7 Background
7.1 The local authority's responsibility for a child who is looked after away from home has been likened to that of a corporate parent. Effective discharge of this responsibility requires the involvement of carers, professionals from a range of agencies, and parents and relatives, as appropriate. For this network to function effectively, all should:
The following diagram outlines the network of partnerships which support children looked after away from home.
Evaluation and recommendations
School staff and carers
7.2 The working relationships between school staff and carers were generally positive and strong. Schools treated carers as if they were parents for all school-related purposes. Schools generally spoke very highly of the support they received from carers and vice versa, although a few residential units were commented on less favourably. Carers generally attended parents’ evenings although some would not attend if the child's parent was attending. Carers usually contacted schools appropriately with any issues concerning the child, for instance if there had been a particular occurrence which might lead a child to have a difficult day in school. Schools were positive about the level of contact.
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Dawn (15) is the mother of a one-year-old child. She had a difficult pregnancy and missed at least 6 months of school. She received no home tuition during this period although the school did try to arrange it. Dawn and her son live with a foster carer, and Dawn takes her son to nursery on her way to school. She found settling back in to school after her child’s birth difficult and there was a period when she was truanting and not doing homework. Regular monitoring meetings between Dawn, her foster carer, social worker and guidance teacher resulted in much improved attendance and application to work. School staff described Dawn’s foster carer as having done a "wonderful job" and her social worker as being very regularly in touch, open, helpful and supportive. Dawn obtained 6 Standard Grade awards, 3 at Credit, 2 at General and one at Foundation. She wants to be a hairdresser. |
7.3 In a small number of cases, there were poor relationships between some school staff and carers. In these cases, there was a common pattern of the carers becoming increasingly concerned that the child was being treated inappropriately and of them being dissatisfied with the responses they received from schools. The carers would usually, and appropriately, then ask the child's social worker to intervene with the school. This was not always viewed positively by the school and, in one case, the social worker was informed in writing that the school would not discuss a complaint with her. Resolution of such conflicts could take many months or even years and some remained unresolved at the time of the inspection. In most cases, the carers’ concerns had some foundation. In these circumstances schools required to be less defensive, and to consider carers’ and social workers’ concerns dispassionately. They also needed greater awareness of the role of social workers in looked after children's lives.
School staff and social workers
7.4 Partnerships between social workers and school staff were mixed in quality although, encouragingly, both considered that relationships had improved over recent years. As outlined in paragraph 7.3, social workers in a small number of cases found themselves in conflict with school staff. As might be expected, working relationships were generally best where there was regular contact between school staff and social workers. Regular joint meetings involving the social worker, guidance teacher, young person and carer were held for some young people in order to try to resolve difficulties, and were generally successful in doing so. Some social workers acted as advocates for children over such issues as unhappiness with a particular subject or teacher, bullying, reducing the length of exclusion or obtaining auxiliary support. This advocacy was often successful and was usually acceptable to schools provided there was already an established relationship of trust. The advocacy role becomes less necessary as collaboration between social workers and school staff becomes more effective.
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Janet (16) has significant physical and learning disabilities. She attends a mainstream secondary school where she has auxiliary help both to push her wheelchair between classrooms and to assist in overcoming her lack of manual dexterity in written work. The school has obtained advice and resources from physiotherapists and occupational therapists to ensure that Janet is safe in school and that her ability to participate is maximised. Janet’s foster home is a considerable distance from the school. Taxi transport has been a problem as Janet is the first of a number of children to be picked up and she is frequently uncomfortable and tired by the time she reaches school. Janet’s social worker has tried to get the taxi arrangements altered, but without success. He was successful in obtaining a grant for Janet to have a computer at home, which is well used. Janet’s foster carers and social worker are in regular touch with the school. They were particularly concerned that Janet was doing so much homework that she was becoming exhausted. This concern was met through a mutual agreement that she should drop one Standard Grade course and get extra homework time in school. Her social worker negotiated with the hospital to ensure that planned surgery would not coincide with her Standard Grade examinations. She obtained 7 Standard Grade awards, 4 at General and 3 at Foundation. She hopes to go to college to do secretarial training. |
7.5 There were more differences within authorities than between authorities in the level and nature of the contact between schools and social workers. Most social workers took a considerable interest in the education of looked after children but many of them focussed insufficiently on attainment or advocacy. They rarely received end-of-session reports or other information from schools. Some of the social workers were shown these reports by carers or children. They should receive the reports directly from schools so that they have accurate information concerning the child's progress, behaviour and attendance.
7.6 Although the children were generally under-achieving in relation to their peers, it was found that, in all authorities, social workers generally lacked knowledge about the attainment of their children and tended to overestimate their abilities. In the case of one girl in P6, the social worker described her as "doing very well", when in fact the girl was attaining appropriately in English language (Level C17) but was about 2 years behind in mathematics (Level B18). In another case, the social worker thought a child was "doing reasonably well" when in fact she received regular learning support in school and was one of the lowest attaining in the class. A secondary pupil was described by her social worker as "an able girl academically" when the picture provided by the school was of a pupil who was a slow worker and who had been referred for learning support with her written work. Social workers often appeared not to understand the system of attainment levels in the 5-14 curriculum. In a significant minority of cases the social workers appeared to have no detailed knowledge of how particular children were progressing, as they received limited information on their progress from the schools. Social workers should be provided with professional development to enable them to satisfy themselves that high, but realistic, expectations are set for the looked after children for whom they have responsibilities. They should have regular, accurate information about children's attainments.
Social workers and carers
7.7 Social workers were generally very positive about the parental role carers maintained with schools. A social worker described a foster carer as "wanting the child to feel like an achiever not an under-achiever. They want him to feel good about himself as they know how bad he felt about himself (in the past)". Many social workers indicated that they had delegated the school contact role partly or entirely to the carers, although such delegation and its limitations were not always explicitly spelt out. In one authority, a decision had been reached that residential carers would have the main liaison role with schools. The responsibilities associated with this action were regularly discussed at unit manager and team meetings. There was a minority of carers, particularly relative carers, who required more social work support to play a parental role with the school. This requirement was not due to lack of commitment on their part but more to age and sometimes infirmity, lack of knowledge of the school curriculum and, for some, lack of confidence and over-deference to teachers.
Relationships with parents
7.8 Parents retained parental responsibilities for the vast majority of children in the sample. The majority of children had contact with one or sometimes both parents. It was expected, therefore, that parents would be involved in their child’s education, at the very least receiving school end-of-session reports and regular news about their child’s progress. In 3 of the 5 authorities these arrangements were not working well. Many school staff seemed uncertain how to deal with the parents. They seemed unaware of parents retaining legal rights and that they might be entitled to information. They were not aware of the need for parents to sign consent forms for outings and immunisations.
7.9 Social workers and carers, particularly residential workers, were more likely to involve parents in the education of their looked after children. Some would give parents regular news of their child’s educational progress, invite them to parents' evenings and school events, and show them end-of-session reports. Nevertheless, there was insufficient consistency or rationale about efforts to involve parents. Sometimes children had been consulted about the involvement of their parents. On some occasions this had resulted in parents not being invited to a parents' evening because the child was worried about the adverse impression their parents might make on the school or their peers. Consultation with children is a sound principle but care must be taken not to distance the parents from appropriate involvement in their children's education.
7.10 In a small number of cases in the sample, parents were having intensive contact with their children involving overnight stays. School staff sometimes found these situations confusing and did not know to whom letters concerning future events should be sent or how homework arrangements should be made. Some young people were also concerned that these arrangements might disadvantage them educationally. One young person found it difficult to find time for homework because of frequent visits to her mother and social worker. Most of these problems were not insurmountable but required better communication among all concerned.
7.11 Fourteen parents returned questionnaires. Whilst these parents may not be representative of all parents having contact with their looked after children their views are important. The majority felt excluded from their children’s education, receiving little information about their child’s progress in school and rarely or never being invited to school events. However, they remained interested in their children’s education and wanted to be as supportive as possible. Some felt that the social work services had not been sufficiently active in trying to ensure that their child had an appropriate education and that this had jeopardised their child’s future career prospects. The minority of parents who felt more involved tended to make much more positive comments both about social workers and the schools their children were attending. Unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary, parents having contact with their children should receive regular information about their children’s progress in school including end-of-session reports. More positive consideration should be given to encouraging their attendance at school events.
Children's Hearings
7.12 Reporters and Children’s Panel Chairs mainly spoke favourably about foster carers and the educational support which they provided. The Reporters and Chairs in 4 of the authorities, raised a number of concerns about the education of looked after children. These included:
7.13 Reporters and Chairs reported some delays in receiving reports, particularly from social workers, which sometimes led to cases being continued. Social work reports to Children's Hearings and reviews did not always outline the child’s educational progress. When they did so, they were sometimes too vague to be helpful. A pro-forma was supplied to schools by the Hearing. However, the questions on educational attainment related mostly to Standard Grades and were sometimes left blank for younger children. There is a need for questions about attainment in the 5-14 curriculum. The level of attendance of teachers at Children's Hearings varied from about 90% in one authority to less than 50% in another. Where a teacher is not in attendance, the Reporter and Panel members do not always have sufficient knowledge of the curriculum to know whether or not the child’s attainment is a cause for concern. Reporters and Panel members should have good opportunities to learn about developments in education, particularly in the curriculum.
7.14 Attendance at Hearings was an anxious ordeal for a number of the younger children, especially for those who did not wish to return home and who felt under pressure from parents to say in the Hearing that they wanted more contact or to return home. Their anxiety manifested itself in tearfulness, nightmares and sleepwalking, extreme reluctance to attend the Hearing or agitation in the Hearing. In some cases, schools were aware of these anxieties, either because the child discussed them in school or because of the child's behaviour. The Reporters and Chairs were generally reluctant to excuse children from attending Hearings because they felt it was important that they should hear their views. One Reporter and Chair said they would excuse a child if he or she was seriously unhappy about attending and they would try to ensure they found out the child’s views in other ways, for example by tape recording or letter. This statement, whilst welcome and in keeping with the Children's Hearing (Scotland) Rules 1996, did not match with the experiences of any of the sample children in the authority. Where children subject to supervision requirements, are distressed by attendance at Hearings, a range of alternative ways of finding out their views should be explored. Arrangements should be in place to alert schools to children's anxieties about forthcoming Hearings so that additional support can be provided to children if required.
7.15 In a number of cases decisions had been reached at a review of the care plan to apply for a Parental Responsibilities Order (PRO), and in one case for an Adoption Order. In these circumstances, supervision requirements and the associated attendance of the child at Hearings were no longer appropriate. However often applications were delayed, in 2 cases for as much as 4 years, ostensibly because of workload pressures. Ironically, the making of a PRO or Adoption Order might have reduced the subsequent social work time required in these cases. Where it has been decided to apply for Parental Responsibilities Orders and Adoption Orders, greater priority should be given to expediting applications.
Main recommendations 5 and 6
Local authorities should develop an integrated policy covering education and social work which ensures that the educational needs of looked after children are met effectively. They should also provide joint professional development for education and social work staff, and carers, to ensure that they are able to contribute effectively towards the implementation of the policy. (7.6, 8.5, 9.6, 9.10)
Unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary, parents having contact with their children should receive regular information about their children’s progress in school including end-of-session reports. (7.11)