Education Outcomes for Looked After Children 2022/23
Information on attainment and destinations of looked after school leavers, and achievement of curriculum for excellence, attendance, and exclusions for looked after children in Scotland in 2022/23.
School leavers stages and attainment
Headline findings
- Attainment for school leavers who were looked after within the year has increased since 2009/10 at all levels, but dropped slightly in the last year. This includes a threefold increase in looked after leavers achieving at least one qualification at SCQF level 5 or better, from 13.2% in 2009/10 to 42.3% in 2022/23 (down from 46.1% in 2021/22).
- The gap between the proportion of looked after leavers and all children achieving one or more qualification at SCQF level 5 or better has also reduced since 2009/10, though it has increased slightly in the last year. The gap has decreased from 63.9 percentage points in 2009/10 to 42.5 percentage points in 2022/23 (up from 40.3 percentage points in 2021/22).
- The proportion of looked after leavers with no qualifications at SCQF level 3 or better has dropped from 24.6% to 13.9% since 2009/10 (up from 11.8% the previous year).
- The proportion of looked after leavers who left school in S4 or earlier has declined substantially from 62.8% in 2009/10 to 34.4% in 2022/23. However, this includes an increase from 31.7% the previous year.
- The gap in attainment between care-experienced and all pupils is lower for those children whose care experience ended at a younger age (before secondary school), and highest for those who were looked after in the last year.
- School leavers looked after within the year who were looked after at home with parents had lower levels of attainment than those placed in kinship, foster or residential care.
In 2022/23, 34.4% of leavers looked after within the year left in S4 or earlier. The proportions of children care-experienced at any point aged 5 or over, and children care-experienced at any point aged 12 or over, who left school in S4 or earlier were 31.6% and 31.8% respectively. Although these proportions are slightly lower than that of school leavers looked after within the year, they remain considerably higher than for all school leavers (14.4%). (Chart 1)
The proportion of school leavers leaving school at S6 and other stages is slightly higher for those who experienced care since turning 5 (30.0%) and since turning 12 (30.1%) than school leavers looked after within the last year (27.3%). Nonetheless, this is still considerably lower than all school leavers (57.1%). (Chart 1)
Chart 1: Stage of school leavers
Percentage of school leavers leaving school at each stage for school leavers looked after within the year, care-experienced leavers, and all leavers, 2022/23.
Chart 2 shows that the proportion of school leavers looked after within the year who left school in S4 or earlier declined considerably between 2009/10 and 2022/23, with some year-to-year fluctuation. In the latest year, there has been a slight increase in the percentage leaving school in S4 or earlier, from 31.7% to 34.4% in 2022/23. There was also a 2-percentage point increase among all pupils in the last year, from 12.4% to 14.4%.
Although this continues to remain considerably higher than for all school leavers, the gap between the proportion of leavers looked after within the year and all children leaving school in S4 or earlier has narrowed from 46 to 20 percentage points since 2009/10. The gap was lowest in 2021/22, at 19 percentage points.
Chart 2: School leavers leaving school in S4 or earlier
Percentage of school leavers between 2009/10 to 2022/23 who left school in S4 or earlier for all school leavers looked after within the year and for all school leavers.
School leavers' attainment
This publication reports on the highest Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level achieved at SCQF Levels 3 to 7 in National Qualifications. Please refer to background notes for more information.
In 2022/23, care-experienced school leavers had lower levels of attainment than all school leavers (Table 1.2). Of those leavers looked after within the year, 75.7% had at least one qualification at SCQF level 4 or better. This compares to 76.2% among those who experienced care at any point since turning 12, and 78.8% among those who had experienced care since age 5. This indicates that attainment was slightly higher among children who experienced care further back than in the last year. However, there is a considerable gap compared to all pupils, among whom 96.0% left school with at least one qualification at SCQF level 4 or better.
At higher levels of attainment, 42.3% of leavers looked after in the last year achieved at least one qualification at SCQF level 5 or better. This increases to 42.9% when we expand to include those with any care experience since age 12, and to 46.1% among those with care experience since age 5. Among all school leavers, 84.8% achieved at least one qualification at this level.
The relative gap is higher at SCQF levels 6 and 7. At SCQF level 6 or better, 15.8% leavers looked after in the last year achieved at least one qualification, compared to 57.9% of all school leavers.
Table 1.1 Highest level of attainment achieved
Percentage of school leavers achieving SCQF levels for school leavers looked after within the year, care experienced leavers and all leavers, 2022/23.
|
Highest level of attainment achieved |
School leavers looked after within the last year |
School leavers who experienced care since turning 12 |
School leavers who experienced care since turning 5 |
All school leavers |
|
1 or more qualification at SCQF level 3 or better |
86.1 |
86.4 |
87.9 |
97.8 |
|
1 or more qualification at SCQF level 4 or better |
75.7 |
76.2 |
78.8 |
96.0 |
|
1 or more qualification at SCQF level 5 or better |
42.3 |
42.9 |
46.1 |
84.8 |
|
1 or more qualification at SCQF level 6 or better |
15.8 |
16.5 |
17.4 |
57.9 |
|
1 or more qualification at SCQF level 7 |
2.9 |
3.0 |
3.2 |
20.2 |
|
No passes at SCQF 3 or better |
13.9 |
13.6 |
12.1 |
2.2 |
The proportion of leavers looked after within the year achieving all SCQF qualification levels (Chart 3a) continues to be consistently lower than that of all school leavers (Chart 3b). Trends since 2009/10 indicate improvement in attainment among looked after school leavers at all levels, but slight reductions in the last year. In 2009/10, 53.8% of all school leavers looked after within the year had at least one qualification at SCQF level 4 or better, compared with 75.7% in 2022/23 (down from 78.3% in 2021/22). Improvements are also evident at higher levels of attainment. In 2009/10, 13.2% of all school leavers looked after within the year had at least one qualification at SCQF level 5 or better, compared with 42.3% in 2022/23 (down from 46.1% in 2021/22). The increase in the proportion of looked after school leavers achieving one or more qualification at SCQF level 6 or better, from 1.6% in 2009/10, has been maintained in the last year (15.8% in 2022/23 and 15.9% in 2021/22). This contrasts with a reduction in attainment at SCQF level 6 or better among all pupils in the last year – up from 50.4% in 2009/10, to 61.3% in 2021/22 but down to 57.9% in the last year.
Chart 3a: Highest level of attainment achieved for school leavers looked after within the year
Percentage of school leavers achieving SCQF levels for school leavers looked after within the year, 2009/10 to 2022/23.
Chart 3b: Highest level of attainment achieved for all leavers
Percentage of school leavers achieving SCQF levels for all leavers, 2009/10 to 2022/23.
Type of accomodation
Looked after children can be placed in two broad types of accommodation – community settings or residential accommodation. As shown in Table 1.3, leavers’ educational attainment in 2022/23 varied by accommodation type. Overall, leavers looked after within the year who are placed in community settings showed broadly higher educational attainment when compared to those in residential settings. However, there is variation within these categories, and leavers looked after at home with parents had the lowest attainment levels of all placement types (except for the very small number of leavers recorded in other community placements).
For those placed in community settings, 87.5% achieved at least one qualification at SCQF level 3 or better. At SCQF level 4 or better, 79.5% achieved at least one qualification. This reduces to 47.8% at SCQF level 5 or better, and 18.7% at SCQF level 6 or better. In residential care, 81.7% passed at least one qualification at SCQF level 3 or better. This reduces to 64.6% at SCQF level 4 or better, 26.1% at SCQF level 5 or better, and 7.5% at SCQF level 6 or better.
The patterns vary by type of residential accommodation, partly due to the very small numbers of children in some accommodation types. The highest proportion of leavers in community settings achieving one or more passes at each SCQF level was for those placed with foster carers provided by a local authority (95.3% at SCQF level 3 or better). This was followed by kinship carers (93.9%) and foster carers purchased by a local authority (93.1%) at SCQF level 3 or better. Leavers who were placed with foster carers purchased by a local authority had a higher passing rate than those in kinship care for SCQF Levels 4-6 or better.
Among those looked after at home with parents, 73.1% achieved at least one qualification at SCQF level 3 or better. This reduces to 55.5%, 15.0%, and 3.5% at SCQF levels 4, 5, and 6 (or better) respectively.
Table 1.2: Highest level of attainment achieved by placement type
Number and percentage of school leavers looked after within the year by highest level of attainment achieved and placement type, 2022/23.
|
Placement type |
Number of school leavers |
Percentage with no passes at SCQF 3 or better |
Percentage with 1 or more qualification at SCQF Level 3 or better |
Percentage with 1 or more qualification at SCQF Level 4 or better |
Percentage with 1 or more qualification at SCQF Level 5 or better |
Percentage with 1 or more qualification at SCQF Level 6 or better |
Percentage with 1 or more qualification at SCQF Level 7 or better |
|
In the community (one placement) |
786 |
12.5 |
87.5 |
79.5 |
47.8 |
18.7 |
3.8 |
|
At home with parents |
227 |
26.9 |
73.1 |
55.5 |
15.0 |
3.5 |
0.4 |
|
Kinship Carers: friends/relatives |
294 |
6.1 |
93.9 |
88.4 |
56.1 |
22.8 |
5.4 |
|
Foster carers provided by LA |
172 |
4.7 |
95.3 |
93.0 |
67.4 |
30.2 |
5.2 |
|
Foster carers purchased by LA |
87 |
6.9 |
93.1 |
89.7 |
70.1 |
23.0 |
4.6 |
|
Other community [Note 1] |
6 |
83.3 |
16.7 |
16.7 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Residential accommodation (one placement) |
268 |
18.3 |
81.7 |
64.6 |
26.1 |
7.5 |
0.4 |
|
Local authority home |
85 |
22.4 |
77.6 |
60.0 |
20.0 |
5.9 |
0.0 |
|
Voluntary home |
9 |
11.1 |
88.9 |
55.6 |
11.1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Other residential [Note 2] |
45 |
15.6 |
84.4 |
66.7 |
24.4 |
13.3 |
0.0 |
|
More than one placement |
129 |
17.1 |
82.9 |
67.4 |
31.8 |
7.0 |
0.8 |
|
All looked after within the last year |
1,054 |
13.9 |
86.1 |
75.7 |
42.3 |
15.8 |
2.9 |
[Note 1] Includes 'with prospective adopters'.
[Note 2] Includes 'in residential school', 'in secure care accommodation', and 'crisis care'.
Number of placements
Looked after children can have more than one placement during the year. Table 1.4 shows the number of school leavers who had one, two or three or more placements. In 2022/23, a similar proportion of leavers looked after within the year with two placements achieved 1 or more SCQF level 3-4 or better as those leavers with one placement. At higher attainment levels, a greater proportion of leavers looked after within the year with one placement achieved one or more qualification at SCQF Level 5-6 or better (43.8% and 17.1% respectively) than those with two placements (33.7% and 7.9% respectively). Overall, the small number of leavers looked after within the year with three or more placements showed the lowest attainment levels.
Table 1.3: Highest level of attainment by number of placements
Number and percentage of school leavers looked after within the year by highest level of attainment achieved and number of placements they had in the year, 2022/23.
|
Number of placements |
Number of school leavers |
Percentage with no passes at SCQF 3 or better |
Percentage with 1 or more qualification at SCQF Level 3 or better |
Percentage with 1 or more qualification at SCQF Level 4 or better |
Percentage with 1 or more qualification at SCQF Level 5 or better |
Percentage with 1 or more qualification at SCQF Level 6 or better |
Percentage with 1 or more qualification at SCQF Level 7 or better |
|
One placement |
925 |
13.5 |
86.5 |
76.9 |
43.8 |
17.1 |
3.2 |
|
Two placements |
101 |
14.9 |
85.1 |
73.3 |
33.7 |
7.9 |
1.0 |
|
Three or more placements |
28 |
25.0 |
75.0 |
46.4 |
25.0 |
3.6 |
|
|
All looked after within the last year |
1,054 |
13.9 |
86.1 |
75.7 |
42.3 |
15.8 |
2.9 |
Contact
Email: childrens.statistics@gov.scot
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