Educational Outcomes of Looked After Children: Extending Evidence from a Pilot Study in the

London Borough of CamdenDr Kimberley Bradbury

Prof. Alastair Sutcliffe, Dr Claire Tipper, Dr Gita Croft, Prof Ted Melhuish, Prof Jacqueline Barnes and Rebecca Smees

General and Adolescent Paediatric Unit, Institute of Child Health. Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues.

Birkbeck College

Background:

Looked After Children (LAC) known to be vulnerableLack of research evidence on effective interventions

Aims:1. To assess educational outcomes LAC in Camden

2. To identify means of extending this analysis to the national cohort

Method

Accessed Camden data from 1989-2012Data for 50 variables for 949 LAC over this periodData collected whilst a LACDemographicsPlacement detailsEducation (Key stages)

Results: Demographics

M50%

F50%

GenderWhite British

30%

Mixed21%

Black Afr

17%

Asian10%

Other white11%

Black Caribbe

an6%

Other ethnic

6%

Ethnicity

Results: Placement Stability

Results: Qualifications earned

In Camden 80.3% of children achieved 5 A*-C grades

Results: Post-16 Activity

Results: How demographics affected outcomes

Time in careTotal number of placementsEthnicity Gender

A good news break!

Discussion: Unanswered questions and the national picture

Dept. for Education publishes Statistical first release Narrow focus on cohort ‘attainment gap’National Pupil Database- richer more complete dataCan follow up children once they have left care

Conclusions

LAC in Camden, nationally and internationally have poorer educational outcomes than their peers.

To enhance our understanding we need more detailed analysis.

Valuable data is collected but has not been analysed

References Children Looked After in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31

March 2012; DfE; 2012 Outcomes for Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England, as at 31 March

2012; DfE; 2012 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2010) [Looked-after children and

young people: Promoting the quality of life of looked-after children and young people]. [PH28]. London: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Jones R et al; Factors associated with outcomes for looked-after children and young people: a correlates review of the literature; Child Care Health Dev; 2011 Sep; 37 (5):613-22

Looked after children: Exploratory analysis of Camden data, children born 1989-2012; IOE; 2012

Any questions?