This evaluation focuses on the four models of EMA that were introduced into the original 15 pilot LEAs in September 1999. The pilots have subsequently been extended to a further 41 LEA areas.
As well as evaluating the impact of EMA on participation, retention and achievement, the evaluation must also make recommendations on the level at which EMA should be set; the effectiveness of bonuses for retention and achievement; and to whom EMA should be paid (parent or young person). The evaluation will also address a range of subsidiary issues relating to the effect of EMA on young people's lives.
The evaluation has four main elements, which combine both qualitative and quantitative research methods. This report focuses on the impact of EMA on those most directly affected, young people and their parents. It describes quantitative findings from the first wave of interviews with the first cohort of young people potentially eligible for EMA; those who completed compulsory education in summer 1999.