A brief overview for school staff

The Report from the Social Exclusion Unit examines the barriers that prevent children in care achieving their educational potential, and highlights specfic areas of action to improve their life changes. These are:

• Greater stability - so that children in care do not have to move home or school so often;
• Less time out of school - longer in education - help with school admissions, better access to education with more support to help children in care attend school regularly and stay on after 16;
• Help with schoolwork - more individual support tailored to the child backed by more training for teachers and social workers;
• More help from home to support schoolwork - by giving carers better training in children's education;
• Improved health and wellbeing - with teachers, social care staff, health workers and carers all working together in the interests of the child.

'Must read' documents for all school staff and governors

The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for Children and Young People is a key part of the strategy to shift the focus from dealing with the consequences of difficulties in children's lives to preventing things from going wrong in the first place. It is a nationally standardised approach to conducting an assessment of the needs of a child or young person and deciding how those needs should be met.
www.everychildmatters.gov.uk

Education Protects Guidance for on the education of children in Public Care:
www.dfes.gov.uk/educationprotects/index.cfm

Raising Achivement of children in Public Care available on:
www.ofsted.gov.uk