Education of Looked after Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Education of Looked after Children - Essay Example This essay stresses that councils are judged on the proportion of children and young people who are engaged in education, training or employment at the age of nineteen. Again, performance against that indicator is improving. Although it is important to focus on these indicators as useful in helping authorities assess their performance it is also essential that local authorities as corporate parents have high expectations of the children and young people in our care, and that these include but also go beyond educational attainment. This paper makes a conclusion that certainly some of the poor achievement can be explained by a range of other factors, looked after children are more likely to be from groups that traditionally tend to do less well in education, and they are more likely to have special educational needs and to be statemented. The performance assessment framework indicators do adjust for these factors which demonstrate that even taking these into account looked after children as a group are not doing as well as their peers. With the improvement in the early support available to families, fewer children will face such adverse experiences and that a greater number can be supported safely within their families. Research also suggests that there is often room for children's services to act more decisively at earlier stages in children's lives. The children can be at risk of underachieving at school because they have experienced disruption to their family life and education. Growing up can be a bewilderin g and confusing time for those persons who are in the care system. It is important to make sure that they receive the support, guidance and encouragement that they need. Some may have low expectations, poor emotional and psychological health and a lack of family support. Education is an important pathway to a better life for them. Each local