STUDENTS and schoolchildren throughout Bury have benefited from a major Government-funded scheme to tackle disenchantment with education among teenagers from 14 to 17.

Bury is one of the partnership agencies in the thriving Crescent Partnership, established in 1997 with New Start funding from the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE).

Local partnerships established under New Start have focused efforts to understand and tackle disaffection from education among youngsters aged 14-17. They have developed new approaches which are being absorbed into mainstream learning.

What has been achieved in Bury under The Crescent Partnership is contained in a special report covering the period from August 1997 to July 1999.

Bury has benefited from the initiative along with Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham and Wigan.

Representatives from Bury Council, Lifetime Careers and Bolton-Bury Training and Enterprise Council are among members of the Partnership's corporate management board.

Most of the members of the board and the local steering groups are also involved in the development and management of initiatives receiving funding from a range of sources.

The main objective of the New Start scheme is to address discontentment in young people through the development of strategic local partnerships and in exploring ways of re-engaging 14-17-year-olds who have dropped out of learning or who are at risk of doing so.

Bury, along with Rochdale and Bolton, have used funds to support special measures.

Development funds in Bury and Bolton gave small pockets of cash to support tightly defined projects, such as lunchtime clubs and after-school activities.

A programme launched by Bury College was aimed at reducing disaffection and withdrawals from post-16 vocational education.

And, within the college, the scheme has influenced policy as well as practice and has improved the quality of the working relationships with outside agencies, most notably the Careers Service and local schools.

Another programme undertaken as part of The Crescent Partnership was extended work placements established by Bury Council's education department.

The initiative aimed to develop partnerships, recruit and select sympathetic employers, examine and address health and safety aspects of work placements and assess the potential for accrediting work-based learning.

Good news for the future of the New Start-backed initiative is that additional funding to continue the partnership working has been received.

Diane Mellor, a member of the Partnership's development group, said: "The Crescent Partnership is looking forward to a continued role within the wider social inclusion agenda and participating in the further development of the philosophy behind New Start."