For all of us involved in the world of Foster care, expectations were high earlier in the year due to the foster care stock take and the review by the Department of Education. The prevailing mood amongst fostering agencies, charities and children’s services was that change was coming. Disappointment has followed, with the charity Fostering Network left concluding the stocktake been “a huge disappointment and a wasted opportunity.” What mustn’t be allowed to happen, is for pressure and scrutiny to succumb to inertia. Foster care agencies are increasingly becoming more professional in handling their communications and exerting pressure for both change and accountability. This can only be of benefit for the disadvantaged and vulnerable children whose interests they have to the fore.
Being a fully paid up member of the awkward squad is a useful role. We need people to challenge and argue against the status quo. Without them, policymakers would get the easiest of rides and we would all be schmoozed – without even realising it. Has anyone noticed how politicians of all stripes seem to affect concern after a particular story or issue has come to light? How can it be that they are always reactive as opposed to being proactive. There must be plenty of straws in the wind surrounding a whole host of issues that should have a galvanising effect, before the headline writers get started.
Foster carers need an education system that works for the children they care for
It has to be the responsibility of any organisation involved in looking after the interests of children – in whatever way – to maintain a close watch on what is happening in our education system. Today is the GCSE results day. We have a new grading system which; apart from sowing confusion, seems to have disrupted the mental well-being of numerous youngsters. Those involved with the provision of foster care are closest to some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the country. The hopes of these children rest on being looked after by foster carers with the dedication and motivation to support them through their schooling. So, the most committed foster carer must be able to rely on an education system that supports their efforts: one that is resourced and managed to accomplish this. So how well are our schools performing?
In December 2017, it was reported that results from international school tests in reading produced a strong showing from two participating education systems – those of England and Northern Ireland. The two countries were placed in the top ten of a global schools ranking. This apparently impressive performance placed England in joint eight place International Reading literacy Study (Pirls) run in primary schools every five years. Does this really tell us anything? It seems like may not have been compared with like: the much lauded system in Finland, sees its pupils being tested when they are on average a year older than lower ranked countries such as Italy and France.
Set against this, the OECD’s respected Pisa rankings in 2016 pained a disturbing picture UK education standards. Based on tests sat by fifteen year olds in over seventy countries, the UK was rated 27th in maths and 22nd in reading. Science was the UK’s most successful subject up from 21st to fifteenth place.
Singapore came top in the rankings and this only after becoming an independent country in 1965 – a phenomenal achievement. The country was amongst the world’s poorest, but these results; placing Singapore in the number one spot, surpassed those of the wealthiest countries in Europe, North America and Asia. Should we be surprised? Teachers are recruited from the top five percent of graduates who are receiving training at the National Institute of Education. Their education system is centralised and all the better for it, going by the OECD results.
At the time, the response to the rankings from England’s School Standards Minister, Nick Gibb, was to describe the results as a “useful insight”. It certainly was, but perhaps not in the way he meant. We have been given a glimpse of a system that delivers. It is one where only the very best individuals make it to become teachers. The approach is consistent, and whilst it may be centralised, it certainly hasn’t become politicised in the way education in the UK has over the decades. Policies have come and gone dreamt up by various interest groups and experts – even this year the examination grading system has been tinkered with yet again. What has been the result – certainly not getting close to the achievements seen in Singapore and Finland. Worse, education in the UK has become an ideological battleground, and this does not look like changing anytime soon. Huge pressure has been created within a system that affects children, parents and teachers. The paradox has been that without the correct policies in place to ensure rising standards, this has nonetheless become the Holy Grail.
What is being witnessed in our education system are a series of consequences that can only be regarded as outlandish. The shortage of teachers means that schools draw heavily on supply teachers. This means a lack of continuity for pupils in the classroom. There is research that indicates teacher absence impacts negatively on test scores. However good supply teachers may be, learning is disrupted and this is the equivalent of relying on teachers who are in the bottom fifteen per cent of the profession. Just recall: in Singapore all teachers come from the top five percent of graduates.
Foster care: the cost of inadequate school funding
The way schools are financed is coming under the spotlight. Claims are made that spending is being increased. The reality is, even if the numbers going into teaching were sufficient, many school heads say they lack the money to employ them. More money may be being spent, but rising costs in other areas such as new pension rules and increases in NI contributions, account for it. Valentine Mulholland, head of policy at the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), says this, “adds up to a real-terms cut of about 8%, even after the government found £1.3bn down the back of a settee last July,” And worse still – “We’ve still got an issue that is becoming chronic – 80% of our members say they have no idea how they’ll make their budgets balance in two years.”
What is especially worrying is that such funding shortfalls means, according to the NAHT, access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services is being restricted. Youngsters most in need of support from educational psychologists and speech and language therapists are denied help. This in many instances leads to disruptive behaviour. Valentine Mulholland says “We can attribute the rise in exclusion to children not getting the right support early enough.” The University of Edinburgh has produced research that shows children who are excluded at the age of twelve are four times as likely to be jailed as adults. And just to complete a perfect storm, school exclusions have been running at a significantly higher rate: one in five teachers has witnessed their school excluding pupils in order to improve results. This is according to a new survey which describes the practice as “off rolling.” This can only mean the most vulnerable – which will certainly take in foster children presenting with behavioural issues – are at significant risk of being excluded. We live in strange times: we are presented with the mirage of raised standards and results – an illusion dependent upon excluding the most disadvantaged children. It shouldn’t be this way: on average mainstream secondary schools receive £6,000 per child. By contrast, the average special needs school receives around £23,000 per child – a huge difference. The obvious point to be made is, could exclusion rates in mainstream schools be reduced if children in the ‘at risk’ group were funded at this rate – or even something approaching it? Perhaps this is something the children’s minister, Nadhim Zahawi could consider. He has welcomed both the foster care stocktake and the DfE review. These made recommendations designed to embed best practice throughout the system. Nothing wrong with that. But what has to be questioned, is the lack of any attempt to link these growing external pressures -and their effects – on the system. Failing to do this will betray the interests and future prospects of vulnerable children whose numbers are increasing. This is when the government’s own statistics, published 29th March 2018, states the numbers of approved foster care households has continued to decrease steadily.* And although an increase was seen of 9% in applications between 2016 – 2017, the rate off conversions of completed applications leading to ‘Approvals’ dropped from 57 per cent to 49 per cent.
Did anyone notice whether the authors of the foster care stocktake set a date for the next review?
It looks like the need could soon become pressing.
There were 43,710 approved fostering households – 31 March 2017, representing a 1% decrease from last year (44,320). The overall number has decreased by 2% since March 2014 to 44,780.
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You only need a spare room and plenty of compassion and understanding to foster a child?
Rainbow’s foster care services have clocked up more than twenty plus years experience making foster homes available for children who need them. Along the way, our foster carers have experienced the rewards foster care offers. They know they have made a key and lasting difference to some very vulnerable young people. Our foster carers benefit from one of the most generous foster carer packages there are. We are the right size of foster agency to ensure swift and responsive levels of support. We are a community and it always feels like it.
Basic foster care requirements
If you are thinking of becoming a foster carer with us, you have to be a British citizen, or have permanent leave to remain here. To foster with Rainbow, you also need to be over 21 with a spare room available. Professional experience working with children can be helpful, but it is not a prerequisite.
How we approach foster carer at Rainbow Fostering
At Rainbow, we all share the belief that childhood is a unique time. It’s one when the foundations for a happy and successful future life are created. The hard work and dedication of our foster carers creates these essential foundations. They open the door to opportunity for our children and young people.
We work very much as a team a Rainbow. We strive to support the educational attainment, health and happiness of all our children – as well as our foster carers – since we provide excellent training opportunities. Join us today and reap the benefits of our years experience in foster care – now more than twenty. We are recruiting across London – as well as Manchester and Birmingham. You can call 020 8427 3355 or use our 0330 311 2845 (foster care National Line).
All blogs written by Will Saunders: Rainbow Fostering – Content Management/Marketing
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