May 2009
New government statistics reveal that the gap between the educational attainment of children in care and their peers has widened.
Figures from the Department for Children, Schools and Families for the 12 months to September 2008 show that the number of children in care achieving five A*-C GCSEs increased slightly, from 13% in 2007 to 14% in 2008.
However, the proportion of all children in this period achieving these grades rose from 62% to 65%.
Natasha Finlayson, chief executive of The Who Cares? Trust, said:
"Achieving five good GCSEs is the absolute minimum to ensure young people get a good start in life rather than facing a lifetime of social exclusion.
The proportion of children in care achieving this has risen by three per cent since 2005, and will only reach 17 per cent by 2011 if this pace of progress is maintained. This would mean that the government would fail to meet its 2011 target of 20% of children in care achieving five good GCSEs. It is a major concern that progress is so slow and the gap between those in care and not in care is widening."