The Health and Development of Looked after Children in Wales: Aspirations, Well-Bring and Educational Experiences

Background and purpose

It has long been established that outcomes for looked after children  are poor in comparison to their peers. Healthy development requires significant social investment to ensure all young people can realise their full potential. One of the major areas in which looked after children      fail to achieve  is in education (Jackson and Hojer 2013). The low educational attainment and  future prospects of looked after children and young people is an issue of widespread international concern (Berridge 2012). In 2015, the Welsh Government commissioned the Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE) to investigate the educational experiences, aspirations and attainment of looked after children.

Very little research about looked after children has incorporated the perspectives of the young people or listened to their lived experiences, particularly with regard to their educational experiences.  The paper will focus predominantly on the qualitative phase of study which sought to privilege the ‘voice’ of looked after children and young people.

Methods

 The second research objective was to provide insight into looked after children and young people’s experience of engagement in education, their future aspirations and opinions on improving provision and support. Looked after children and young people are “experts in their own lives” (Clark and Statham 2005) and the research was committed to enabling their voices to be heard. The research involved an in-depth, qualitative study involving 67  looked after children and young people  ( aged between 5-27 years). School aged children took part in semi-structured interviews, which incorporated a range of  visual and creative methods to aid participation. Focus groups, facilitated by care experienced peer researchers, were held for participants aged 16 and over: outputs included a report, music and a short film.

Findings

Analysis revealed that the younger participants expressed a wide range of hopes and ambitions for the future, similar to any other children . However as the participants grew older  they became increasingly  aware of being labelled,  cognisant of the structural  barriers in respect of their looked after status. Many of  their educational experiences  highlighted and compounded feelings of difference. All of these factors served to negatively impact on feelings of self-esteem and well-being. Young people often felt that the professionals working with them did not prioritise their education or believe in their ability to succeed. Additionally, foster carers were not always able to provide the scaffold and motivation required to support educational achievement. Participants welcomed the opportunity to come together with other care experienced young people as such opportunities are not always readily available.

Conclusion and implications

Findings highlight the lack of priority given to education and future planning  in the lives of  young people, in particular a lack of aspiration by professionals, which in turn impacted on  well-being, self-esteem and ambition. The participants wanted the same level of educational support and investment that the majority of their non-looked after peers receive, so that their aspirations could be nurtured and sustained as they moved forward  into adulthood and in order to realise their full potential.