Register of early school-leavers needed: report

THE absence of a register of early school-leavers six years after a law was passed to set one up means there is no record of where they are, and is making it more difficult for organisations to offer them training, according to research published yesterday.

A key function of the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB), which has been in operation since 2002, is to set up a register of all 16 and 17-year-olds who are no longer in school or college but who are working.

The aim of the register, as set out in the 2000 legislation under which the board was established, is to allow educational welfare officers (EWOs) prepare education and training for such young people.