There are stark regional divides in the numbers of young people who have grown up in care going on to higher education, new research shows.
Care-experienced children in some areas in London are over four times more likely to progress after 18 than those living in some other areas in England, according to a new report.
Experts have called on local authorities, universities, colleges, and national policymakers to identify and learn from areas with higher participation rates.
This should include strengthening support before and after Key Stage 4 and ensure every care-experienced young person who wishes to pursue higher education has a genuine opportunity to do so.
Overall participation remains too low, at around 13 per cent. This compared to nearly 50 per cent of those who had not grown up in the care system.
The report, by Professor Neil Harrison, from the University of Exeter, was produced for the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers. Professor Harrison used pooled data about children in care between 2006/07 to 2020/21, drawing from the Children Looked After Dataset, the National Pupil Database and the Higher Education Statistics Agency Dataset.
Regional rates ranged from 9 per cent in the East Midlands and South West to 21 per cent in London. At local authority level, rates range from 6 per cent in the North East Lincolnshire to 27 per cent in Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea.
Denise Rawls, Executive Director, NNECL, said: "Too many care-experienced young people face a difficult and uncertain future when they leave formal schooling. The transition to adulthood is too often characterised by instability and anxiety. Without the family networks and support systems that many of their peers can rely upon, the journey beyond education can feel isolating and overwhelming.
"The report shows being identified as a priority group does not, in itself, improve participation. Progress depends on the quality, consistency and ambition of the support available"
Professor Harrison said, "This is the first time that we have been able to look in detail at what is happening for care-experienced young people at the local level. We see stark differences in the likelihood of young people progressing to higher education depending on where they live. While there are demographic factors at work, this analysis also makes clear that local practice matters in understanding educational pathways and access to opportunities."
"It is important to recognise that many different organisations contribute to the educational trajectories of care-experienced young people. While this new study is framed around local authority areas, it is the overall educational ecosystem that matters. Local authorities themselves are only part of the jigsaw."
Care-experienced young people were more likely to access higher education in areas where it is culturally normalised, where Key Stage 4 attainment is higher, and where communities are more ethnically diverse. This accounted for some, but not all, of the London uplift in participation rates.
At the individual level, a care-experienced young person's likelihood of accessing higher education was significantly influenced by Key Stage 4 attainment, sex and ethnicity, whether they have special educational needs or disabilities and whether they are an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child. For example, care-experienced young women (17%) were nearly twice as likely as men (9%) to participate in higher education.
NNECL is calling for:
• A revised UK-wide minimum offer from Local Authorities, ensuring all care experienced young people have access to meaningful educational support and clear pathways into further and higher education.
• An extension of Local Authority support for care leavers engaged in education from age 25 to age 30.
• A mandatory baseline standard of training for Personal Advisors on post-16 education pathways for care-experienced young people.
