| Books for Caring A selection of books specifically for 'looked after children', most of these books are available in local libraries. |
Schools and governing bodies should promote better outcomes for looked after children by:
Children and Young Persons Act 2008; Responsibility upon governing bodies as contained within the Act:
Designated member of staff at school for pupils looked after by a local authority
How can school governors promote the interests of looked after children?
Looked-after children as a group are no less able than their peers but they often underachieve. Their lives are often characterised by instability and many spend too much time out of school. As a result they fall behind with school work and often do not receive the help and support they need to catch up.
School governors have an important role to play in championing the needs of looked-after children on their school's roll. They can ensure that designated teachers for this vulnerable group and other relevant staff understand how they can actively support local authorities to discharge their duty under the Children Act 2004 to promote the educational achievement of looked-after children. In particular, school governors can help ensure that the needs of looked-after children are reflected in the school’s development plan and self-evaluation.
Every child matters, the Government’s vision for children’s services, was published in September 2003. It proposed reshaping children’s services to help achieve the outcomes children and young people feel are key to well-being in childhood and later life.
Every Child Matters: Change for Children explains how the new Children Act 2004 forms the basis of a long-term programme of change. This document is one of a series that describe the implications for different services. All of these documents and others referred to in the text are available at the Every Child Matters website.
Whether you are a headteacher, a teacher, a teaching assistant, a member of the support staff or a governor, everyone in a school has a role to play.
Connexions is an advice and guidance service for all young people aged 13-19 and up to 25 for those with special needs. Connexions aims to ensure a smooth transition into adult life for all young people.
The Connexions Card is an exciting initiative to recognise and reward learning whether at school, sixth form college or in work-based training.
Connexions Card are available online.
Statutory duties on Local Authorities
This guide describes the current developments and publications which schools and teachers can draw on for advice and information about looked after children. It also offers a growing support network which children themselves can be helped to access.
Background
It's estimated that around 60,000 young people are currently living in public care in residential and foster homes, separated from their families. These children need schools to be a channel of vital support in their lives. This guide describes some of the current developments and publications which schools and teachers can draw on for advice and information, and also the growing support network which children themselves can be helped to access.
Looked After Children do not perform as well educationally as those who grow up in their own homes or with adoptive families. Many have their education disrupted, or fall behind. Young people who have been in care are hugely over-represented among rough sleepers, prisoners and runaways. The good news is that their educational attainment has been recognised as a source of major concern and that many initiatives are in place to address the issue. Kent County Council are working very hard to tackle the issue of educational underachievement among children in care and believes it is very important to have high expectations and aspirations of these young people.
Education Protects
The Education Protects programme was launched in June 2000 to support and further improve the educational attainment of children in public care. It is jointly funded by the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills (the two departments issued joint guidance in May 2000).
See the Education Protects website for more information on the programme, including details of regional contacts, network meetings, news and events. There is a discussion forum as well as good practice examples from local authorities. This site also provides links to key documents relating to children in care, and opens in a new window.
The Social Exclusion Unit and young people in care
May 2003 saw the launch of the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) practice guide: A Better Education for Children in Care: The Issues to support local authorities as they take action to improve the education of children in care. Visitors to the SEU's website can also read about the unit's work with young people in care and find out about the new targets for children in care. There are also links to seven fact sheets published by the SEU covering the following areas:
Health care programme
Healthy Care is a national programme, funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, that aims to promote the health and well-being of 'looked after children' and young people. A Healthy Care handbook (plus other resources) is available for those who are involved in or concerned about the care of looked after children and young people. For further information visit Healthy Care: National Children's Bureau website.
National service framework (NSF) for children, young people and maternity services
The children's NSF sets standards for health and social services for children, young people and pregnant women. Visit NSF for children, young people and maternity services webpage.
National electronic library for mental health
Visit the National Electronic Library for Mental Health webpage.
Taking part project
Funded by the Department of Health and the Department for Children, Schools and Families, developed and managed by ContinYou, the Taking Part project aims to raise the achievement of 'looked after children' and of good corporate parenting. It has been used as a strong example of Every Child Matters in practice. Visit the DfES: Study Support section where you can find out about the Taking Part project.
Young minds
Support and information for professionals working with 'looked after children' and young people on issues relating to emotional well-being and mental health. Visit the Young Minds webpage.
Additional information
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:
'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
All local authorities (LAs) have a statutory duty to promote the educational achievement of the children they look after, regardless of where they live. This fits into their wider role as a corporate parent: Las must strive to offer everything that a good parent would in order to make sure that the children they look after reach their full potential. Statutory guidance on what Las need to do to discharge that duty was published in 2005; revised guidance will be available later in the spring of 2010.
Narrowing the gap between the achievement of looked-after children and their peers.
In 2008, 14 per cent of looked-after children achieved five A*-C grades at GCSE, compared to 65.3 per cent for all children. Because looked-after children achieve significantly poorer educational outcomes than all children it is a major priority of Government to narrow this gap.
That is why Public Service Agreement 11 (PSA 11) aims to “Narrow the gap in educational achievement between children from low income and disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers. For looked-after children, this translates into three national targets for 2011 which are:
A national strategy to improve education outcomes for looked after children.
In order to drive improvements, DCSF has developed a national strategy which is made up of four main components.
Every LA must set statutory annual targets for the achievement of all the children they look after at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4. this is done as part of the school and local authority targets (SALTs) process and make sure that there is a robust strategic plan with specific actions in place (which includes the use of personal education allowances and one-to-one tuition) which will help them meet the targets they set.
Supporting education and training beyond compulsory schooling
Local authorities have on-going responsibilities to support looked-after children as they make the transition to adulthood. That means supporting them to continue their education and training. This is why LAs, as part of their duties to care leavers, must pay a bursary to all former relevant children who are undertaking a recognised course of higher education. Details about the bursary are set out in the Children Act 1989 (Higher Education Bursary) Regulations 2009 and further details about how these should be administered are included in the HE Bursary FAQs. For further information please go to the DCSF website.