The attainment gap - a look behind the stats

Date: 10th August 2016
Category: Looked after children
Author: Centre for Excellence for Looked after Children

The Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children have published a blog analysing the statistics around Scotland's attainment gap.

Two important education documents arrived in June - the Educational Outcomes for Looked After Children 14/15 statistics, and Delivering excellence and equity in Scottish Education: A delivery plan for Scotland.

Official statistics show that looked after children, particularly children who are looked after at home, have much lower school attainment on average than all children in Scotland. A very high proportion of looked after children leave school at the earliest possible opportunity, with few qualifications and limited access to the kinds of positive destinations enjoyed by many other school leavers.

One of CELCIS's key goals is to play a big part in narrowing the educational outcomes gap for all looked after children. They aim to build on the rich capacities, skills and aspirations of all looked after children and work with teachers, carers and other professionals to ensure that every child receives the high quality and well-rounded education they deserve, in order to close the gap.

Linda O'Neill at CELCIS tells the story behind the recent education statistics in this new blog 'The attainment gap - a look behind the stats'.

• Read CELCIS's blog here.