Education Outcomes for Looked After Children 2023/24

Background

Sources and coverage

This document summarises the education outcomes of Scotland’s looked after children. It links information from:

• Looked After Children statistics, 2023/24
• Looked After Children longitudinal data, comprised of looked after children annual datasets dating back to 2008/9
• School Leaver Initial Destination Data, 2025
• School Leaver Follow-up Destination Data, 2025
• Achievement of Curriculum Excellence (CfE) levels, 2023/24

The looked after children data held by the Children and Families statistics team is linked to the educational outcomes data using a child’s Scottish Candidate Numer (SCN). However, local authorities cannot always supply, or may not hold, an SCN for every looked after child. For example, children might not have an SCN if they have been educated at home, in an independent school, or outside Scotland. It may also not be possible for an SCN to be provided for a child if they have left school.

We estimate that the SCNs provided by local authorities represented 92.2% of the possible matched records for school-age children in the latest year. By imputing data from the previous years, we estimate that 93.2% of looked after school-aged children had matchable SNCs. There was variation between local authorities in the percentage of SCNs provided, ranging from 82.7% to 100% (Table 5.1). Last year, the SCN coverage after processing was 92.7%, and shows a pattern of increased coverage year on year since it was first reported in 2016/17, when total SCNs after processing was 78.4%.

Table 5.1 SCNs for matching by local authority

Percentage of children aged 5 to 15 with a SCN available by local authority, 2023/24.

Local Authority	SCN provided in 2023/24	Total SCNs after processing
Aberdeen City	97.8	97.8
Aberdeenshire	95.0	95.0
Angus	93.3	93.3
Argyll and Bute	94.9	94.9
City of Edinburgh	76.7	84.6
Clackmannanshire	92.0	92.0
Dumfries and Galloway	92.5	92.8
Dundee City	78.3	82.7
East Ayrshire	89.9	90.6
East Dunbartonshire	95.5	95.5
East Lothian	94.3	94.3
East Renfrewshire	84.8	84.8
Falkirk	91.3	92.0
Fife	96.8	96.8
Glasgow City	94.6	94.6
Highland	91.8	92.7
Inverclyde	93.0	94.6
Midlothian	99.4	99.4
Moray	89.4	93.2
Na h-Eileanan Siar	100.0	100.0
North Ayrshire	85.4	86.2
North Lanarkshire	96.0	96.2
Orkney Islands	95.8	95.8
Perth and Kinross	97.9	97.9
Renfrewshire	98.5	98.5
Scottish Borders	97.9	97.9
Shetland Islands	100.0	100.0
South Ayrshire	96.4	96.4
South Lanarkshire	89.0	89.3
Stirling	91.4	91.4
West Dunbartonshire	90.0	90.9
West Lothian	98.0	98.0
Scotland	92.2	93.2

Methodology

Matching looked after children data to school outcomes

Annual data on looked after children provided to Scottish Government includes the SCN for each child, where available. This is used to link information on looked after children to various data from schools, held by Scottish Government. Data are based only on pupils where there was a match on SCN and the age of the child in the looked after children dataset was appropriate for the stage associated with the SCN in the matched dataset. For example, if there was a record in the looked after children dataset for a ten-year-old that matched a record in schools’ data for a pupil in S4, this record would be excluded from the analysis.

There are more children looked after within the last year, since 12 or between ages 5 and 12, than those matched in this publication. Children might not have a SCN if they have been educated at home, in an independent school, outside Scotland, or have already left school. Of looked after children aged 5 to 15 years old, 93.2% had a valid SCN present (Table 5.1) in the latest year.

Previously looked after children

The coverage of looked after children has been reviewed for this year’s publication. After engagement with users of the statistics, the ‘care-experienced’ categories have been changed from those included in the two previous iterations of this report. We have included three categories to describe previously-looked after children in this report: (1) children who were looked after within the year, (2) children who were most recently looked after after turning 12 years old, and not in the last year; and (3) children who were most recently looked after between the ages of 5 and 12.

An important development in using these categories is that they are mutually exclusive and are based on each child’s most recent episode of care. This addresses feedback received on previous reports that considerable overlap between these categories made interpretation of the statistics difficult. A series of further actions was also agreed to further develop the statistics. This includes developing analysis on looked after duration, and consideration of expanding attainment analysis from National Qualifications to All SCQF qualifications.

The dataset is created by compiling record-level datasets going back to 2008/09 and linking up children’s care journeys throughout time. Children are not allocated an SCN until they start school, meaning that if a child is looked after before starting school and then never again, an SCN is not available in the looked after children dataset, and linkage to education datasets is not possible. For this reason, we are unable to include analysis of this group of children in this report, and the statistics only cover children who had been looked after for some duration since age 5 (at which point, they would have an SCN).

Definitions 

Looked after children

Local Authorities have a responsibility to provide support to certain vulnerable young people, known as looked after children. A young person may become looked after for a number of reasons, including neglect, mental, physical or emotional abuse, parental substance misuse or poor parenting skills, complex disabilities which require specialist care, or involvement in the youth justice system. The definition of a 'looked after child' is set out in section 17(6) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 ("the 1995 Act"), as amended by the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 ("the 2007 Act") and Children's Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 ("the 2011 Act"). Information on the process by which children come to be looked after and associated legislation is available on the Scottish Government website.

Supervision Requirements

A children's hearing is a lay tribunal which considers and makes decisions on the welfare of the child or young person before them, taking into account all the circumstances including any offending behaviour. The hearing has to decide on the measures of supervision which are in the best interests of the child or young person. If the hearing concludes compulsory measures of supervision are necessary, it will make a Supervision Requirement which will determine the type of placement for the child. In most cases the child will continue to live at home but will be under the supervision of a social worker. In some cases, the hearing will decide that the child should live away from home with relatives or other carers.

Placement types

Community placements include:

• at home with parent(s): at home with parent(s) or ‘relevant person(s)’ as defined in Section 93(2)(b) of the Children’s (Scotland) Act 1995
• with friends/relatives: placed with friends or relatives who are not approved foster carers. Also referred to as ‘kinship care’
• with foster carers provided by the local authority
• with foster carers purchased by the local authority
• with prospective adopters
• other community: such as supported accommodation, hospital (e.g. at birth).

Residential placements include:

• local authority home: in local authority children’s home/hostel, local authority home/hostel for children with learning disabilities, local authority home/hostel for physically disabled children
• voluntary home: in voluntary children’s home/hostel, in voluntary home/hostel for children with learning disabilities, in voluntary home/hostel for physically disabled children
• residential school: in local authority residential school (home/hostel), in voluntary residential school (home/hostel), in private school, in independent school
• Secure accommodation
• crisis care: for example: in women’s refuge, in local authority hostel for offenders, in voluntary hostel for offenders, in local authority hostel for drug/alcohol abusers, in voluntary hostel for drug/alcohol abusers
• other residential: a known residential setting but does not fit with one of the above.

Scottish Candidate Number

A Scottish Candidate Number (SCN) is a unique number created by the Scottish Qualifications Authority and assigned to each child by their school when then enter the Scottish School Education System (usually in Primary 1).

School leaver

A young person of school leaving age who left a publicly funded secondary school during or at the end of the school year. Age of school leavers was calculated as of 30 June 2022. Young people of school leaving age who left a publicly funded special school are not counted in this publication.

School leaver attainment

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) is used as the basis for reporting attainment. The SCQF is Scotland’s national qualifications framework which allows broad comparisons to be made between qualifications at a similar level of difficulty. The SCQF level indicates the level of difficulty of a particular qualification. It allows learners, employers, and the public in general to understand the range of skills and learning that should be achieved at each level.

Attainment statistics, from 2022/23, have been published for National Qualifications, and now also for a new All SCQF Qualifications measure. The new measure includes National Qualifications, as well as other qualifications provided by the Scottish Qualifications Authority and other providers. This is intended to reflect the range of qualification types undertaken in schools, given that attainment in a broader range of qualifications has increased in recent years. Further information is available in the latest attainment statistics.

In this report, attainment statistics are based on National Qualifications to preserve existing time series. Any change to this approach in future years will be decided based on consultation with users.

School leaver destinations

School leaver destination data is sourced from the ‘Opportunities for All’ shared dataset which is managed and hosted by Skills Development Scotland (SDS).

Destinations data collected by SDS using a combination of administrative data sharing by partners, contact centre follow up and the traditional follow up by operational staff. More information is available from the latest Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations publication.

Destinations are grouped in the following categories within this statistical bulletin.

Illustration 2 Positive and other destinations

 

Positive destinations include higher education, further education, training, voluntary work, employment or are undertaking personal skills development. Between 2010/11 and 2017/18 positive destinations also include Activity Agreements. Other destinations include unemployed seeking, unemployed not seeking, and unknown.

The categories for post-school leaver destinations are defined below:

• Higher Education includes leavers following HND (Higher National Diploma) or HNC (Higher National Certificate) courses, degree courses, courses for the education and training of teachers and higher level courses for professional qualifications. It includes programmes at a level higher than the standard of the National Qualifications, i.e. above SCQF Level 7. Leavers with a deferred, unconditional place in higher education have also been included in this category.
• Further Education includes leavers undertaking full-time education which is not higher education and who are no longer on a school roll. This may include National Qualifications.
• Training includes leavers who are on a training course and in receipt of an allowance or grant, such as the Employability Fund national training programme. It also includes leavers who are on local authority or third sector funded training programmes that are in receipt of a training allowance or those participating in Community Jobs Scotland. From 2018/19, this category includes school leavers receiving support that would previously have been recorded as ‘Activity Agreements’. This means that the proportion of school leavers with a destination category of Training from 2018/19 cannot be directly compared to the proportion recorded for previous years. Further information can be found in the Activity Agreements definition below.
• Employment includes those employed and in receipt of payment from their employers.
• Voluntary Work includes those undertaking voluntary work/volunteering which will involve a young person giving of their time and energy through a third party with or without financial allowance.
• Training includes leavers who are on a training course and in receipt of an allowance or grant, such as the Employability Fund national training programme. It also includes leavers who are on local authority or third sector funded training programmes that are in receipt of a training allowance or those participating in Community Jobs Scotland. From 2018/19, this category includes school leavers receiving support that would previously have been recorded as ‘Activity Agreements’.
• Activity Agreement refers to ‘agreements between a young person and an advisor that the young person will take part in a programme of learning and activity which helps them to become ready for formal learning or employment’. From 2018/19, Activity Agreements are no longer recorded as a post-school destination. Instead, school leavers receiving this support who left during or at the end of the academic year are recorded in the Training category.
• The way in which school leavers undertaking Personal Skills Development activity are counted in these statistics changed in the 2018/19 publication. In previous publications, young people participating in Personal Skills Development (PSD) were individually mapped to destination categories; this mapping was carried out by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and Scottish Government analysts based on details of the PSD activity recorded on the SDS Customer Support System (CSS). Depending on the evidence, a leaver could be mapped to a positive destination or an unemployed seeking or unemployed not seeking destination. This meant that school leavers from special units within mainstream schools, specifically those with severe and complex needs, participating in PSD were not always being classified as in a “positive destination”. Historic data back to 2009/10 were revised in the 2018/19 report to allow comparison over time on a consistent basis and are provided on that consistent basis in this publication.
• Unemployed seeking includes those known by Skills Development Scotland or their partners to be seeking employment or training. This includes those receiving support from SDS, Department of Working and Pensions and other partners. It is based on regular contact between the supporting organisation and the individual. This does not refer to the definition of ‘unemployed’ used by the Department of Work and Pensions to calculate published unemployment rates.
• Unemployed not seeking includes all those individuals who are not yet ready or are unavailable to enter the labour market for a range of reasons. The reasons may involve ill health/sickness, prison, pregnancy, caring for children or other dependents or taking time out.
• Unknown category includes cases where destination is not known either to Skills Development Scotland or to the school attended.

Curriculum for Excellence (CfE)

CfE is designed to achieve a transformation in education in Scotland by providing a coherent, more flexible and enriched curriculum for children and young people aged from 3 to 18. The curriculum includes the totality of experiences which are planned for children and young people through their education, wherever they are being educated. Further information on Curriculum for Excellence can be found on the Education Scotland website. The stages associated with each CfE level are described below.

CfE Level	Stage
Early	The final two years of early learning and childcare before a child goes to school and P1, or later for some.
First	To the end of P4, but earlier or later for some.
Second	To the end of P7, but earlier or later for some.
Third and Fourth	S1 to S3, but earlier or later for some. The Fourth Level broadly equates to Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework level 4. The Fourth Level experiences and outcomes are intended to provide possibilities for choice and young people's programmes will not include all of the Fourth Level outcomes.
Senior Phase	S4 to S6, and college or other means of study.

Curriculum for Excellence defines five levels of learning. The first four levels are described in the Experiences and Outcomes, with progression to qualifications described under a fifth level, the senior phase. Further information on the Senior Phase can be found on the Education Scotland website.

While children and young people should feel that the transition from one stage of learning to another is smooth, they should still be able to look forward to the excitement of starting nursery, primary school and secondary school, and finally to moving on to positive and sustained destinations. Further information on Scotland’s 16+ learning choices policy and practice framework can be found on the Education Scotland website.

Data quality and comparability

Cross UK comparability

Differences in the education systems of Scotland and the rest of the UK make cross-UK comparisons invalid. Links to the most similar statistics produced by other UK nations are provided below:

UK Nation	Link to publication
England	Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities in England, Reporting year 2024
Wales	Educational qualifications of care leavers
Northern Ireland	Care leavers | Department of Health (health-ni.gov.uk)

Information on the differences between each administration’s looked after children statistics is available on the Scottish Government children’s statistics website.

Impact of COVID-19 on these statistics

Data for some years in this publication is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The statistics in this publication provide an accurate reflection of school leavers’ initial destinations and attainment in each of the years included. But the effects of the pandemic should be kept in mind when making comparisons over time. This applies when considering any changes in the data between 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, and between these years and previous years.

The pandemic led to changes to the assessment and certification of National Qualifications from 2019-20 onwards. The biggest impacts are likely to have been seen for leavers in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22, but there may still be effects for some leavers in 2022-23. During 2020/21, there was disruption to school attendance, which included the closure of most school buildings in Scotland between January and April 2021, other school closures following local outbreaks, and individual pupils being absent with COVID-19 or when self-isolating. The reporting and commentary in this section regarding 2020/21 refers only to the times in which schools were open to pupils, unless stated otherwise.

Accessibility statement

We want this publication to be accessible and usable for as many people as possible. We try to make this publication more accessible by using:

• Easier-to-read accessible colours
• easier-to-read accessible colours
• larger fonts
• alternative text for figures and charts
• plain English
• keyboard only navigation in spreadsheets.

An Official Statistics Publication for Scotland

These statistics are official statistics. Official statistics are statistics that are produced by crown bodies, those acting on behalf of crown bodies, or those specified in statutory orders, as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Scottish Government statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

More information about Scottish Government statistics is available on the Scottish Government website.

Tell us what you think

We are always interested to hear from our users about how our statistics are used, and how they can be improved.

Enquiries

For enquiries about this publication please contact:

Children and Families Analysis, Education Analytical Services

E-mail: childrens.statistics@gov.scot

For general enquiries about Scottish Government statistics please contact:

Office of the Chief Statistician

e-mail: statistics.enquiries@gov.scot

More information about Scottish Government statistics is available on the Scottish Government website.

Join our mailing list

If you would like to receive notifications about statistical publications or find out about consultations on our statistics please join the ScotStat mailing list. 

Future publications

Details of future publications can be found on our forthcoming publications page.