Education Maintenance Allowance Pilots for Vulnerable Young People and Childcare Pilots : implementation and reported impacts in the first year

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP), the National Centre for Social Research (NCSR) and the Institute for Employment Research (IER) to evaluate the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) Pilots for Vulnerable Young People and Childcare Pilots. This report focuses on the first year of the EMA Pilots for Vulnerable Young People and Childcare Pilots. The analysis of implementation of these pilots draws on interviews with implementation groups and key informants and stakeholders. Eligible young people and their significant others also provide evidence of the impact as well as difficulties involved in the EMA Pilot for Vulnerable Young People and Childcare Pilots. The integrated evaluation that follows discusses the degree of flexibility and level of effectiveness of EMA in relation to vulnerable young people.