Teachers Cannot Predict Children At Risk Of NEET Status

Daisy Christodoulou, an education writer and director at the educational technology startup No More Marking, argues that the suggestion by government adviser Alan Milburn for primary schools to identify children at risk of becoming Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) by age 16 is an unreasonable demand on the education system. Milburn proposed that "warning signs are there from a very early, early age. You know, frankly from preschool," and that primary schools "should be identifying children who are at risk of being NEET." He further stated that secondary schools and other services should then "be intercepting, intervening, supporting and helping those young people to get on a different path." Christodoulou draws an analogy to the dental profession, stating that while one expects a dentist to check teeth and offer oral hygiene advice, one would not expect them to teach a child to read, tackle youth unemployment, or solve poverty. She contends that politicians are too readily assigning broad social responsibilities to schools, which are already facing significant demands. The core of Christodoulou's argument is that predicting a child's future NEET status from primary school age is an impossible task for teachers. She implies that such a prediction requires a level of foresight and diagnostic capability that is beyond the scope of a teacher's role and the current educational framework. The expectation places an undue burden on educators, diverting their focus from their primary pedagogical duties. The article suggests that identifying such risks at a very early age, as Milburn proposes, is not feasible and places an unfair expectation on teachers who are tasked with educating children aged four to 11. Christodoulou's perspective highlights the complex interplay between educational institutions and broader societal issues, questioning the efficacy and fairness of using schools as the primary mechanism for early intervention in potential long-term social challenges like youth unemployment. The proposal, as outlined by Milburn, suggests that the indicators for future NEET status are observable from preschool years, a claim that Christodoulou implicitly challenges by framing it as an unrealistic expectation for primary school teachers. The article does not provide specific data or benchmarks on the accuracy of such predictions but focuses on the ethical and practical implications of the proposal for the teaching profession and the education system.