Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children achieved five GCSEs graded A - C in each year for the last 10 years.

The number and percentage of looked-after children who achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C (or equivalent) in each year are shown in the table. Looked-after children are defined as those looked after continuously for at least 12 months as at 31 March of the year in which key stage 4 assessments were taken.

A large percentage (63%) of looked-after children enter care due to abuse or neglect. They often have disrupted experience of education and this pre-care experience can have a significant impact on their attainment. Looked-after children are almost 4 times more likely to have a special educational need than all children and are almost 10 times more likely to have a statement and education, health and care plan than all children. There is also a disproportionately high prevalence of social, emotional and mental health difficulties among looked-after children. We recognise these needs as well as the fact that looked-after children have top priority in school admissions and we expect them to be placed in good or outstanding schools.

Schools must appoint a designated teacher for looked-after children and local authorities must have a virtual school head who is accountable for the education attainment of all the children looked after by the authority. We have introduced the Pupil Premium Plus for looked-after children (£2300 per pupil), which is managed by the school head teacher, to deliver the outcomes in each looked-after child’s personal education plan.