Education is one of the areas where children from a care background face the steepest disadvantage.
The most recent DfE data shows that only 13.7% of children in care achieve grade 5 or above in GCSE English and Maths, compared with 45.4% of all pupils – a gap of nearly 32 percentage points.
Over 40% are persistently absent from school, and 61% have a special educational need, which is three times the rate in the general pupil population.
Those numbers don’t reflect a lack of ability. They reflect disruption – placement moves, school changes, trauma and the emotional weight of experiences that make sitting in a classroom feel impossible some days.
At Beaufort, working closely with schools is one of the most important parts of what our children’s home teams do. Here’s how that works.
Why Educational Continuity Matters So Much
Many of the children we support have had their schooling disrupted repeatedly before they arrive.
A change of placement often means a change of school, which means new teachers, new classmates, a new routine and the loss of whatever relationships were starting to form. For children who already find trust difficult, that cycle can make school feel like one more place where they don’t belong.
Maintaining stability wherever possible and managing transitions carefully when a school change is unavoidable makes a measurable difference to attendance, engagement and outcomes over time.
Keeping children safe in education is a shared responsibility between schools, social workers, the Beaufort Care Group team and the wider professional network around the child.
How Our Team Works Alongside School Staff
The relationship between our team and the school is central to how educational support works in practice.
Communication With SENCOs and Pastoral Leads
For children with special educational needs or emotional and behavioural difficulties, the school’s SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) and pastoral team are key points of contact.
Our team maintain regular communication with them, not solely at formal review meetings, but also on a day-to-day basis when needed.
Attendance Support
Getting a child to school is sometimes the hardest part of the day. For children dealing with anxiety, low self-esteem or negative associations with education, an emotional barrier can form.
Our team supports the morning routine, manages the school run and works with school staff to ensure arrival is as smooth as possible. Where attendance is a persistent challenge, we work with the school to develop solutions.
Personal Education Plans and Student Education Plans
Every looked-after child has a statutory Personal Education Plan (PEP), sometimes referred to as a student education plan, which sets out their educational targets, the support they need and how Pupil Premium Plus funding will be used to help them progress.
Our team contributes to PEP reviews alongside the school’s Designated Teacher, the child’s social worker and the Virtual School Head. The plan covers:
- Current attainment and progress against targets
- Any special educational needs and the provision in place to address them
- Attendance data and any barriers being addressed
- How the child’s emotional wellbeing is affecting their learning
- How PP+ funding is being used to support educational outcomes
The PEP is reviewed at least termly and more frequently when circumstances change. For our team, it’s one of the key documents that keeps education visible alongside the wider care plan.
Supporting Learning at Home
Education doesn’t stop at the school gate. Homework, reading, revision and simply having an environment where learning is valued all contribute to how a child engages with school.
In our homes, the team supports learning in whatever way the child needs. Helping with homework, providing a quiet space to study, encouraging reading and celebrating progress.
For children who’ve had little positive experience of education, sometimes the most important thing is an adult who takes an interest in what they’re learning and shows them it matters.
The Bigger Picture At Beaufort
Education is one piece of a much larger picture for the children we support. But it’s of course a vital piece and outcomes improve when the Beaufort Care team and the school work together rather than in parallel.
If you’d like to know more about how we work, our about us page covers our homes, our team and our therapeutic model. For referral enquiries, get in touch and we’ll talk through what we can offer.