Being involved in the delivery of Foster care services offers a unique vantage point. Foster carers are working tirelessly to do their best for some of the most disadvantaged children in society. It is only a few months since the foster care stocktake reported its findings. And what it had to say will, of course, carry considerable weight with government. But it should be pointed out that fostering children does not occur in a vacuum in society. There are trends – current and past – that have effects which resonate today. Providing caring, loving homes for foster children is not just about bricks and mortar. Fostering and caring should be synonymous: once a child has a roof over their head, the next most important priority is their education. Many children who come into foster care do so from families that are dysfunctional – at least as far as providing a nurturing experience. Worse still, many children being fostered have had to overcome the trauma of abuse and neglect. The hope is that once these experiences can be put behind them, they will be able to create; with support, a future that enables the fullest participation in society. This should be the gold standard as far as fostering outcomes are concerned. And, as far as this goes, there is no more important a subject than education. It is; or should be, the escape route from disadvantage. But what if we have a system that is not delivering for children generally, far less those unfortunate enough to find themselves in foster care? Then it is incumbent on all who are involved in the provision of foster care to pay heed to what is going on in the education system. It is important to call attention to deficiencies that will limit the life chances of vulnerable children in foster care. Foster carers do the most amazing work – and we have some of the very best. But they have to be supported by an education system that is flexible enough to eradicate disadvantages foster children face.

For a considerable period we have drawn attention to the educational inequality that children now face – especially those in the care system. But the difficulty for politicians of all stripes is that the ‘Truth will out’. The nature of this most recent, and deeply paradoxical truth, is worth a brief and apposite digression: we are blessed in this country in that we have a marvellous literary tradition. This phrase itself comes from the quill of perhaps the finest wordsmith there has ever been –  William Shakespeare. It is from ‘The Merchant of Venice’ – 1596 Lancelot:

“Nay, indeed, if you had your eyes, you might fail of the knowing me: it is a wise father that knows his own child. Well, old man, I will tell you news of your son: give me your blessing: truth will come to light; murder cannot be hid long; a man’s son may, but at length the truth will out.”

Foster carers and parents must not be scapegoated

The latest startling truth to emerge is that over a quarter of children starting primary school are unable to communicate in full sentences. How has this come about? Well, Damian Hinds, Education Secretary, will shortly be addressing parents’ worries about screen time. It is more or less a given that parents allowing very young children unlimited time on computers and tablets will have serious consequences. But the Education Secretary should also; before too much focus is placed on blaming parents, urgently address research cited in the press today:

“children with a poor vocabulary aged five are more than twice as likely to be unemployed at age 34 as children with a good vocabulary.”

This is damning for it shows, if nothing else, that these children have been failed by an education system unable to redress such a situation. The Education Secretary; not unsurprisingly, would rather talk about technology – 

“Whilst there are legitimate worries about screen time, media and modern technology can also help to raise awareness and build parents’ confidence around what they can do to help their child’s early language development.”

We have to accept; and there will be many reasons for this, that some parents are never going to play the kind of role that Damian Hinds wants them too. The inescapable conclusion is that after decades of political wrangling and ideological in-fighting, we still do not have an education system that is fit for purpose. Another inconvenient truth supporting this view is:

“The attainment gap between children in care and their peers in reading, writing and maths has been rising at key stage 1 since 2010. The proportion of care leavers who are not in education, employment or training has risen from 32% in 2010 to 40% last year.”

These are big numbers. One wonders if the authors of the recent fostering stocktake are perturbed by the information that is now coming out. They should be as a UCAS report from back in 2013 – ‘Looked after Children & Care Leavers’, found that only 6% of ‘looked after children’ and care leavers in England were found to have been in higher education. This compared to approximately 40% of the general population. Also to be considered: a 2016 OECD study of basic skills ranked England lowest in the developed world for literacy. So what is emerging now can hardly have come as a shock to the luminaries presiding over the foster care stocktake.

It would be much more productive if the Education Secretary thought about why it is the education system in Finland produces results that far outstrip ours. In the light of these recent figures, and true to form, the opposition in the person of shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, elects to play the blame game:

“The measure of our education system should be the support that it offers to the most vulnerable children, and the steps we take to level the playing field between them and their more affluent peers. Quite simply, the Conservatives are failing this test.”

Perhaps she should be ruminating on the fact that many of the trendy educational theories so beloved of the Left, have much to answer for. It is a sad irony that we have in this country an educational establishment staffed with ‘experts’ whose collective input, it must be presumed had, in 2016, left us ranked lowest in the developed world for literacy. Non of this infrastructure of elites and purveyors of dogma appears to be necessary in a country like Finland. Who has lost out from all of this? As Labour says; forgetting their own years in power and responsibility, the most vulnerable children. The truth is that both parties have failed those least fortunate over years of claims and counter claims. Nowhere, it appears, did anyone bother looking to the continent to see what works there.

There is another sublime irony to be recorded: researchers based at the University of Leicester reported in 2017 that had a mere three per cent more of the population gone to university, the United Kingdom would most probably not now be leaving the EU. All the political parties; Left, Centre and Right are now embroiled in this the most problematic issue the country has faced in generations. And being unprecedented, it is increasingly looking like being beyond the abilities of the parties to come up with a solution – especially as they cannot agree amongst themselves. Behind closed doors, they may now be ruing the day so much time was wasted arguing about standards, tests and failed methodologies. This collective failure, if the numbers are to be believed, has saddled the country with Brexit.

So what is left: to create the impression that parents are to blame because they do not monitor the amount of time their children spend on computers. This doesn’t hold water. The government has to explain why there is a recruitment and retention crisis in our schools. There are systemic problems and teachers walking out of the profession provides no clearer indication that this is so. It is difficult to imagine teachers in Finland leaving schools in droves. What is especially alarming – especially considering the harrowing travails of many foster children, is the rising incidence of mental illness and unhappiness amongst young people.

So returning to the thoughts of another great wordsmith, Groucho Marx: “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.”

All blogs written by Will Saunders: Rainbow Fostering – Content Management/Marketing

Picture credit: Upsplash – Aaron Burden

If you want to foster, foster with Rainbow

Rainbow fostering is a leading independent foster care agency which has been providing fostering services for twenty years. We have offices in London, Manchester and Birmingham. At Rainbow, we value our foster carers and strive to support them at all times. The training we offer is tailored to the ambitions of our foster carers and applicants. At the moment we are especially interested in speaking with people interested in offering foster care for teenagers and sibling groups. In addition, we are offering training in therapeutic foster care. Please call us on 020 8427 3355 or 0330 311 2845 for details on this or any other aspect of foster care you want to discuss. There are some good reasons to transfer to Rainbow if you are an existing foster carer. Talk to one of our recruitment specialists to find out if you may be eligible for a special bonus payment. Catch up on stories relating to foster care on our website: https://bit.ly/2MjkBNc

The post Foster a sense of the truth about educational attainment appeared first on Rainbow.