School engagement refers to students’ level of involvement, commitment and effort in relation to their school careers. The academic literature has shown that positive school engagement is associated with positive youth development outcomes, academic success and psychological well-being or adjustment. Conversely, student disengagement has been shown to have potentially very negative effects on the individual level that persist across the whole life-course, including reduced employment opportunities and economic independence. In particular, research indicates that students who are most disengaged at school are significantly more likely to experience periods of NEET (not in education, employment or training).

Of course, there are various degrees of engagement/disengagement and, while some young people are clearly disengaged from school, others are less obviously so, especially those who attend regularly and do not appear to be disruptive. The early identification of these young people who may be at risk of disengagement can be crucial for putting in place measures to re-engage them and prevent school dropout or becoming NEET later on.

Effective monitoring systems can provide an early warning mechanism for the students most vulnerable to disengaging from school and having unclear post-16 plans. Current monitoring systems to identify young people at risk of disengagement and becoming NEET tend to focus on demographic data, as well as school attainment and attendance information.

We have designed an early warning user-friendly toolkit – School Engagement Risk Assessment Toolkit (SERAT) - to collect additional diagnostic data that allow to gain a more accurate insight into the students who are most at risk of disengaging from education.

To access the SERAT toolkit, please register below: