Full record(s)

Record no:

1 of 1

Research organisation:

Anglia Ruskin University

Title:

A critical exploration of the educational achievement of looked after children between the ages of 5 to 11: Implications for Social Work Practice.

Abstract:

To investigate the key issues related to the educational achievements of looked after children aged five to eleven found in two areas in Essex. The low educational attainment of 'looked after' children (defined in the Children Act 1989 section 22(1) to include children who are voluntarily accommodated as well as those in the care of their local authority) in relation to all children in the population has been a matter of concern internationally for some years (Stein, 2008). In the UK, such poor attainment has been blamed in part on teachers' low expectations of looked after children (Ofsted/SSI, 2010/11) and the fact that their education has not always been seen as a priority by social workers or carers (Jackson and Simon, 2006; Berridge, 2007) Looked after children have been the focus of a vast magnitude of government policy, for which I have mentioned two (DfES, 2007; House of Commons CSFC, 2009).  The national data on looked after children demonstrates that they suffer from exceptionally elevated levels of social exclusion and deprivation before they enter the care system (Statham et al. 2002).  There were 64,400 looked after children as at 31 March 2010, an increase of 6 per cent from 2009 and an increase of 7 per cent since 2006 (Statistical First Release (SFR) 2010).

Aims & Objectives:

To determine whether expectations of low educational attainment for looked after children persists within primary schools in Castle Point Borough Council and Basildon Borough Council both located in Essex. The objective is to: 1) To examine the ways in which the County Council is actively promoting the educational achievement of looked after children; 2) Because the evidence found in previous research indicates that looked after children are not doing as well as their peers, this research will take a closer look at inter-professional working between social workers and teachers to ascertain how looked after childrens educational achievement can be enhanced.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     This research will focus on looked after children at the start of the educational system at key stages one and two.  The ages of the looked after children will range from five to eleven years of age.  To draw a comparative analysis between key stage one and two the project will be looking at the measurement of achievement from The National Curriculum assessments known as SATs to assess the attainment of these looked after children attending these schools.

Design:

Single/multi case study;Longitudinal survey

Methods:

Qualitative only

Lead researcher/supervisor:

Glenis Reid

Contact:

Email here;

Other local authorities/research providers involved:

Essex County Council

Status:

current

Date started:

01/03/12

Estimated end date:

30/06/12

User involvement:

None

Student research:

yes - postgraduate

Format:

research register;

Topics:

education; educational performance; looked after children; school children;

Content Type:

research;

Record ID:

www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk/profile.asp?guid=025afa93-84ce-45e9-a7ab-a301b54eb598