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Improving the Educational Attainment of Children in Care (Looked After Children)
The DCSF has published a document on the role that schools and local authorities can play in improving the attainment of children in care. We believe that every child in care is capable of success in learning and in life. Yet in 2008, just 14% of children in care achieved 5 A* C grade GCSEs the level which is increasingly seen as the basic threshold for employability.
In this document we propose that the fundamental elements of that system should be:
- In every local authority, a senior official, or 'virtual school head' (VSH) should rigorously track the schooling of every child in care, making sure in the first place that schools know when they have a child or children in care on their roll, and that the school is putting in place appropriate additional targeted provision for this child or children.
- In every local authority, the VSH should be looking to ensure continuity of schooling for every child in care, even where stability of placement cannot be achieved, using appropriate admissions powers and school transport where necessary.
- In school, there should be additional, personalised, one-to-one support for every child in care, through one-to-one tuition and use of the Personal Education Allowance where appropriate.
Personal education allowances for looked-after children: Statutory guidance for local authorities (launched 28 May 2008)
Raising the attainment of looked after children is a central responsibility of local authorities and their partners. The Government introduced personal education allowances for all looked after children at risk of not reaching expected standards of attainment to provide additional support for their education. They provide individual support tailored to the learning needs of looked after children. Use of personal education allowances should be linked to the child or young person's personal education plan, part of their statutory care plan.
For full details, read the full press notice and download the statutory guidance for local authorities on how they should implement and use personal education allowances for looked after children. This guidance is issued under section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970. Local authorities must act under this guidance when performing their duty under section 22 (3A) of the Children Act 1989 to promote the educational achievement of looked after children.
Background
Statutory guidance on the duty on local authorities to promote the educational achievement of looked-after children describes the strategic and day-to-day actions which local authorities should take in order to discharge their duty to promote the educational achievement of the children they look after, wherever they are placed (section 52 of the Children Act 2004). Click here to download the PDF or Word version.
It builds on the practice developed in many local authorities following the publication of Guidance on the education of children and young people in public care (2000) and on the findings set out in the Social Exclusion Unit's report A better education for children in care (2003).
We expect that the processes set out in this guidance will be cost neutral and undertaken as part of the wider implementation of local authorities' Change for Children programmes.
The government will explore how to build on the framework provided by this guidance as it develops the wide-ranging proposals for improving outcomes for looked-after children announced in the Schools White Paper.
As a first step, the government has published a guidance document, Supporting looked-after learners: A practical guide for school Governors (2006), designed to help school governing bodies ensure that their schools' policies and practices are fully inclusive of the needs of looked-after children.
The guidance is in sections, each dealing with a phase or area in a child's life where being looked after may require the school's governing body to consider what action it may need to take. Each section sets out the key problems and challenges that looked-after children, schools and the governing body may face. It offers practical advice, a set of key questions and a number of case studies that will help governing bodies and their schools to develop and implement policies and procedures that will be inclusive of looked-after children and ensure that they will fulfil their potential.
Associated documents
Personal Education Allowances for Looked After Children: Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities
(419.5Kb)
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as a Word Document
Last updated on 01/05/2009
