A SCOTTISH teaching union has slammed a Labour grandee's plan to identify primary school kids at risk of unemployment as "deeply concerning".
Tony Blair's former health secretary Alan Milburn, who is leading a review into the UK's crisis in youth worklessness, has said primary schools in England should be required to pick out children at risk of leaving education at 16 without finding a job.
He said the "warning signs" are there "from preschool" and ministers needed to “make somebody responsible” for predicting the future unemployed.
While there is no current indication the policy will be implemented in Scotland, teaching union EIS has condemned the proposal.
General Secretary Andrea Bradley told The National the plan could potentially stigmatise pupils from a very young age and suggested other measures should take priority, such as the universal free school meals and reduced class sizes.
She said: "On the face of it, this would appear to be a deeply concerning proposal, which could run the risk of labelling and potentially stigmatising young people from a very young age.
"Although employability is important, it is not the sole purpose of education, and schools must focus on supporting all young people in their all areas of their development.
“In an environment where one in four children in Scotland live in poverty, and with more than 40% of young people having an identified additional support need, there is a clear need for significant resourcing to counteract the impacts of socio-economic deprivation and to enable early identification of support needs to avoid young people being held back by challenges rather than enabled to overcome them.
“Greater investment in education from early years onwards, with class sizes no bigger than 20 at all ages and stages, significantly enhanced ASN provision, including mental health support, and universal provision of free school meals would facilitate a more holistic, less potentially stigmatising approach, and ultimately more effective and long-term cost-effective ways of trying to ensure that every child and young person is equipped with the knowledge, skills and dispositions that are needed for life and work in a fair, democratic and economically prosperous society.”
In an interview during a visit to Dublin last week, Milburn said the recommendation would form part of his final report into Britain’s youth worklessness crisis, which is expected this autumn.
Milburn told the Guardian: “The warning signs are there from a very early, early age. Definitely primary schools should be identifying children who are at risk of being Neet [not in education, employment or training].
“Secondary schools and other services should be intercepting, intervening, supporting and helping those young people to get on a different path.”
While education is devolved, the Scottish Government has said it has "committed to carefully consider the findings of the Milburn Review".
A spokesperson went on: “We are working to develop new opportunities and support to help young people build their skills and reach their potential.
"Nine out of ten young people in Scotland (95.7%) are in work, training, college or university three months after leaving school - the second highest on record - and we want to see these numbers grow.
"We've increased the college budget by 10% this year, remain committed to free tuition, and are expanding the number of apprenticeships available. Young people who need extra support as they move on from school can also access tailored help through our employability services."
The latest data, published in May, showed that the number of Neet young people aged 16 to 24 surpassed one million for the first time since 2013 in England, reaching 1.01 million in the three months from January to March.
