1. Improving the education of looked after children: research and practice. Working towards Improving Resilience in Education.

3. Resilience Claxton and Wells state that ‘one of the key qualities of the effective real-life learner is surely the ability to stay intelligently engaged with a complex and unpredictable situation, a property we might call ‘resilience’. Resilient individuals will be more inclined to take on learning challenges of which the outcome is uncertain, to persist with learning despite temporary confusion or frustration, and to recover from setbacks and failures.’ (2002; p28)

4. Why improve resilience? Are there significant differences found between the attainments of Looked after Children and Non Looked after Children ?

5. Educationally, looked after children are one of the lowest attaining groups, with a gap in over 43% in GCSE A*-C maths and English (DfE 2012) compared with the national pupil population. Only 8% of looked after young people enter higher education compared with 50% of all young people.

6. The trend starts in primary school. SATs results for primary school children in care also compare very unfavourably with all children: in 2011 43% achieved the expected level 4 at key stage 2 in English and mathematics, compared with 74% of all children in those subjects. At Key Stage 1 the gap between the achievements of children in care and others is smaller, but still significant: 65% achieved the expected level 2 in reading, 57% in writing and 71% in maths, compared with 85%, 81% and 90% of all children in those subjects respectively. So the discrepancy between the achievement of looked after children and all children begins right at the start of their education but increases significantly as they get older. Looked-after children are more than three times more likely to end up unemployed when they leave school: last year 17% of children in care who left school had no job to go to, compared with just 4% of all children.

7. The percentage of looked after children achieving 5+ A*-C GCSEs or equivalent including English and mathematics (the headline measure) was 12.0 per cent in 2014. 68 per cent of looked after children eligible to sit GCSEs have a special educational need. The percentage of looked after children with a special educational need achieving 5+ A*-C GCSEs or equivalent including English and mathematics was 8.0 per cent in 2014, compared to 28.1 per cent for those without a special educational need.

8. Two-thirds of looked after children have a Special Educational Need, much higher than the school population as a whole. Percentage of children with a Special Educational Need, split by whether it is statemented, 2014

9. Our research - Understanding the educational experiences and opinions, attainment, achievement and aspirations of looked after children in Wales Literature and statistical review Systematic review of interventions around the world Creative/visual methods and interviews with primary and secondary school age children and young people Peer researcher led focus groups with 16 – 25 year olds Telephone interviews with HE students Asking: What is the picture of LACYP’s educational achievement in England and Wales? What are the experiences of LACYP? What are the barriers and enablers? What are their aspirations and how will they get there? What are their opinions about what needs to change?

10. LACYP and education: Welsh figures… In Wales 29% of young people leaving care had no qualifications at all compared to 1% of the general population In Wales 51% of LAYP were NEET on their 19th birthday (2007 – 2011) compared with 11.5% of non-LAC. Higher than for England or NI (WAO, 2012) Data not routinely collected in Wales, but some evidence suggests that in Wales only 2.4% of LAYP and care leavers enter Higher Education (vs 8% in England) (WAO 2012)

11. ….and some themes from our research Low expectations from teachers, social workers and carers: “As soon as I went into care…my teachers, majority of them treated me completely different, because I was in care they moved me down sets, they put me in special help… they was like you’re more than capable of being in top set but we don’t think you’re going to be able to cope” (Female, 16+) “Various foster carers and various people to do with the care system were like ‘oh people in care don’t go to into higher education’…it’s just a lot about people’s attitudes, whether that be teachers or social workers…it’s kind of like they don’t believe that children in care will do anything. And so if they don’t believe it, then how is anyone going to believe it about themselves?” (Female HE student, 25) “I remember telling [the head of sixth form] that I wanted to be a teacher and whatever, and she said you should look at college courses and stuff, and I was just like no I want to go to university” (Female HE student, 21) “I knew what subjects I wanted to take, but the carer at that time was like no you’re not taking that, or that, or that, because you’re just going to fail.” (Male 16+)

12. ...the difference that high expectations can make “So every time my foster mother she’s going to a like parents evening she will say, ‘I’m so proud of you’, because I’ve done really well in school and I’m trying my best so I can’t do any better than that” (Gareth, age 13) “My foster carer said I could make it if I try hard enough and I train hard enough and like I do” (Connor, age 13) “My foster carer at the time, she was like ‘you’re going to be that 1%’ [who study at university]. And I don’t know it kind of just put a little bit of more belief in me and it just made me want to do it that little bit more” (Female HE student, 21)

13. Stability at school or home: “I found, obviously, moving around schools a lot, because I moved from Wales to England and it was like during that transition of like for a year I was out of education so I was playing a catch-up game, always, like right the way up through school until I left, I was always trying to catch up”. (Male, 16+) “Obviously if your life is unstable your education is unstable, and then that’s your future ruined” (Female, 16+)

14. Feeling different or pitied: “Being made to feel like an outcast because I was in care and not getting enough private support, one-to-one. And that made me feel alienated, frustrated, lonely and vulnerable.” (Male, 16+) “I hate people feeling pity for me, I’m just a normal child, like…I’m in foster care, it doesn’t mean you’re just like some pity child…” (Male, 16+) “bad bit was like the LAC Reviews and whatever because the teachers kind of knew that you were in care and whatever and that, they all were, people would be like, ‘oh why are you are going with Miss so-and-so?’” (female HE student, 21)

15. Improving education for LACYP in practice – Woodlands approach

16. Baseline Assessments Reading and Spelling ages Non-verbal Communication Social Skills

17. ‘Every child matters, every lesson counts.’ ‘

21. Strategies Cross –curricular activities – e.g Bala Social Skills Day Behaviour Curriculum Measured through achievement and behaviour

22. Bala Day

23. Impact Progress Reviews Behaviour targets Incident logs Individual Education Plans

24. Progress Review

25. Behaviour Targets

26. IEPs

28. GCSE Results A*- G 2014/15 Maths – 83% English – 83% Science – 100% Preparation for Working Life – 100% PE – 100% Art – 100% Welsh – 100% Some subjects taught are being examined in 2016 – ASDAN, History, sociology, geography, RE.

29. Since the introduction of the Children Act 2004 there has been a particular duty on local authorities to promote the educational achievement of looked after children, but the latest figures show a growing discrepancy between the qualifications they leave school with, compared with all children. In 2011 just 13.2% of children who had been in care for at least six months left school with five GCSEs grades A*-C including English and mathematics, or the equivalent alternative qualification, compared with 57.9% of all children. This figure is slightly improved on the previous two years – when 12.0% and 10.4% of children in care left school with good grades in five exams. But all children have done better, and the gap between the achievement of looked after children compared with their peers is actually getting bigger. In 2007 there was a difference of 37 percentage points between the two groups and it has grown year-on-year to 45 points in 2011.

31. LACYP’s own aspirations and ambitions The majority of children and young people we consulted with were not lacking aspiration. “I’m not going to get far in life if I mess around in school, I’m not going to get to college and then university. And… I want to do that” (Ryan, age 14) “[I] might be a builder … or a carpenter... Might even be an engineer…. My Bamp does it. He’s an engineer” (Neymar, age 9) “Architect… Because I like Art and most of my family are builders” (Hulk, aged 12) “When I am older I want to be in the army…because like the army they like fight wars and keep the countries nice and like better places for us all” (Bishop, age 11)

32. Participants also discussed wider aspirations such as having a loving family “… what I want is just someone to be with forever when I’m older, just someone to be with. Someone who will look after me, someone… and I also want a family. I just want to have a family… My wife and my kids” (Thor, age 14) Younger children in particular often had lots of clear ambitions “I want to be a teacher. When I finish like university…yeah when I have finished university and I’m going to find a school and ask the headmistress if I can join…I will be a teacher for younger children, like a supply teacher for the younger children and an actual teacher for like Year 3, 4, 5 and 6’s” (Imogen, age 11) “In the future, when I get older…hmm be a vet… I’d go to university for my job” (Caitlyn, age 11) “I’d like to live in Paris and then I’d like to like move around. But I would just like to live in Paris” (Roxy, age 12)

33. From research to policy and practice… How do we ensure that LACYP are, and remain, confident in their abilities and enthusiastic about their future lives? The LACYP population in Wales saw an increase of 20% over five years (2006 – 2011) BUT funding to support LAC’s educational outcomes has not increased since 2006 but… WG consultation in February 2015 (now closed) on new strategy to ‘raise the ambitions and educational attainment of LACYP’ (our research commissioned at the same time)