Education Outcomes for Looked After Children – 2019/20

Information on attainment and leaver destinations, for school leavers in Scotland who were looked after during the 2019/20 school year.


Post-school destinations

  • 75% of looked after leavers had a positive follow-up destination in 2019/20, up from 71% the previous year
  • Looked after school leavers are less likely to go to positive destinations than school leavers in general, especially higher education

This section presents data on the destinations of the estimated 943 young people who were looked after during the period 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020 and who left school during 2019/20. Information is collected on the destination of school leavers in the September after they leave school (initial destination) and again the following March (follow-up destination). School leavers who are engaged in higher education, further education, training, voluntary work, employment or are undertaking personal skills development are classified as having a 'positive destination'. Other destinations include school leavers who are unemployed and individuals where their destination is not known. For more information on school leaver destination categories, see background note 3.7.

Initial destinations

A lower proportion of looked after children enter positive destinations than all school leavers, but this gap has narrowed considerably over the last ten years. The lower proportion of looked after children going into positive destinations is likely to be related to lower attainment and a higher proportion of looked after children leaving school at an earlier stage. 80% of young people looked after within the last year went on to a positive destination after leaving school, compared with 93% of all school leavers in 2019/20 (Table 2.1). The gap of 13 percentage points between all school leavers and those who were looked after in 2019/20 has narrowed from 30 percentage points in 2009/10, when 58% of looked after scool leavers were in a positive initial destination, compared with 88% of all school leavers.

56% of school leavers who were looked after within the last year were in either Higher or Further Education three months after leaving school. In comparison, 72% of all school leavers were in Further or Higher Education (Table 2.1). The lower proportion of looked after young people entering Higher Education is associated with leaving school at an earlier stage and consequent lower levels of qualifications.

Table 2.1: Percentage of all school leavers and those who were looked after by initial destination (approximately 3 months after leaving school), 2019/20
School leavers looked after within the last year All school leavers
Higher Education 7 44
Further Education 49 28
Training 14 4
Employment 9 16
Voluntary Work 0 1
Personal Skills Development 2 1
Unemployed Seeking 10 4
Unemployed Not Seeking 8 2
Unknown 1 1
% in a positive destination(1) 80 93

(1) Positive destinations includes higher education, further education, training, voluntary work, employment and personal skills development.

Follow-up destinations

From 2009/10 to 2013/14, the percentage of looked after school leavers in positive follow-up destinations increased rapidly from 42% to 66%, then stabilised for three years, before increasing to 72% in 2016/17 and remaining around this level for another two years. In 2019/20, the percentage of looked after leavers in positive follow-up destinations increased to 75%. Over the same time period, the proportion of all school leavers in positive follow-up destinations has remained higher, increasing from 86% in 2009/10 to 92% in 2013/14 and remaining at 92-93% each year since (92% in 2019/20).

 
Chart 3: Percentage of all school leavers and those who were looked after in positive follow-up destinations, 2009/10 to 2019/20 (1)
There is an increasing trend in looked after school leavers entering positive destinations

In 2019/20, 75% of school leavers looked after within the last year were in a positive follow-up destination, down from 80% in a positive initial destination. The reduction is also present for all school leavers, but to a lesser extent (92% in a positive follow-up destination, down from 93% in positive initial destinations).

Table 2.2: Percentage of school leavers by follow-up destination (9 months after leaving school), for all school leavers and those who were looked after children, 2019/20 (1)
School leavers looked after within the last year All school leavers
Higher Education 7 43
Further Education 43 24
Training 12 3
Employment 10 21
Voluntary Work 0 0
Personal Skills Development 4 1
Unemployed Seeking 10 4
Unemployed Not Seeking 12 3
Unknown 3 1
% in a positive destination 75 92

(1) Positive destinations includes higher education, further education, training, voluntary work, employment and personal skills development.

Initial and follow-up destinations by type of placement

Table 2.3 shows the percentage of school leavers looked after within the last year in positive initial and follow-up destinations by placement type. Those in foster care placements had the highest proportion in both positive initial and follow-up destinations, while young people who were looked after in a voluntary home, at home with parents, or in other residential accommodation, such as secure care, had the lowest proportion in positive destinations.

The largest decreases between the proportion in positive initial and follow-up destinations were seen in those young people in other residential accommodation, decreasing from 82% in a positive initial destination to 65% at follow-up, and young people in a local authority home, decreasing from 84% in a positive initial destination to 74% at follow-up.

Table 2.3: Positive initial and follow-up destinations among school leavers looked after within the year, by placement type, 2019/20 (1)(2)
Initial destination Follow-up destination
Number % in a positive destination Number % in a positive destination
In the community (children with one placement)
At home with parents 282 70 280 68
With friends or relatives 189 85 189 81
With foster carers provided by LA 161 95 160 88
With foster carers purchased by LA 74 92 74 85
In other community(3) * * * *
Residential Accommodation (children with one placement)
In local authority home 69 84 69 74
In voluntary home 16 63 15 53
In other residential(4) 34 82 34 65
More than one placement 115 70 112 67
All looked after within the last year 943 80 936 75

(1) Some children who were included in the initial destination survey could not be contacted at the time of the follow up destination survey. This is why the total number of children in each survey differs.

(2) Cells containing * represent small numbers that have been suppressed to maintain confidentiality.

(3) Includes supported accommodation and with prospective adopters.

(4) Includes in residential school, secure care accommodation and crisis care.

Contact

Email: children.statistics@gov.scot

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