In Scotland, we have been trying to get it right for looked-after children for a very long time. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 gave us the first formal and statutory use of the term “looked-after” and legislated that agencies must work together for children whose birth parents have been unable to provide the care and protection required.

Outcomes for looked-after children have remained a cause for concern, however, in spite of numerous frameworks, guidance documents and even another attempt at legislating, with the formalisation of “corporate parenting” in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.

And yet progress has been slow. In 2015, the Scottish government said that “we are not yet seeing the systemic improvements that are needed to make a lasting difference to the lives of these children and young people”.

Background: Looked-after pupils’ support ‘frequently’ broke down

WATCH: ‘Do not underestimate care-experienced children’

Advice: What schools should know about children in care

Then this month, Tes Scotland’s Henry Hepburn reported on a Care Commission review of the deaths of 61 care-experienced children and young people, highlighting that the support for them had  “frequently” broken down in the early part of secondary school.

It is easy to feel despondent reading reports like this, to blame a lack of funding, resources and specialism. It is easy to say that mainstream schools can’t be expected to do it all and that something has to give. And it is easy to blame someone else.

Support for looked-after chlidren

Yet, we can all make a difference as adults in the life of a child. Here are seven things that you could do tomorrow, in your next lesson, to make a difference:

1. Understand that most care-experienced children have been through significant developmental trauma that has shaped their brain. This does not mean that they are determined to fail, as there is irrefutable research and evidence about the neuroplasticity of the brain and the potential to repair early developmental delay. For more on this, look at the incredible free resources from Beacon House.

2. Realise that the key to this repair is safe and consistent experience and relationships. You as a teacher can assist in this repair by ensuring that you are a calm, consistent presence in your classroom and that your classroom is a safe space. For more information on this, see Dr Bruce Perry’s work.

3. Know each child in your class with forensic focus. Use all the data you have available so that you use the label “looked-after” as a helpful piece of information to help identify potential learning vulnerabilities - not as a negative label.

4. Ensure a quality of knowing: be ambitious and aspirational, but remember that the learning pathway of each child does not have to be the same. Know what attainment and success will look like for each child.

5. Listen to the voices of adults who grew up in the care system. The likes of Shumela Ahmed, Chris Kilkenny and Jazz Ampaw-Farr all have incredible stories that teachers need to hear.

6. If you work in a secondary school, find out about the teenage brain and the potential perfect storm of being looked-after, a teenager and a pupil in a big, busy secondary school. Is it any wonder that children who have never known secure attachment start to unravel when they see all their peers starting to rely less on parental attachment and instead develop stronger attachments with peers? That children who need calm and consistent experiences struggle when the day becomes 17 teachers (and relationships), 20 different environments and numerous transitions? Go to the work of Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore for more on meeting teenagers’ neurodevelopmental needs and find out about Glasgow City Council’s approach to secondary nurture.

7. Know yourself and be aware of your influence, strengths and vulnerabilities. You are a human and may not always be able to provide a calm presence; if not, make sure that you ask for help and step out until you can again. Remember that you cannot do it all - but you can do a lot.

Lena Carter is education lead for looked-after children in Argyll and Bute, in Scotland, seconded from her post as head of teaching and learning in a secondary school. She tweets @lenabellina and blogs at lenabellina.wordpress.com