Education Outcomes for Looked After Children – 2019/20
Information on attainment and leaver destinations, for school leavers in Scotland who were looked after during the 2019/20 school year.
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Post-school destinations
- 75% of looked after leavers had a positive follow-up destination in 2019/20, up from 71% the previous year
- Looked after school leavers are less likely to go to positive destinations than school leavers in general, especially higher education
This section presents data on the destinations of the estimated 943 young people who were looked after during the period 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020 and who left school during 2019/20. Information is collected on the destination of school leavers in the September after they leave school (initial destination) and again the following March (follow-up destination). School leavers who are engaged in higher education, further education, training, voluntary work, employment or are undertaking personal skills development are classified as having a 'positive destination'. Other destinations include school leavers who are unemployed and individuals where their destination is not known. For more information on school leaver destination categories, see background note 3.7.
Initial destinations
A lower proportion of looked after children enter positive destinations than all school leavers, but this gap has narrowed considerably over the last ten years. The lower proportion of looked after children going into positive destinations is likely to be related to lower attainment and a higher proportion of looked after children leaving school at an earlier stage. 80% of young people looked after within the last year went on to a positive destination after leaving school, compared with 93% of all school leavers in 2019/20 (Table 2.1). The gap of 13 percentage points between all school leavers and those who were looked after in 2019/20 has narrowed from 30 percentage points in 2009/10, when 58% of looked after scool leavers were in a positive initial destination, compared with 88% of all school leavers.
56% of school leavers who were looked after within the last year were in either Higher or Further Education three months after leaving school. In comparison, 72% of all school leavers were in Further or Higher Education (Table 2.1). The lower proportion of looked after young people entering Higher Education is associated with leaving school at an earlier stage and consequent lower levels of qualifications.
| School leavers looked after within the last year | All school leavers | |
|---|---|---|
| Higher Education | 7 | 44 |
| Further Education | 49 | 28 |
| Training | 14 | 4 |
| Employment | 9 | 16 |
| Voluntary Work | 0 | 1 |
| Personal Skills Development | 2 | 1 |
| Unemployed Seeking | 10 | 4 |
| Unemployed Not Seeking | 8 | 2 |
| Unknown | 1 | 1 |
| % in a positive destination(1) | 80 | 93 |
(1) Positive destinations includes higher education, further education, training, voluntary work, employment and personal skills development.
Follow-up destinations
From 2009/10 to 2013/14, the percentage of looked after school leavers in positive follow-up destinations increased rapidly from 42% to 66%, then stabilised for three years, before increasing to 72% in 2016/17 and remaining around this level for another two years. In 2019/20, the percentage of looked after leavers in positive follow-up destinations increased to 75%. Over the same time period, the proportion of all school leavers in positive follow-up destinations has remained higher, increasing from 86% in 2009/10 to 92% in 2013/14 and remaining at 92-93% each year since (92% in 2019/20).
In 2019/20, 75% of school leavers looked after within the last year were in a positive follow-up destination, down from 80% in a positive initial destination. The reduction is also present for all school leavers, but to a lesser extent (92% in a positive follow-up destination, down from 93% in positive initial destinations).
| School leavers looked after within the last year | All school leavers | |
|---|---|---|
| Higher Education | 7 | 43 |
| Further Education | 43 | 24 |
| Training | 12 | 3 |
| Employment | 10 | 21 |
| Voluntary Work | 0 | 0 |
| Personal Skills Development | 4 | 1 |
| Unemployed Seeking | 10 | 4 |
| Unemployed Not Seeking | 12 | 3 |
| Unknown | 3 | 1 |
| % in a positive destination | 75 | 92 |
(1) Positive destinations includes higher education, further education, training, voluntary work, employment and personal skills development.
Initial and follow-up destinations by type of placement
Table 2.3 shows the percentage of school leavers looked after within the last year in positive initial and follow-up destinations by placement type. Those in foster care placements had the highest proportion in both positive initial and follow-up destinations, while young people who were looked after in a voluntary home, at home with parents, or in other residential accommodation, such as secure care, had the lowest proportion in positive destinations.
The largest decreases between the proportion in positive initial and follow-up destinations were seen in those young people in other residential accommodation, decreasing from 82% in a positive initial destination to 65% at follow-up, and young people in a local authority home, decreasing from 84% in a positive initial destination to 74% at follow-up.
| Initial destination | Follow-up destination | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % in a positive destination | Number | % in a positive destination | |
| In the community (children with one placement) | ||||
| At home with parents | 282 | 70 | 280 | 68 |
| With friends or relatives | 189 | 85 | 189 | 81 |
| With foster carers provided by LA | 161 | 95 | 160 | 88 |
| With foster carers purchased by LA | 74 | 92 | 74 | 85 |
| In other community(3) | * | * | * | * |
| Residential Accommodation (children with one placement) | ||||
| In local authority home | 69 | 84 | 69 | 74 |
| In voluntary home | 16 | 63 | 15 | 53 |
| In other residential(4) | 34 | 82 | 34 | 65 |
| More than one placement | 115 | 70 | 112 | 67 |
| All looked after within the last year | 943 | 80 | 936 | 75 |
(1) Some children who were included in the initial destination survey could not be contacted at the time of the follow up destination survey. This is why the total number of children in each survey differs.
(2) Cells containing * represent small numbers that have been suppressed to maintain confidentiality.
(3) Includes supported accommodation and with prospective adopters.
(4) Includes in residential school, secure care accommodation and crisis care.
Contact
Email: children.statistics@gov.scot
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