Archived decisions

COUNTY POLICY AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN LOOKED AFTER

1 The Executive Lead Member has approved a policy and action plan on improving educational outcomes for children looked after. The policy and action plan will be circulated to appropriate Governors' and Schools' Forums. Also, the Executive Lead Member is to receive six monthly updates on progress and officers have been asked to continue to monitor the effectiveness of resources allocated to this area of work and to undertake appropriate scrutiny of its procedures.

2 At present approximately 1050 children and young people in the care of the local authority are referred to as children looked after. It is the Council's task ,as the corporate parent, to demonstrate its commitment to helping every child who is looked after, wherever the child is placed, to achieve the highest educational standards of which he or she is capable. Both nationally and locally , the majority of children and young people who are looked after, achieve less than their peers in all aspects of their lives, including education. The Social Exclusion Unit's report "A Better Education for Children in Care", identifies five key reasons for this:

· Their lives are characterised by instability;


· They spend too much time out of school;


· They do not have sufficient help with their education if they fall behind;


· Primary carers are not expected or equipped to provide sufficient support and encouragement for learning and development;


· They have unmet emotional, mental and physical health needs that impact upon their education.

3 Section 52 of the Children Act 2004 places a duty on the local authority to promote and support the educational achievement of children and young people looked after. It also outlines the actions which local authorities are expected to implement and this includes the expectation of schools to take a proactive approach to co-operating with and supporting local authorities in discharging this duty. In response to this, an action plan has been prepared. This plan explains what the County Council will do to meet its duty under Section 52 of the Act. The actions which have been highlighted aim to narrow the gap in achievement for children looked after and ensure that they receive the care and support to fulfil their potential comparable to their peers. All departments within the County Council will work together to promote and support such children and this is to be carefully monitored. Indeed monitoring outcomes for children looked after will remain a high profile issue for the County Council. The Children's Services Policy Review Committee have also commended this policy and action plan. A copy of the relevant information is available in the Members' Rooms.

4 The above decision supports all five aims of the Corporate Strategy by ensuring that children who are looked after are supported and given every opportunity to achieve their educational potential and to improve their opportunities in life.

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