Should the school-leaving age be lowered to 14?

No, I don't think children should leave school and education at 14y.

But I do think we need to make some changes. There are many children out there who don't suit the current education system which is hell bent on getting all children through academic qualifications and as many as possible to university to run up huge debts on degrees they won't use or need.

There needs to be a vocational approach too, but not the current system of GNVQs, etc. More like apprenticeship schemes but with an education running aolongside in basic skills such as literacy, numeracy, ICT, lifeskills, etc.

I don't think 14y are really ready to go out to work and they still need a lot of giding and tutoring through decisions and choices .

But we do need to recognise that academia is not for everyone and that doesn't matter and that non academia options are just as valid as going to sixth form and university.

the problem is though mellow is that the original school has to pay for the student to access the schemes which is far more than keeping the child in school therefore not many students benefit

the policy set out that young people had to be in either; full time education, training or employment and it was misrepresented as school leaving age. Therefore no benefits will be paid out for anyone under the age of 18

Interesting!

The policy (set in 2007) had been to raise the school leaving age to 18 by 2013. Has this definitely been abandoned? (I don't remember seeing much about it recently, except in terms of incompatibility with abolition of EMA).

If thet are bringing this forward, it's a recycled policy from 2002.

as the head teacher stated; the theory behind the suggestion is already in place (although not paid employment).

A small number of students are placed in college/work experience for a couple of days per week as it is clear that 'normal secondary school' is not the correct place for them. This is in conjunction with the school and basic numeracy and literacy skill teaching is still ongoing.

It does work with the very small number of students I have witnessed accessing this course of education as an academic environment was clearly not going to be successful, in fact, the students I have been involved in that have followed this route would have been permanently excluded within 12 months if this was not available to them

I can see that it would suit some teenagers, esp those disaffected by school. But I think there would need to be safeguards built in so that they could return to education at a later stage for free if they wanted.
A colleague I work with, left school at 16 and got a job locally - hard, manual work, - and in his early 20s realised that if he wanted to get on then he needed to return to college and get his A levels. It cost him a lot to do this, as well as holding down his full time job, but he persevered and went on to Uni and now has a great job as a professional IT engineer.
He admits that at 14 he wanted to leave school and made his teachers, and students, lives a misery.

out to work just like that, no. In some kind of apprentice-work scheme possibly.

Well the leaving age is going up to 17 (with DC going into year 10) and then 18.

They have to do something with those that school has failed. If it is done properly and the youngsters are not exploited working at 14 might be right for some.