System-wide deficiencies are detrimental to children’s educational outcomes in health care, according to a new report.
The House of Commons Education Committee report finds that cared-for children receive “unacceptable” education, with only 7.2% of children in care achieving a “good” grade 5 pass GCSE English and math compared to 40.1% of unadulterated children.
The report finds that children in care face “multiple educational disadvantages” as the number of children cared for is increasing and could reach 100,000 by 2025.
It says the performance data paints a “bleak picture” for children in care, with only 37% of cared-for children meeting expected literacy and numeracy standards in Key Stage 2, compared to 65% of uncared-for children. .
At GCSE, the mean score of Eight 8 – a measure of achievement across eight qualifications – for children in care was 19.1 compared to 44.6 for children who were not in care. At age 16, children in residential care scored more than six degrees less on GCSE than those in kinship or foster care.
The report acknowledges that these statistics partly reflect the “traumatic life experiences” of many children in care, as well as their higher rates of special educational needs compared to the wider population.
The state does not act as an intrusive parent company
But it adds that the education committee’s investigation revealed “a host of indefensible system flaws that led to cared-for children having educational experiences that we certainly wouldn’t find acceptable for our own children.”
Young people who have been in residential care told the committee that they often changed schools, missed education, had little support for special educational needs and found the transition from care to independent living difficult.
The report said the state “fails to act as a pushy corporate parent” when it comes to children in care.
The committee said that schools that do not admit cared-for children should face sanctions, such as lower school costs ofsted while municipalities should do more to ensure that children in care attend schools that are rated “good” or “excellent”.
A “culture of impunity” allows schools to turn away cared-for children, with only 76% of residential care children attending public schools going to “good” or “excellent” schools, compared to 84% of those in residential care. children at the national level.
This is compounded by a “black hole” of data within the health care system, with no disaggregated data for children placed in children’s homes, the Ministry of Education said.
It added that children in care should receive full-time education in a school. But Ofsted research found that 9% of a sample of more than 2,600 children in health care had unregulated education, for example online education, which is not monitored by Ofsted and has no quality assurance, while 6% had no education, work or training.
Pupil Premium Plus funding should also be extended beyond the age of 16, the report suggests, otherwise the educational needs of cared-for children will not be met, especially at a time when nearly a quarter – 23% – of children in the care is old. 16 years or older.
The survey, launched in March 2021, found that only 41% of 19-21 year-olds are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and only 22% of 27-year-olds are in employment, compared to 57 % of others.
When care leavers are in work, there is a pay gap of £6,000 with their peers. The report calls the Government Using unused tuition fees to increase the apprentice minimum wage for care leavers.
The committee said the government should also roll out the Staying Close program nationally. This pilot offers care leavers suitable growth housing when they leave care close to the previous children’s home.
These children are being let down by the system that should be in place to support them
The survey found that more than 6,000 young people in care were living in unregulated accommodation, an 80% increase since 2010, posing a “hamper” to their educational progress as children struggle to feel comfortable. feel or focus on their studies in an unsuitable environment. living environment.
committee chairman Robert Halfon said: “Children’s time in a care home should not determine their life prospects.
“It is wrong that these children have been forgotten – only 7% of these young people achieve a 5th in their English or Mathematics GCSE and 41% have no work, education or training.
“These children are being let down by the system that should be in place to support them.
“The least the system can do is its legal duty to ensure that the children being cared for are given priority in the good and excellent schools that can meet their needs, which are often more complex than children living with their parents.
“But many even abdicate that responsibility and use children’s own circumstances against them with impunity.”