Attainment of looked after children continues to improve in Scotland

New figures released this week show the attainment of looked after young people at school has significantly improved over the last three years.

The statistics show the number of looked after children gaining a qualification at SCQF level 4 or better has gone up and the attainment gap between them and their non-looked after peers has reduced.

There was also good news on positive destinations after school. The number of young people who have been looked after or in care in work, training or education nine months after leaving school has gone up to 73 per cent from 67 per cent in two years.

Other findings comparing 2011/12 and 2013/14 school leavers include:

• 40 per cent of looked after children have one or more qualifications at SCQF level 5 or better, an increase from 28 per cent.
• The number of looked after school leavers gaining a qualification at SCQF level 4 or better has gone up seven percentage points.
• The attainment gap between looked after and non-looked after leavers at SCQF level 4 or better has reduced from 29 per cent to 22 per cent
• The proportion of young people in higher or further education nine months after leaving school has gone up by eight percentage points.
• The proportion of looked after young people going into further education has increased, and is higher than the proportion for all leavers.

Following the publication of the statistics, the Education Secretary Angela Constance (pictured) committed to further analysis of the figures to ensure the attainment gap continues to close.

Ms Constance said: “It’s wonderful that we’re starting to see real progress in closing the gap in attainment between looked after young people and those not in care, resulting in them having a greater chance of success at school and in life.

“It’s important we know what works in terms of closing that gap, which is why I have asked for further analysis of this information. We need to ensure we are doing all we can to speed up these improvements.

“Tackling inequality is at the heart of this government’s agenda including that experienced by children and young people in care. By intervening earlier and working closely with schools, colleges, universities and employers, we can help them realise their full potential. The response to this has been incredibly positive with 12 universities and 16 colleges earning the respected Buttle Quality Award for their progress in this area.

“Young people coming from care have often had to overcome significant challenges, so it is vital that we expect the same level of excellence for their education as we would our own children.”

Kevin Browne, Senior Corporate Parenting Officer at Who Cares? Scotland: “These statistics show a welcome improvement but it is clear that there is still a lot of work to be done. The fact is that if you are care experienced young person, you are less likely to achieve in education than someone who isn’t in care. That isn’t good enough and we all have a role to play in changing that.

“It’s important to remember that whilst statistics help us to understand patterns, trends, improvements and problems, they don’t explain why that problem exists and more importantly what we can do to improve this. It is not the case that care experienced young people are just less academically gifted. What young people tell us is that the lack of a stable, long term, loving relationship in their lives.

“Young people in care are often moved around from place to place, which means they often do not have that one person continually believing in them. Research tells us that young people who experience stability and less placement moves in an academic year do better in education. If we can improve individual experiences then in theory their outcomes should improve over time.

“Who Cares? Scotland will be working with local authorities, colleges, universities and the Scottish Government to ensure that young people are always included in discussions about their future. It is important to offer care experienced young people practical support when parents cannot but it is just as important to make sure young people feel loved and know that we have high hopes for them. We’re looking forward to seeing how all of the new Corporate Parents work together to give our children the future they deserve.”

Vonnie Sandlan, President of NUS Scotland: “I am a care experienced student and I know what a difference it can make when it feels like members of college and university staff care about you. I believe that institutions should offer every practical support it can to care experienced students but more than that, I want the staff in our colleges and universities to be proud of Scotland’s care experienced young people.

“These new statistics are good news and a step in the right direction. I’m proud of the work NUS Scotland has done so far with our care experienced members but I’m clear that there is even more to do.

“The next step in this journey is for college and university Principals show strong leadership and recognise that as well as being their students, care experienced young people are their children. I’m really excited to be part of this conversation and will work with anyone who is willing to take responsibility for some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged but most promising young people”
Notes to editors

The full statistics can be found here: www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/06/6439

Case Study

Shilla Zwizwai is a 21 year old HND Legal Services Student at City of Glasgow College.

At the age of 16, Shilla thought that her education journey was over. She achieved high level grades in 4th year but a year later, failed all but one of her Highers.

“It wasn’t that I suddenly stopped being capable. It was just hard to concentrate on homework and studying after I had packed my belongings into bin bags and moved into a residential children’s house. Moving into care was a really scary and uncertain time. My friends thought that I must have done something wrong to be taken into care and judged me for it. It was never clear when I might be moving again and I just found it so hard to concentrate.”

After failing her Highers, being moved into her own tenancy at the age of 19 and spending two years working in call centres, a member of the residential house that Shilla lived in reached out to her and told her she hadn’t reached potential. Shilla describes Eleanor from the children’s house as a mum and says that she filled a role that was badly missing.

“Eleanor sat me down and told me that I should be in education and realising my dream of becoming a lawyer. I genuinely thought that because I had failed my Highers, that there was no way back. The belief that she showed in me changed my path in life.

“There have been challenges along the way. When I got into college, my employer at the time wasn’t willing to offer me any flexibility and gave me an ultimatum that I had to choose work or study. I was only able to take the college place because my local authority agreed to support me financially.

“When I turned 21, however, my local authority decided to stop that support. I fell into rent arrears and was at risk of losing my house before my MSP, college lecturer and student support staff stepped in to support me.”

Shilla achieved a Grade A for her NC Criminology and last week, found out that she achieved a Grade A for her HNC in Legal Services. She is planning to continue at City of Glasgow College on the HND Legal Services course and has aspirations beyond that.

“I’m looking forward to studying law at University and doing my bit to change the statistics. I want those who deliver care and those working in education institutions to know that care experienced young people can achieve and have so much to give. It’s not enough to just tell young people to dream big and that it will happen. I needed financial support to help me with my rent and to get me a weekly bus pass but I needed someone to believe in me and to stick by me when things got tough.”