Chamber and committees

The published data for 2016 confirms that while outcomes for looked after children have been improving, the gaps are still big compared to all pupils and progress needs to be accelerated.

These differences are, in part, linked to the fact that looked after children tend to leave school at younger ages. In 2014-15 almost three quarters (73 per cent) of looked after school leavers were aged 16 and under compared to over one quarter (27 per cent) of the overall population of school leavers.

Since 2009-10 we have seen improvement in the proportion of looked after children achieving 1 or more qualification at SCQF level 5 (equivalent to a national 5 award), positive destinations, attendance figures for looked after children and exclusion figures. We also know that looked after children with the best outcomes tend to be those children in foster care, or with few placements, and looked after for the full year. However I acknowledge the gap between looked after children and other children is still too wide and regrettably children and young people looked after at home still have the worse outcomes.

Tackling inequality is at the heart of this government’s agenda. I informed Parliament on 27 June 2016 of our delivery plan for excellence and equity in Scottish education. This will help looked after children so they can reach their full potential during their educational journey and beyond. In addition, securing a safe, stable, loving and permanent home for every looked after child at the earliest opportunity is key to children succeeding in education. This means addressing our three priority areas, set out in our strategy ‘Getting it Right for Looked After Children’ (published November 2015) of early intervention, early permanence and improving the quality of care. These concepts underpin our work to accelerate recent improvements and close the outcomes gap that exists between looked after children and their peers, including those looked after at home.

Measures such as the launch of the Scottish Attainment Challenge, backed by the £100 million Attainment Scotland Fund, the development of a National Improvement Framework to improve the evidence available to us, and the introduction of the Education (Scotland) Act 2016, demonstrate our commitment to improving attainment. We want to ensure that action takes place at the right level - much of it local. To ensure this greater control will be given to head teachers and we will work to enable schools and clusters of schools to drive improvement. In addition, our policies aim to reduce the need for school exclusions; and since 2006-07 the rate of exclusions has halved. Whilst the rate of exclusions among looked after children is much higher than in the general school population it has been falling at a faster rate and continuing to fall.

Attainment is about much more than school: it includes early years opportunities, the experiences within and outwith the family, and youth work. We want every young person – whatever their background – to have an equal chance of attending university. That is why we established the Commission on Widening Access who have set bold proposals which we have committed to implement.