Presentation Transcript

1. Education outcomes for children in carePresentation to 6th World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights

   Kate Burnell
2. BACKGROUND Worldwide 72 million children of school age are not in education 759 million adults are illiterate England and Wales All children have an effective right to education Statutory duty on local authorities Free of charge Appropriate to age, ability, aptitudes and special educational needs BUT ……. Significant disparity in outcomes for children in care
3. WHO 67,050 children in care as at 31st March 2012 Increase of 2% from previous year Numbers increasing steadily since 2008 Number is higher than at any point since 1997 Cycle of deprivation Children of parents who were in care as children are 66 times more likely to need public care
4. BRIEF SUMMARY OF LAW RELATING TO CARE Section 31(2) Children Act 1989 A court may only make a care order or supervision order if it is satisfied— (a) that the child concerned is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm and (b) that the harm, or likelihood of harm, is attributable to— (i) the care given to the child, or likely to be given to him if the order were not made, not being what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to give to him; or (ii) the child’s being beyond parental control. Section 31(9) Children Act 1989 “Harm” means ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development … “development” means physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development.
5. BRIEF SUMMARY OF LAW RELATING TO CARE Section 22(3) Children Act 1989 – local authority has duty to safeguard and promote welfare of child – “corporate parent” Helping achieve potential in school and higher education Helping children become full and active citizens “...[Local authorities] also have a particular duty to promote the educational achievement of the children they look after, regardless of where they live. This means that local authorities must consider the educational implications of every decision taken about a child’s care placement. This reflects their wider role as a corporate parent – local authorities must strive to offer all the support that a good parent would give in order to make sure that the children they look after reach their full potential.” Department for Education
6. BRIEF SUMMARY OF LAW RELATING TO CARE Where should education fit into this? Professional and political responsibility placed on Director of Children’s Services and Lead Member for Children’s Services Clear lines of accountability for raising standards Personal education plan (PEP) within ten days of becoming ‘looked after’ Access to nursery or pre-school education Catch up support Out of school learning activities and leisure interests Support for further and higher education, training and employment BUT …. the question we need to consider is where does education fit into this?
7. OUTCOMES Key stage 1 – age 6-7 years Key stage 2 – age 11 years
8. OUTCOMES Key stage 4 – age 16 years – GCSE year Just over one third of children in care ended compulsory education with five or more grades A* - C If English and Maths are included under one fifth of children in care ended compulsory education with five or more grades A*-C
9. OUTCOMES Impact of number of placements One placement – 67% Two placements – 22% Three or more placements – 11%
10. OUTCOMES Other outcomes Higher rates of offending 6.9% of LAC aged 10-17 convicted or subject to final warning or reprimand 7.9% of LAC boys aged 13-15 and 4.6% of LAC girls aged 13-15 convicted / final warning 14.6% of LAC boys 16-17 and 7.5% of LAC girls aged 16-17 convicted / final warning 4.1% have substance misuse problem Just over half received some intervention (54.6%) Almost one third refused intervention (31.1%) 660 of these children were under 16 Beyond care 32% 19 year olds not in education, employment or training Only 7% in higher education, compared to 40% in general population Drop out rate 80%
11. FIXING THE PROBLEM – GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 Creation of Children’s Services Departments combined care & education Every Child Matters 2006 Promoting the Educational Achievement of Looked After Children – statutory guidance 2010 Raising the aspirations and ecucational outcomes of looked after children – data pack 2011 NEETS (not in education, employment or training) scheme – part of Youth Contract 2012 Education Matters in Care 2012 Financial schemes – Pupil Premium, 16-19 Bursary, National Scholarship Programme
12. MESSAGES FROM RESEARCH Project YIPPEE, 2011 Severe educational disadvantage Opportunities disrupted by disrupted schooling and deficiences in basic education Low priority given to education by social workers and carers Lack of career guidance, poor advice Need for extra tuition and mentoring Transition to independence should not be at an arbitrary cut off point – support to at least 23 years YIPPEE made a number of general and country specific recommendations Detailed education assessment at outset Intensive catch up help Education of foster carers, social workers and teachers Assumption of remaining in placement and education to at least 18
13. MESSAGES FROM RESEARCH ‘Open Doors, Open Minds’, Who Cares Trust, 2012 Lack of knowledge of financial support available Confusing system of support, postcode lottery effect Need to strike a balance and avoid stigmatising children in care Education Matters in Care, All Party Parliamentary Group, 2012 Virtual School Headteachers Improving support available including for pre-school age children More regular review of PEPs Mandatory mental health assessment with input from educational psychologists The Adolescent and Children’s Trust 50 years for looked after children to match average achievements of other 16 year olds
14. DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO BAD? “Lost children” Comparisons Sweden – 86% of children with care background obtained school leaving certificate Sweden – 43.9% of 27-30 year olds with care background had post compulsory education qualification, further 6.4% had college or university qualification Denmark – 31% of 27-30 year olds with care background had post compulsory education qualification, further 7.5% had college or university qualification Denmark – 80% looked after children progress to university Social pedagogy
15. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Importing aspects of social pedagogy Fewer changes of personnel Improve foster carer training and education emphasis Identification of someone invested in the child who takes responsibility Virtual School Headteachers All local authorities required to have VSH OFSTED 2012 – little evidence that resulted in narrowing attainment gap BUT improved outcomes in wider sense
16. DOES THE FAMILY JUSTICE SYSTEM HAVE A ROLE? Norgrove Family Justice Review 26 week time limit in majority of cases Move away from scrutiny of care plans Interim hearings and removal … at an interim stage the removal of children from their parents is not to be sanctioned unless the child’s safety requires interim protection” per Thorpe LJ, Re L-A (Children) [2009] EWCA Civ 822 Need to placed education higher on the agenda Some suggestions Disclosure into and out of proceedings Scrutiny of plans for education both interim and final Checklist of requirements – PEP, pupil premium, referral to VSH, extra tuition, extra curricular activities and leisure pursuits Assessments directed at education potential Educational impact to be considered in terms of placement and contact
17. CONCLUSION “However and wherever they end up in care, and at whatever age, it is incumbent on us all to provide every single looked after child with the educational tools they need to reach their true potential. Anything less and we have failed the benchmark we quite rightly have set both of ourselves and of society.” Report of All Party Parliamentary Group, 2012