It is widely known that many care experienced young people find education to be difficult and experience some form of school exclusion. What is less well understood is what happens next for these young people at the age of 16.
Overview
This project explored the educational experiences and post-16 trajectories of care experienced young people who attended pupil referral units (PRUs) in Wales. From the limited research available, learners with experience remain over-represented in PRUs (McCluskey et al, 2015). Additionally, transitioning out of PRUs at 16 is also known to be challenging for these learners. In 2020, almost half of PRU learners in England dropped out of education, training or employment (ETE) after leaving a PRU (Wilcock, 2020).
This fellowship, funded by Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW), had two main stages:
- To understand the factors that lead to care experienced young people being excluded from a mainstream school in Wales, and the impact that exclusions has on sustainable transitions. Stage one also linked administrative datasets to identify how many care experienced young people attended a PRU between 2018 and 2021 in Wales.
- To explore the processes that support care experienced PRU learners in preparing for, and transitioning to, post-16 destinations. This involved working with a group of learners over the course of the project, to understand more about their perspectives and lived experiences.
The research had far-reaching implications. No research had previously tracked a group of care experienced PRU learners in this way across Wales. In doing so, the fellowship provided a unique insight into how PRUs support young people, and what factors facilitate sustainable transitions. The project came at a time when the Welsh Government were invested in improving this area of education and recognised the need for longitudinal work to understand good PRU practice (Welsh Government, 2017). The research therefore aimed to inform education policy and support and improve the outcomes of a previously unheard group of young people, as they moved towards greater independence and adulthood.
Activities and Methods
Stage One
To understand the factors associated with the exclusions of care experienced learners from schools, and the relationship between exclusions and post-16 transitions, a rapid review of the literature was conducted.
To gain a summary of school exclusion rates across Wales in relation to care experienced learners, the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank team at Swansea University linked and analysed existing datasets. This descriptive work also highlighted how many care experienced learners attended PRUs in Wales, providing further insights into the relationship between PRU attendance and care experience type.
Stage Two
Longitudinal case studies were carried out in three PRUs, to understand the facilitators and barriers to sustainable post-16 transitions. This included the use of creative methods and semi-structured interviews with young people and staff in PRUs and FE colleges.
Following this period of data collection, follow-up interviews were carried out with a small number of young people over a further 15-month period. Firstly, when they began ETE, and once more, 12 months later.
Findings
Findings from the project were submitted to calls for evidence by the Senedd (Children and Young People on the Margins) and are informing future policy and practice initiatives related to sustaining transitions into FE for young people moving out of education other than at school (EOTAS). A report about the project was produced, alongside several academic journal articles and a book chapter in the Palgrave International Handbook of Multiple and Multi-Dimensional Educational and Life Transitions.
For more information about the findings from this project, please follow the links below. Alternatively, you can contact the principal investigator Dr Phil Smith, here – SmithPR1@cardiff.ac.uk
Publications
Smith, P., and Evans, C. (2026). Supporting transitions for care experienced young people: Exploring the importance of social capital in their education and life transitions. In: Jindal-Snape, D. ed. The Palgrave International Handbook of Multiple and Multi-Dimensional Educational and Life Transitions. Palgrave Macmillan
Smith, P. (2023). Leaving a pupil referral unit in Wales: care experienced young people and their post-16 transitions. International Journal of Educational and Life Transitions, 2(1), 14. (10.5334/ijelt.55).
Lead Person
| Principal Investigator | Phil Smith |
Related Information
| Related Schools | School of Social Sciences |
| Funders | Health and Care Research Wales |
| Related documents | Smith, P. 2023. Leaving a pupil referral unit in Wales: care experienced young people and their post-16 transitions. International Journal of Educational and Life Transitions 2(1), article number: 14. (10.5334/ijelt.55) |
| Related links | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/160933/ |