Tools for Schools
Evidence indicates that the educational outcomes for children that are care experienced are significantly lower than the expected standard. Here is some of the headline data.
Key Stage 1
In 2019, 52% of looked after children reached the expected standard in reading, 43% in writing, 49% in maths and 60% in science. Compared to non-looked after children, attainment for looked after children is much lower.
The largest differences are in writing and maths (26 percentage points). In 2019, 48% of children in need reached the expected standard in reading, 40% in writing, 48% in maths and 56% in science. The attainment of children in need is slightly lower than looked after children.
From 2018 to 2019, the percentage of looked after children reaching the expected standard in writing increased slightly (by 1 percentage point) and for non-looked after children and children in need, the percentage of those reaching the expected standard in writing decreased by a similar amount. Looked after girls outperform looked after boys in all subjects.
The largest differences are in writing (17 percentage points) and reading (7 percentage points) followed by science and mathematics. This subject pattern is broadly similar to the gender attainment difference for non-looked after children and for children in need.
The gender attainment gap for looked-after children has decreased for all subjects from 2018 to 2019, with the largest decrease being in reading, maths and science (5 percentage points). This is different to the gender attainment gap for non-looked after children and children in need, where for 2018 and 2019 they are very similar.
Key Stage 2
In 2019, 37% of looked after children reached the expected standard in the headline measure reading, writing and maths. This is lower than the percentage reaching the expected standard in individual subjects which ranges from 49% in reading to 53% in grammar, punctuation and spelling.
Information from: Department of Education’s Outcomes for children looked after by local authorities in England,
Last updated 16 August 2021