. In addition, there were 524 light-touch engagements as part of broader engagement beyond core group.
How Did Young People Benefit?
The evaluation reveals meaningful improvements in factors closely linked to reduced NEET risk. The evaluation collected information from young people on the core programmes on entry, during and on exit from PfPP2 and found:
- Young people had clearer career direction: This included having more realistic and informed thinking and expectations about future job and career pathways. During the programme they were willing to unfreeze their existing ideas around future careers and explore other options with their mentor. The proportion of young people who did not know what type of work they would like to do fell from 21.7% to 8.0%.
- Young people developed increased confidence and wellbeing. PfPP2 helped young people feel more confident and optimistic about the future (increased from 42.2% to 75.5%) and improved overall life satisfaction (41.3% to 63.3%).
- Young people developed a better understanding of pathways: There were significant gains in young people’s knowledge of qualifications and training routes, awareness of college and apprenticeship options, and ability to navigate post‑16 choices. Importantly, the number of pupils unsure how to access training or education pathways fell sharply.
- Reduced Perceived Barriers. Many young people began the programme with limiting beliefs such as: “I’m not clever enough” or “Training isn’t for people like me”. By the end of the programme, these perceptions had significantly decreased, with more than half of participants reporting no perceived barriers at all.
While final post-16 outcomes cannot yet be confirmed (data will be available in Spring 2027), these shifts reflect strong progress in the conditions that enable successful transitions.
What Worked Best?
The standout success of PfPP2 was clear:
Consistent, independent one-to-one mentoring was the key driver of change.
This approach:
- Built trust, especially with harder-to-reach young people
- Allowed highly personalised, adaptable support
- Strengthened both mindset and practical career planning
Mentors played a critical role in challenging limiting beliefs, reframing setbacks, and fostering realistic optimism.
Employer engagement also added value – particularly when young people related to speakers who shared similar lived experiences. Meanwhile, light-touch provision ensured the programme had wider system impact beyond the core group.
What Were the Challenges?
Like any ambitious programme, PfPP2 faced implementation hurdles. These included:
- Late funding confirmation disrupted planning and school onboarding
- Group sessions, particularly with boys, were less effective due to behavioural dynamics
- Employer engagement varied depending on school capacity
- Parent engagement was minimal, with no completed feedback due to limited structured involvement
- The evaluation is not yet able to measure long-term NEET outcomes due to timeframe constraints
These limitations are important, but they do not diminish confidence in the positive short- and medium-term findings.
Early Signs Beyond Careers
There is tentative evidence that PfPP2 may have also improved school attendance and attainment in maths. This is based on one school that provided information on attendance levels, and on English and maths attainment in the autumn term before the young people joined the programme and when they exited PfPP2 in October 2025. While not yet definitive or causal, these indicators suggest that when young people feel more motivated about their future, broader educational engagement may follow. This added benefit may be worth further research should funding be secured for a future phase of PfPP.
Does PfPP2 Offer Value for Money?
The economic case is compelling. The programme would effectively break even if just two participants avoided becoming NEET. Furthermore, preventing NEET outcomes for 5–10 young people could generate £250,000–£650,000 in public savings. Given the relatively modest scale of intervention, this highlights strong potential return on investment.
Key Lessons for the Future
PfPP2 points to a model that is both effective and scalable, with six clear lessons:
- Prioritise one-to-one mentoring as the core intervention
- Align delivery with school calendars, not funding cycles
- Actively involve parents and carers
- Expand employer and college engagement, including workplace visits
- Start earlier, with increasing support in Years 7-9
- Plan long-term data tracking to enable measurement of longer-term impact
Final Thoughts
PfPP2 demonstrates that early, targeted intervention can change the perspectives of young people at risk of becoming NEET. By combining trusted relationships, structured guidance, and exposure to real-world opportunities, it has created measurable improvements in confidence, clarity, and career readiness.
At its heart, PfPP2 shows that supporting young people is not just about providing information – it is about building belief.
With continued investment, stronger integration into school systems, and long-term tracking, this model offers a powerful foundation for tackling youth disengagement – not just in Birmingham, but beyond.
The findings of the evaluation were presented at a roundtable on 25 June 2026 as part of Birmingham City Council’s efforts to promote learning from PfPP2; for continuous improvement and in the light of the challenge laid down in the Milburn report.
This blog was written by George Bramley, Senior Analyst, City-REDI, University of Birmingham
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this analysis post are those of the authors and not necessarily those of City-REDI / WMREDI or the University of Birmingham.