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Don’t gloss over the gap for pupils in care, ministers in Scotland told

Don’t gloss over the gap for pupils in care, ministers in Scotland told

Some improvement in looked-after children’s results – but there is still a long way to go

30th June 2017, 12:01am

The Scottish government is being urged not to “over-emphasise” a steep rise in the achievements of vulnerable children, as fresh evidence has emerged of a huge attainment gap remaining in place.

Education Secretary John Swinney has celebrated new figures showing that the proportion of looked-after children who left school with at least one qualification at the equivalent of National 5 rose from 15 per cent in 2009-10 to 40 per cent last year.

However, a Tes Scotland analysis of government data released last week illustrates the large attainment gap that remains. It also shows how the achievements of looked-after children vary dramatically according to where they are placed.

The proportion of all school-leavers who achieved at least one qualification at the equivalent of National 5 was 86 per cent last year - 46 percentage points more than looked-after children.

And only 11 per cent of young people who were looked after at home - those children who remained in their home but under supervision, which can happen in cases of neglect or domestic abuse - achieved qualifications at the equivalent of N5 or above. A quarter of all children looked after in 2016 (some 3,800) were at home, according to children’s social work statistics.

Professor Sheila Riddell, director of the Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity at the University of Edinburgh, acknowledged that any improvement in the attainment of looked-after children was to be welcomed, and put the recent boost down to successive governments focusing on this area.

But she added: “There is a danger of over-emphasising what is, after all, a pretty small improvement, and not paying enough attention to the other messages in the paper, which really concern the huge educational attainment gap between looked-after school leavers and others.”

Announcing the figures last week, Mr Swinney said it was encouraging to see the “notable improvement in the proportion of young people who are looked after and care-experienced gaining a qualification”.

However, he acknowledged that it was only “a step in the right direction” and there was “still more to do to close the gap between our most and least vulnerable children”.

This is an edited version of an article in the 30 June edition of Tes Scotland. Subscribers can read the full story here. To subscribe, click here. To download the digital edition, Android users can click here and iOS users can click here. Tes Scotland magazine is available at all good newsagents.