Law firms need to maintain better contact with disadvantaged students that come to them through the PRIME diversity initiative after their work experience placements finish, a report by the National Foundation for Educational Research has found.

Firms committed to the PRIME scheme must offer disadvantaged school-age students at least 30-35 hours of work experience as well as having a way to maintain contact with the students after their work experience has ended.

Two-thirds of the students surveyed as part of the assessment who had all undergone work experience placements at law firms said they had not had any further contact with the firms since their work experience had ended.

The report recommends that firms now need to consider "manageable and effective" ways of maintaining this contact with students following their work experience.

One respondent to the survey said: "In my week [at the law firm] I didn't really get many numbers, so the only number I would be able to contact is the company and not actually a direct person."

Eighty-nine firms are currently signed up to the initiative, which is voluntary and currently chaired by Allen & Overy (A&O) senior partner David Morley.

Morley said: "Firms must improve the way they communicate with PRIME alumni once the work experience has passed. It's vital that we continue to provide an open line of contact and support young people as they embark on their career paths."

However, over half of the survey's respondents said that as a result of their placements they planned to pursue a career in law.

The report found that 92% of survey respondents felt that their PRIME work experience had helped them. It found 51% felt it had helped them "a lot" and 41% said it had helped them "a little".

One student who partook in the scheme found the experience had dissuaded them from following a career in the law. "I found them all [solicitors] to be quite stressed… I'm not sure if I'd be able to handle it," they said.

Morley is due to step down from the position of chair at the end of April, coinciding with his retirement from A&O.

Nicholas Cheffings, global co-chair of Hogan Lovells will succeed Morley in the role of PRIME chair on 1 May.

He said firms' commitment to contacting students after placements had finished was patchy. He said: "Some do it well. Some hardly do it all. At Hogan Lovells, we survey students who attend our programmes to gauge their feedback on how to improve our programmes. We keep them up to date on the firm, our recruitment process and when we will be visiting their university through our graduate recruitment website events calendar and via social media channels."

Both A&O and Hogan Lovells were part of the initial group of 23 law firms that founded PRIME in September 2011 to provide work experience in the legal profession to schoolchildren from less privileged backgrounds.

Nearly 4,000 school-age children have gained work experience through the scheme – significantly exceeding the target of 2,500 by 2015.

Meanwhile, PRIME member Baker & McKenzie today launched its Legal Administration Apprenticeship programme. The firm will be recruiting six school leavers to follow the Intermediate Apprenticeship in Legal Administration, delivered by CILEx Law School. The apprentices will be based in the firm's London office and will rotate through six departments during a two-year period.