Growing NEETs Skills in Surrey: A Place-Based Grassroots Pilot examines how grassroots organisations can support young people who experience barriers to conventional education, employment and training pathways. Building on previous research into hidden inequalities and youth disengagement in Surrey, the project explores how locally embedded organisations create alternative opportunities for learning, skills development, confidence and participation.

Using a qualitative, exploratory multiple-case-study approach, the research examines two organisations: Quinnell School of Blacksmithing in Leatherhead and Phoenix Cultural Centre in Woking. Through engagement with young people, practitioners, volunteers and organisational leaders, the study investigates the practices and relationships that support participation, alongside the structural conditions that enable or constrain grassroots provision.

The findings are organised around five interconnected themes: learning differently; trust and relational practice; nonlinear timelines; confidence through contribution; and structural barriers. The case studies demonstrate how practical, creative, and community-based environments can offer meaningful routes into learning for young people who may not thrive in conventional settings. Consistent relationships, flexibility and opportunities to make tangible contributions can support engagement and development at a pace appropriate to individual needs. However, these approaches operate within wider constraints, including insecure funding, premises and infrastructure challenges, institutional barriers, limited employer access and difficulties evidencing longer-term outcomes.

The research argues that grassroots organisations should complement, rather than replace, mainstream education, employment and support services. It recommends stronger partnerships between grassroots organisations, local authorities, education providers, employers and funders, while preserving the flexibility and specialist identities that underpin effective practice. The central policy implication is to develop a more diverse, locally rooted ecosystem of provision, expanding the pathways available to young people in Surrey and nationally.