Looked after children: education outcomes 2015-2016
Report on the attainment and post-school destinations of looked after children.
Outcomes for young people looked after for part of the year
 |
Children looked after for part of the year have poorer outcomes for all education aspects - attainment and leaver destinations - compared to those looked after for the full year |
Up to this point this publication has focused on the 468 school leavers who were looked after for the entire year (although they may have been accommodated in more than one place). Focusing on this group allows us to look at the impact of being looked after on young people's education outcomes.
This section looks at the outcomes for the 462 school leavers who were looked after for part of the year - those who stopped or started being looked after between 1 August 2015 and 31 July 2016.
While data on young people looked after for part of the year do not directly tell us about the impact of being looked after on education outcomes they do give insight into the impact of the upheaval of moving in to or out of care.
Educational attainment of young people looked after for part of the year
The qualification levels of young people who were looked after for the full year is higher than for young people looked after for part of the year. Two-fifths (40%) of full year looked after leavers had one or more qualification at level 5 or better compared to just over a quarter (28%) of part year looked after leavers. Furthermore, these data suggest that the greater the degree of upheaval in the year that young people take exams has a relationship to their outcomes. The qualification levels of young people who were looked after for part of the year is most similar to that of young people who were looked after for the whole year and experienced two or three placements in that time. It is unclear however how upheaval in previous years impacts on outcomes.
Table 3.1: Percentage of all school leavers looked after for part of the year achieving different levels of attainment, 2015/16
| Looked after part year | Looked after full year | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 or more qualification at SCQF level 3 or better | 80 | 87 |
| 1 or more qualification at SCQF level 4 or better | 64 | 77 |
| 1 or more qualification at SCQF level 5 or better | 28 | 40 |
| 1 or more qualification at SCQF level 6 or better | 7 | 15 |
| 1 or more qualification at SCQF level 7 | 1 | 1 |
| No qualifications at SCQF level 3 or better | 20 | 13 |
Post-school destinations of young people looked after for part of the year
Young people looked after for part of the year are less likely than those looked after for the full year to enter a positive destination nine months after leaving school. Where almost three-quarters of young (71%) people looked after for the full year went on to a positive destination after leaving school, half (56%) of those looked after for part of the year did.
Table 3.2: Percentage of school leavers who were looked after for part of the year and for all of the year by follow up destination (nine months after leaving school), 2015/16
| 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Looked after part year | ||||
| Higher Education | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Further Education | 18 | 23 | 20 | 19 |
| Other positive destination | 36 | 33 | 39 | 34 |
| % in a positive destination | 55 | 59 | 61 | 56 |
| Looked after full year | ||||
| Higher Education | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Further Education | 31 | 36 | 26 | 32 |
| Other positive destination | 34 | 31 | 39 | 36 |
| % in a positive destination | 69 | 72 | 69 | 71 |
Contact
Email: Ian Volante
Phone: 0300 244 4000 – Central Enquiry Unit
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
There is a problem
Thanks for your feedback