cartoon of early school leavers

Working with early school leavers

Definition

An early school leaver is defined as a young person who has left school before completing Year 12. 1,2, 4,13

Demographics

According to the NSW Department of Education and Training, about 8% of 15 year olds in NSW leave school each year. The percentage of Year 7 students who continue to the end to the end of Year 12 in NSW government schools is approximately 65%. In NSW, the school retention rate is lower for students from low socio-economic backgrounds (56.3%) and remote areas (48%) and much lower for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (29.2%). 13

Truancy rates in NSW are not publicly available but research estimates that around 10% of students are absent on any school day (includes parent-approved and non-approved absences) and that truancy is increasing.

Terminology

Early school leaver is an acceptable term.

Don't use the term dropout because many early school leavers have not dropped out of school. Instead they have made a conscious decision to pursue other employment and training goals such as apprenticeships.