Educational pathways and outcomes for children who are looked after: a population-scale data linkage study

Numerous research studies have shown that children in care achieve lower grades at school compared to children not in care. Research also has found differences in school grades depending on the time spent in care. For example, children who stay in the same placement longer-term tend to achieve the highest grades, compared to children who experience care for a short-term, or in early or late childhood. Now we know that children in care are at risk for lower school grades, we need research that tells us how we can support children to achieve their potential, whether in care or not.

Recent studies have suggested that children in care who are suspended or excluded, or have autistic spectrum disorder, are at a greater risk for lower grades. On the other hand, some children in care who attended schools that prioritise improving the educational outcomes for disadvantaged children have managed to ‘catch-up’ and achieve higher grades. Given that these research findings are encouraging, it is essential to determine how we can support the educational outcomes of children in care.

To do this, we plan to use new data covering all looked after children in Wales between 2002 to 2021. This data is stored in the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank, a trusted research environment where only approved researchers can access anonymised data; no individuals can be identified in these data as personal information is anonymised.

In our study, we want to answer the following questions:

1. Can we identify common patterns among children's movement in the care-system and group them to create profiles of care? And do certain characteristics predict different types of patterns e.g. sex, or residing in a particular local authority, e.g. Cardiff.

2. Are particular educational outcomes (e.g. lower school grades) associated with each different type of care pattern, and if so what are these?

3. Which aspects of looked-after children’s school experience are the highest risk factors for low educational attainment - and which factors protect against this?

When conducting the research, we will include children who have experience of the care-system to give us feedback on our research at two stages. We also have included teachers, and social workers to provide feedback and help us understand our aims and findings. Alongside those in the system, we have built a team of social care experts, data experts, and Government representatives to guide and inform our project.

We expect that our research will shed new light on how particular aspects of looked-after children’s varying care situations and school experiences can affect their educational attainment. We also intend to understand how making certain changes based on this new knowledge could improve their educational outcomes. We aim for our findings to support schools, social workers and others involved in caring for looked-after children to identify and implement practicable support strategies. To this end, we will ensure that our final report and research and networking event is solutions focused and specifically targets those who make decisions and deliver front-line services in the care and education of looked-after children.