• Sarah Wise, and others
• Anglicare Victoria

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Image: Shavar Ross / Flickr

01 July 2010Children in out-of-home care are changing schools often, repeating grades, dropping out early and suffering higher rates of mental and physical health conditions which limit their participation at school.

Education is a basic right of all children and young people, and is fundamental to living a full life. Being happy at school, engaging in learning and experiencing success is a big part of one’s quality of life in childhood. Success at school is also an essential ingredient for long-term positive outcomes into adulthood.

Despite the importance of a quality education, children and youth who live away from the families of their birth parents are known to experience poor education outcomes compared to children and young people in the community generally. Although Australian research is somewhat limited, the findings are unequivocal; children in out-of-home care perform academically below what is normal for their age, are at risk of ‘disengaging’ or are disengaged from school and often don’t achieve any academic qualification.

Deficiencies in educational functioning places out-of-home care children and youth at risk for continued difficulties in adulthood, including low income, incarceration and chronic problems with employment and housing.

Research into the impact of out-of-home care placement on education outcomes has highlighted several care-system factors that may operate to diminish children’s chances of success at school. These include; lack of participation in school-based opportunities and extra-curricula activities, disruption to educational continuity and school stability (caused by factors such as court appearances, placement changes and parental visitation), lack of co-ordination and planning between significant stakeholders responsible for children’s care, and inadequate commitment, encouragement and support for education among carers and caseworkers.

Yet, while the risks that operate within the care system are manifest, it is recognised that children may have accumulated considerable risks for education failure as a result of trauma and deprivation experienced prior to entering care. The quality and suitability of the school environment to manage, support and effectively engage children in out-of-home care in learning is another significant factor that appears to impact on education pathways and success at school.

Authors: Sarah Wise, Sarah Pollock, Gaye Mitchell, Cathy Argus, Peta Farquhar for Anglicare Victoria and Wesley Mission

Image: Shavar Ross / Flickr