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Felicity Fletcher-Campbell and Tamsin Archer, National Foundation
for Educational Research, June 2003.
Background
Reports from various agencies and young people themselves
have established that the education of young people in the
public care is a cause for concern. Data show that the average
performance of young people in care is significantly lower
than national averages for the age cohort and that a disproportionate
number of young people are not entered for GCSE or GNVQ at
key stage 4 (47 per cent of total care leavers, compared with
3.6 per cent of boys and 3.1 per cent of girls nationally).
The Department of Health and the Department for Education
and Skills, together with the Local Government Association,
jointly sponsored the National Foundation for Educational
Research to undertake a research project to explore in greater
depth the end of key stage 4 performance for pupils who were
in the public care in summer 2001.
Methodology
The research was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 involved
collecting data from 12 local education authorities in England
known to have relatively sophisticated procedures for collecting
and tracking data on their in-care population. The potential
sample was approximately 600; data were received on 377 young
people. In many cases only partial information was given,
so the findings should be treated with caution. Phase 2 involved
case studies of young people identified on the basis of data
from phase 1. Case studies of seven young people were finally
completed. Interviews were conducted with the young person
and his/her carer, social worker and school contact(s).
Some
key findings
- Information about educational careers was frail, data
were conflicting and contradictory accounts were given;
data were not regarded by many social workers as relevant
to their work with the young people.
- Young people with the highest number of changes of education
placement at key stages 2 and 3 were most likely to be in
the quarter of the sample not entered for any GCSE. Some
placements were not appropriate to the young people and
some denied them the opportunity of GCSE entry.
- Misunderstanding of special educational needs exacerbated
educational difficulties, increased 'failure' and resulted
in damaging 'labelling' of the young person.
- Some young people had developed attitudes and/or behaviour
which were incompatible with learning in school; it was
not clear that there had been adequate intervention to help
the young people re-channel their energies and develop more
positive attitudes and behaviour.
- School factors leading to positive outcomes for the young
people included stable tutoring, mechanisms for the identification
of individuals' needs and progress, and a rich range of
readily-accessible formal and informal support.
- Both motivated and disaffected young people were insightful
about the strengths and weaknesses of their educational
placements, suggesting that the young people themselves
are a significant resource for enhancing their own educational
careers.
Links
The full report (reference RR434) and the shorter Research
Brief (reference RB434) are available at www.dfes.gov.uk/research
or by telephoning 0845 60 222 60.
The report and accompanying toolkit for local authorities
can be obtained in a folder pack (reference EPIA) by writing
to DfES Publications, PO Box 5050, Sherwood Park, Annesley,
Nottingham, NG15 0DJ.
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