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Learning with Care:
The education of children looked after away from home by Local Authorities

Chapter 6: Personal and social development

6. Background

6.1 Personal and social development is a core aspect of education. It is concerned with the development of the personal qualities of self-awareness and self-esteem, and with the development of life skills which enable the child to make relationships, become independent, and operate effectively in society. The inspection considered the ethos of the schools that the children attended and evaluated whether the schools through a sense of fairness, equality and positive relationships, contributed to the personal and social development of their pupils.

Evaluation and recommendations

6.2 The ethos and pastoral care in the schools were generally positive, supportive and caring. There were good examples of children being praised and having their self-esteem enhanced. Primary schools, in particular, were good at celebrating success and many children in the sample had gained certificates for achievements of various kinds. They had them on display at home and were proud to show them to visitors. However, in one school, where the reward system was based mainly on academic attainment, the child in the sample was not attaining highly, and received few rewards.

6.3 Most of the looked after children had personal or emotional problems, to varying degrees, arising from their life experiences. Some pupils were making good progress in their personal and social development, but overall, progress was very variable. In one authority teachers and social workers reported that most of the children's self-esteem was "good" or "improving". Most of these children were in either foster or relative care situations. However, in the other authorities only a minority of children were reported as having good self-esteem. From the inspection it was not possible to ascertain the reasons for these differences. In most cases the children were not self-conscious about their background and were unconcerned about their teachers and close friends knowing they were looked after.

6.4 Children were asked if they had been bullied at school. Most reported that bullying was not an issue. They reported that they did not feel that their looked after status contributed to any incidences of bullying or of falling out with their peers. A few, mainly in secondary schools, were themselves described as bullies.

6.5 Children had good access to extra-curricular activities which were usually well funded by most social work services. Schools generally provided good opportunities to participate in school trips both within the UK and abroad, and most schools had sporting teams, usually football, which children could join. Children in primary schools were more likely to be involved in extra-curricular activities than those at secondary. Carers offered a variety of activities to the children, including athletics, horse riding, swimming, Brownies and Guides.

6.6 In all schools normal curricular and vocational guidance procedures applied. All young people in secondary schools had a designated guidance teacher with whom most had regular contact. In S2, they had access to the careers service and to information about possible future careers. In the majority of cases young people received appropriate levels of vocational guidance. However, some problems had occurred with a significant minority. For example, one social worker had not had good enough links with teachers and careers advisers when a particular young person was deciding about the subjects for his Standard Grade courses, and inappropriate choices were made. A few young people lacked the confidence to approach careers advisers who operated a drop-in service, and as a result, they missed out on appropriate advice. Guidance teachers need to be more vigilant to ensure that these young people do not miss out on careers advice. When looked after young people are having their care plans reviewed, local authorities should ensure that effective arrangements are in place for them to receive appropriate curricular and vocational guidance.

6.7 Recording of the ethnicity, language and culture of children was poor both in social work files and in PPRs. Schools were somewhat better than social workers at recording children's religious background. Whenever parents had stipulated that they wished their child to attend a denominational school their wishes had always been met. One young person from an ethnic minority background had services provided in his residential unit which supported his language and culture. However, he chose not to pursue his religion. Another child of racially mixed parentage had services provided by a voluntary agency to help him understand his ethnic and cultural heritage. In one authority, children had access through school and out-of-school activities to such provision as learning to play the chanter, Gaelic lessons, taking part in a mod, highland dancing and playing shinty. These activities were enjoyed by the children concerned helping them to raise their self-esteem and integrate into the local community.

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