Charities urge better teaching support for children in care

A number of leading children’s charities are calling on the government to overhaul teaching standards to ensure children with experience of care are better supported in school. The group, led by Adoption UK, says that children with experience of care need to be recognised by teachers and schools as a distinct group with specific needs, in the same way pupils with disabilities are. In a letter to schools minister Nick Gibb, the group is calling for amendments to teaching standards, to ensure they take into account the trauma children in care have faced through neglect and abuse. In addition, the group want to see behaviour policies in schools amended to ensure any sanctions are appropriate for children living with trauma. The group of charities say that children in care are more likely to have special educational needs, be excluded and leave school without any qualifications. Research by Adoption UK last year found that three quarters of adopted children in secondary school feel that their teachers do not fully understand them or support their needs. A survey last year of teachers by Become, another of the charities to sign the letter, found that 87 per cent of teachers had not had training regarding looked-after children before they qualified. Read more.