Known, Included and Ambitious: Promoting the education of care-experienced learners
Executive Summary
This report evaluated how effectively maintained schools, pupil referral units (PRUs) and local authorities promoted the education, well-being and aspirations of care-experienced learners aged 3 to 16. It considered the experiences of children who were looked after, adopted from care, living in kinship care, subject to special guardianship orders (SGO), or children who were previously looked after. Care-experienced learners can face particular challenges relating to educational stability, attendance, engagement, belonging and attainment, although their experiences and needs vary considerably. The review drew on visits to schools, pupil referral units (PRUs) and local authorities; survey evidence; engagement with learners in schools, PRUs and through third sector organisations; stakeholder evidence; a review of relevant literature, policy and guidance; and inspection evidence.
Throughout the review, leaders and staff demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting care-experienced learners. Many knew individual learners well and worked hard to help them feel safe, included and supported. The strongest providers combined positive trusting relationships and high-quality pastoral support with ambitious expectations for learning, achievement and future opportunities. However, a central finding was that providers were generally more successful in describing the support they provided than in demonstrating which approaches improved learners’ educational progress, attainment and longer-term outcomes.
The review found that schools, PRUs and local authorities were generally better able to identify, monitor and support children who were currently looked after than other groups of care-experienced learners. Arrangements for adopted learners, learners in kinship or SGO arrangements and previously looked-after learners were less consistent. As a result, many providers could not evaluate the educational experiences or outcomes of these learners with the same confidence as those who were currently looked-after, limiting their ability to identify emerging needs, intervene early and evaluate the impact of support.
Strong leadership and clear accountability were important factors in improving learners’ educational experiences. The strongest schools and local authorities monitored progress, attainment and destinations alongside information about learners’ attendance, well-being and any exclusions from schools and PRUs. However, educational outcomes were not always given enough prominence in monitoring and corporate parenting arrangements. Learners’ attendance, behaviour and well-being were often monitored more consistently than their educational progress and achievement, limiting leaders’ understanding of whether support was improving outcomes over time.
Relationships and a sense of belonging were central to learners’ positive educational experiences. They consistently highlighted the importance of trusted adults who listened, understood their circumstances and provided consistent support. These relationships helped learners feel known, valued and included in their school community. They also gave learners the confidence to share their views, raise concerns and take part in decisions about their education and support. Strong relationships and regular communication with parents, carers and wider professionals also helped providers understand changing circumstances and coordinate support more effectively.
Learners were more likely to share concerns and take part in decision-making when they felt understood and confident that adults would listen and respond. While many providers sought learners’ views, these did not always influence the planning of their education and support. Learners also emphasised the importance of privacy, confidentiality and careful handling of personal information, which helped maintain trust and reduced the risk of learners feeling singled out because of their care experience.
Awareness of trauma-informed and attachment-aware practice had increased across schools, PRUs and local authorities. The strongest providers embedded these approaches in relationships, behaviour and everyday practice. However, providers were generally better at showing that staff had received training than demonstrating how these approaches had improved learners’ attendance, participation, progress and attainment.
Evidence from learner discussions, provider visits and wider research showed that a stable education helped reduce the impact of disruption in other areas of care‑experienced learners’ lives. Schools and PRUs often provided stability and continuity when other aspects of learners’ lives were changing. However, placement moves, school changes and changes in the professionals who supported learners sometimes disrupted learning, relationships and support. Joint working and information-sharing were not always sufficiently consistent, particularly when learners moved between settings, services or local authority areas. Local authorities had an important responsibility to protect continuity of Welsh-medium education when learners changed school or care placement. However, access to continued Welsh-medium education and support was not equitable across Wales.
Funding and accountability arrangements did not always support consistent provision for the wider care-experienced population. Local authorities varied in how they interpreted and used Pupil Development Grant for Children Looked After (PDG-CLA) funding, reciprocal arrangements did not always operate effectively, and national information about the experiences and outcomes of adopted learners and those in kinship or SGO arrangements remained limited.
Many providers worked hard to ensure that care-experienced learners felt included, respected and valued, without being defined by care experience. However, treating learners the same as their peers did not always address the additional barriers some faced. The strongest providers understood that treating learners fairly did not always mean treating them in the same way. They helped learners feel they belonged, maintained high expectations and ensured they had fair access to an ambitious curriculum, enrichment opportunities, qualifications and future education or employment pathways.
Overall, care-experienced learners were most likely to thrive where schools, PRUs and local authorities identified and understood their individual circumstances, maintained high expectations and coordinated support effectively. While the review identified many examples of strong practice, it also highlighted the need for a greater focus on educational progress, attainment and longer-term outcomes. This is essential to ensure that care-experienced learners are supported not only to engage in education, but also to make strong progress, achieve well and benefit from improved future opportunities.