ISC Daily News Summary

One in six 16 to 24-year-olds will not be in education, employment or training within five years unless "urgent" action is taken, a major review has warned. Former minister Alan Milburn, who authored the report, said the education, health and welfare systems are "no longer fit for purpose" in preparing young people for adult life, adding: "We are at risk of a lost generation." The number of 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) is at the highest level in more than 12 years, and the problem is said to be worse in the UK than in other countries. By Emer Moreau and Zoe Conway, BBC News.

Writing in The Times, Sir Keir Starmer shares his concerns over the "sobering" findings, saying: "We simply cannot afford to keep paying the price of young people being locked out of work and stuck on benefits." The prime minister continues: "I want to lead a society-wide effort to change this – to tear up the status quo and create a new deal for young people in Britain today. Because government cannot do this alone, we must work in partnership with business, civil society, and young people themselves, being willing to act radically at every stage of childhood."

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) has suggested that the focus of the government's social media consultation, which is titled "Growing up in the online world", implies that schools and families are responsible for "regulating the attention economy, rather than the technology firms". In its response to the consultation, the union says tech companies must be "properly held to account" for the negative impact of social media on children, and warns against the "misapprehension that a blanket ban on social media for under-16s and banning smartphones in schools will solve the problem". By Kyle Tormey, Tes.

New research suggests that learning a musical instrument could prevent "brain rot" and boost the attention spans of young people glued to social media. The study, published in the British Journal of Psychology, found that children and young adults were less likely to lose focus during attention-heavy tasks if they had learned an instrument. By Rebecca Whittaker, The Independent. 

The Times takes a look at the New York Center for Living, a pioneering clinic that helps people as young as 13 struggling with internet addiction. Luke, a patient at the clinic, explains the impact mindless scrolling has had on his life: "I was on TikTok every night until midnight and then having to set my alarm for 3am because I hadn’t done my coursework for the next morning. I would tell myself ‘it’s only a few seconds-long videos to take my mind off things’. But I was getting like four hours of sleep and just not functioning." The facility offers a mix of individual therapy sessions and group sessions, and combines conventional therapy with art, yoga and drama improvisation. By Josie Ensor. 

Rory Bremner, a comedian and broadcaster, writes in The Times cautioning against the reforms outlined in the Education for All bill. On the government's ambition to enrol more children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools, he writes: "On paper it sounds noble. But to place a child with complex autism or ADHD into a mainstream school, even within a dedicated SEND hub, is to expose them to a triggering sensory assault of anxiety, jostling crowds, bullying and stigma." He continues: "The system already knows that roughly 2 per cent of SEND pupils will, under the proposed reforms, still need a placement at an independent special school. These are schools for children with the most complex needs and in many cases the most challenging backgrounds. So why put their families through a £3,000 tribunal lottery designed to bully them into accepting less?"

The number of children referred to Prevent after being radicalised online has more than doubled in five years, according to Home Office figures. Some 1,400 children were drawn into extremism via online channels in the year to March 2025 – more than double the 700 referrals made in 2020, when Covid lockdowns drove more children to socialise on the internet. By Charles Hymas, The Telegraph. 

Of the more than 52,000 people who responded to a Treasury Committee inquiry into the taxation of graduates, more than half said they did not understand the terms and conditions on their student loans before they took them out. The inquiry is examining all student loan plans in England and whether repayment terms are "reasonable". Dame Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the Treasury Committee, said "the massive scale and strength of frustration and upset is powerful". By Vanessa Clarke and Emily Holt, BBC News.