A number of key year-on-year education outcomes for looked-after children have gone in the wrong direction, according to Scottish government data published today.
However, the number of looked-after school leavers in “positive destinations” nine months after leaving school has increased, while the government has highlighted longer-term improvements across several metrics.
Today’s figures for 2023-24 include data on school attendance, achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels, school leavers’ stages and attainment, and where leavers go after they leave school.
Here are findings in those four key areas:
1. School attendance
The attendance rate for pupils across primary, secondary and special schools who were looked after during the year decreased from 84.4 per cent in 2022-23 to 83.7 per cent in 2023-24. For all pupils, the attendance rate in the same period increased slightly from 90.2 per cent to 90.3 per cent.
This means a gap of 6.6 percentage points between the school attendance of looked-after pupils and that of all pupils.
The gap between the attendance rates for looked-after students (78.4 per cent) and all students (87.6 per cent) in secondary schools increased to 9.3 percentage points in 2023-24 (from 8 percentage points in 2022-23). The gap for primary pupils increased from 3.1 percentage points to 3.3 percentage points over the same period.
2. Achievement of Curriculum of Excellence levels
A lower proportion of looked-after children (when compared with all pupils) gain the CfE level relevant to their age and stage. Achievement levels across all subjects in 2023-24 were lower for pupils who had been looked after during the year, when compared with all pupils (for P1, P4, P7 and S3).
The biggest gaps were in P4 numeracy (30.9 percentage points), P7 numeracy (30.7), P7 writing (30.7) and P4 writing (29.1).
The gap between looked-after pupils and all pupils has decreased in 2023-24 compared with 2022-23 for all subjects at P7 and S3 stages. However, the gap has shown more variation in that period for P1 and P4.
3. School leavers’ stages and attainment
The proportion of looked-after students who left school in S4 or earlier has dropped from 62.8 per cent in 2009-10 to 35.1 per cent in 2023-24 - but the figure has been rising in recent years, from 31.7 per cent in 2021-22 and 34.3 per cent in 2022-23.
The gap between the proportion of looked-after leavers and all students who achieve SCQF level 5 (National 5 or equivalent) or better decreased from 63.9 percentage points in 2009-10 to 42.7 in 2023-24. However, this is up from 42.1 percentage points in 2022-23 and 40.3 in 2021-22.
Attainment levels are generally higher for school leavers looked after in community accommodation than in residential accommodation; school leavers looked after at home have among the lowest attainment levels of all placement types.
4. Leavers’ post-school destinations
Since 2009-10 the proportion of school leavers who were looked after during the year that go on to enter initial positive destinations has increased from 58.1 per cent to 85.3 per cent. However, there has been a decrease from 86.4 per cent since 2022-23.
Over the same period, the proportion in positive follow-up destinations (nine months after the end of the school year) increased from 42 per cent in 2009-10 to 72.4 per cent in 2023-24; this was also an increase in the latest year from 71.1 per cent in 2022-23.
The gap between the proportion of looked-after leavers compared with all leavers who are in positive follow-up destinations was 20.7 percentage points. This gap has decreased compared with both 2009-10 (44 percentage points) and 2022-23 (21.8 percentage points).
Looked-after children are defined as those in the care of their local authority, under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. Today’s report provides data from the 2023-24 school year for school pupils who were looked after within the year, or school leavers who were looked after for at least some of their time at school since the age of 5.
The full 2023-24 figures on are published on the Scottish government website.
Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie described the new figures as “an alarm bell for ministers”, adding: “The Scottish government made a major commitment to care-experienced children and young people when they set up The Promise, but the figures published today show worsening outcomes across a range of measures. Looked-after children and young people also face daunting attainment gaps which have shown no sign of being closed in recent years.”
Mr Rennie called for ministers to address “challenges in the education system including violence and behaviour in schools, lack of additional support needs provision, and the teacher workforce crisis to give teachers and staff the opportunity to improve outcomes for the most vulnerable”.
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