Education makes a crucial contribution to the development and wellbeing of all children and young people and is an important gateway to future employment and life opportunities. For children and young people growing up in out-of-home care, education can provide a pathway out of disadvantage. However, numerous studies in Australia and overseas have found that children and young people growing up in care are at risk of poor educational outcomes including behavioural and disciplinary problems, higher rates of truancy, poor school grades and early school leaving.They are also less likely to progress to post-secondary education or training.

Improving education outcomes requires focused attention across all stages of a child’s education from the early years, through school-age education and support for further education and training. This paper reviews promising policy approaches being used in Australia and overseas. It identifies seven key action areas to promote improved educational outcomes for children and young people growing up in care in NSW.