Leaving a pupil referral unit: Exploring the transitions and post-16 destinations of care experienced young people across Wales

End of project summary

Main messages

Young people who are removed from mainstream education during compulsory schooling are at increased risk of withdrawal or non-completion of post-16 education or training programmes. Care experienced young people are more likely to be overrepresented in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) - the most used form of alternative provision away from mainstream education. Yet there has been scarce attention to the experiences and perspectives of care experienced young people as they transition from PRUs to further education, employment or training (EET). This project examined the experiences of care experienced PRU pupils in Wales to understand more about their transitions to post-16 destinations. It also looked at the practices of staff who supported them during transitions. In addition, the project used anonymous routinely collected data to explore the relationship between being care experienced and attending a PRU in Wales. It did this by focusing on Year 11 (Y11) pupils between 2018/2019 and 2020/2021 and examined the likelihood of attending a PRU for both the care experienced and non-care experienced populations. Existing academic literature was also reviewed to understand what factors enable or create barriers to sustaining post-16 transitions in EET for care experienced PRU pupils. Key findings include:

• Of the total Y11 population in Wales during 2018/2019 and 2020/2021, care experienced young people were more likely to be attending a PRU (7.1%) compared with those who were not care experienced (0.9%). 
• Late entry into the care system (aged 11+) increased the likelihood of attending a PRU. 
• Care experienced PRU pupils can face multiple transitions simultaneously. This can result in a loss of supportive relationships with key adults. 
• PRU pupils experienced positive relationships with staff. These relationships should be extended into post-16 destinations where possible. 
• Post-16 transition planning should include a ‘relational framework’, which considers the facilitation and development of relational and social support for care experienced PRU pupils.