Care experienced young people: 'I missed around half of school - I refused point-blank to go'

Care experienced young people are receiving as little as 30 minutes of education a week, according to a report.

Charity Who Cares? Scotland found that looked-after pupils face an exclusion rate almost six times higher than the average.

The research has been described as a “reality check” for those claiming Scotland is on track to keep The Promise to transform care by 2030.

It calls for an end to formal and informal exclusion for care experienced pupils.

STV News spoke to young people affected, including Honey, who has been in foster care for four years.

She’s recently been assigned an advocacy worker to ensure she has a say in her future, after missing out on around half of her education.

Honey said she missed her S3 exams. iStock

She said: “I missed probably half of my school because I didn’t go to my S3 exams. I barely went in.

“I just refused point-blank to even go into school.

“Even when I had a cut down timetable, I would still not go in. I’ve probably missed a huge bit of school.

“Going to school is a huge support system and having teachers that understand you help a lot. I’ve also just been given an advocacy worker.

“I think if I was younger, I would have benefited a lot from that if I had it before.

“When you’re a kid, it’s really hard to speak up in front of loads of strangers, in meetings because you don’t have that sort of confidence.

“Sometimes it’s just good to have someone that’s there for you and you know that they have the right thing planned for you.”

Nicola Killean, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, said: “Within the report we heard that there were some children and young people who were getting offered 30 minutes a week of education, sometimes in a room with minimal support and minimal engagement with other children, young people and the rest of the school.

“That’s really worrying.

“I’m calling for the Scottish Government to ensure that there is monitoring scrutiny of when these are happening, why they’re happening, and whether they are in the best interests of children and young people.”

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The Promise, set out in 2020, aimed to radically reform how young people are cared for in Scotland.

At the time, Nicola Sturgeon described The Promise as “one of the most important moments” in her time as First Minister, and the Scottish Government said it was committed to implementing the recommendations within a decade.

Louise Hunter, chief executive of Who Cares? Scotland, who produced the report, said: “Unfortunately, this tells us what we’ve known for a while that The Promise isn’t being kept for the vast majority of care experienced children, young people who had an education.

“That basic right to education is not being met. And that’s not what The Promise said.”

She added: “We know that are huge pressures on the workforce, on funding.

“The young people that we work for and speak to tell us that if they had someone who was in their corner helping them understand their rights, then they might have an opportunity to have those rights upheld.”

The Scottish Government insists exclusion should only be used as a last resort.

First Minister John Swinney said this week: “There are good examples in our education system about nurturing approaches, about inclusive practices that enable individuals to sustain their education.

“It is far preferable to exclusion and that will particularly relate to care experienced young people whose prospects and opportunities we need to address as a matter of urgency.”