Education of care children put in focus

AN INQUIRY has been launched into the poor educational attainment of children growing up in care.

The Scottish Parliament’s education and culture committee is set to hear evidence after research showed that there had been little improvement in the sector since devolution.

Launching the inquiry, Stewart Maxwell MSP, the committee’s convener, said: “Scottish Government statistics show that, while the level of educational attainment for looked-after children has improved, it is still considerably lower than for other school pupils.

“This is despite successive administrations since devolution, local authorities and other bodies making significant attempts to address this issue.”

The inquiry will look at the education of all “looked-after children,” that is children who are either looked after at home, in foster care or residential care.

Scottish Government statistics show that, in addition to gaining fewer qualifications, looked-after children tend to have poorer school attendance records as well as higher rates of school exclusion, and are also less likely to go onto employment, further or higher education, training or voluntary work after leaving school.