Education Outcomes for Looked After Children 2023/24

School leavers post school destinations

This section presents statistics on the destinations of the estimated 1,047 young people who were looked after during the period 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024 who left school during 2023/24. It also presents data on children looked after before the last year, including an additional 400 school leavers looked after for some duration since turning 12 years old and a further 624 school leavers looked after some time between the ages of 5 and 12.

Initial destinations relate to the activity undertaken by young people approximately three months after the end of the school year (October 2024). Follow-up destinations relate to activities undertaken 9 months after the end of the school year (April 2025). School leavers who are engaged in higher education, further education, training, voluntary work, employment or are undertaking personal skills development are classified as having a ‘positive destination’. Other destinations include unemployed seeking, unemployed not seeking and unknown. See background notes for more information.

Headline findings

• Since 2009/10 the proportion of school leavers looked after during the year that enter initial positive destinations has increased from 58.1% to 85.3%, a decrease from 86.4% in 2022/23. Over the same period, the proportion in a positive follow-up destination increased from 42.0% in 2009/10 to 72.4% 2023/24. This was an increase in the latest year from 71.1% in 2022/23.

• In 2023/24, the gap between the proportion of looked after leavers compared to all leavers who enter higher education as an initial destination was 32.5 percentage points. This is a small increase on 2022/23 (31.7 percentage points) but a decrease on 2009/10 (35.2 percentage points).
• The gap between the proportion of looked after leavers compared to all leavers who are in positive follow-up destinations was 20.7 percentage points. This gap has decreased compared to both 2009/10 (44 percentage points) and 2022/23 (21.8 percentage points).

Initial destinations

In 2023/24, three months after leaving school, those looked after within the year (85.3%) were less likely to be in a positive destination compared to all school leavers (95.7%), as shown in Table 4.1a. The percentage of looked after children in specific positive destinations also differs to the proportion of all school leavers. Looked after children were more likely to be in further education (50.7%) compared to all school leavers (26.4%) and less likely to be in higher education (8.3% compared to 40.8%).

The proportion of leavers looked after between 5 and 12 years old who were in a positive initial destination (86.7%) was higher than both those looked after since turning 12 years old (81.5%) and those looked after in the latest year (85.3%). They also had a higher proportion in higher education (12.2%) and employment (20.7%) than those looked after since turning 12 years old (11.3% and 13.8% respectively). Nevertheless, these proportions remain lower than for all school leavers where 40.8% are in higher education and 23.1% are in employment.

Table 4.1a: Percentage of leavers by initial destinations

Percentage of leavers by initial destination (3 months after leaving school) for looked after school leavers and all leavers, 2023/24.

[Note 1] Positive destinations include higher education, further education, training, voluntary work, employment, personal skills development and, for the years where applicable, activity agreements.

[Note 2] Due to the effects of rounding some totals will not equal the sum of their parts.

The percentage of school leavers looked after within the year in a positive initial destination has increased overall from 58.1%  in 2009/10 to 85.3% in 2023/24, although showed a slight drop from the previous year (86.4% in 2022/23). Over the same period, the percentage of all school leavers in a positive initial destination increased from 87.7% to 95.7% in 2023/24. This shows a considerable decrease in the gap between looked after school leavers and all leavers (Chart 6a). There has been a particular increase in the proportion of looked after leavers entering further education, increasing from 27.4% in 2009/10 to 50.7% in 2023/24. Conversely there has been a large decrease in the number of looked after leavers unemployed and seeking employment, from 35.3% to 6.4% over the same period.

Chart 6a: Initial destinations of school leavers

Percentage of school leavers in positive initial destinations for school leavers looked after within the year and for all leavers, 2009/10 to 2023/24.

Follow-up destinations

In 2023/24, 72.4% of school leavers looked after during the year were in positive follow-up destinations (9 months after leaving school) (Table 4.2a). This compares to 93.1% of all school leavers, and a 12.9 percentage decrease compared to the proportion in positive initial destinations. The percentage of school leavers looked after during the year who reported as unemployed increased by 4.5 percentage points at follow-up (18.4%) compared to initial destinations (13.9%).

School leavers looked after between 5 and 12 years old remained more likely to be in a positive destination at follow-up (77.7%) than those looked after since 12 years old (71.9%) or those looked after in the last year (72.4%). This represents a reduction between initial and folllow-up of 9 percentage-points for those looked after between ages 5 and 12 and a 9.6 percentage-point reduction for those looked after since 12 years old. The greatest decrease between initial and follow-up destinations for those looked was related to further education, down 7.7 percentage points for those looked after between 5 and 12 and 11.8 percentage points for those looked after since 12 years old.

Table 4.2a: Follow-up destinations of school leavers

Percentage of leavers by follow-up destination (9 months after leaving school) for looked after school leavers and all leavers, 2023/24.

[Note 1] Positive destinations include higher education, further education, training, voluntary work, employment, personal skills development and, for the years where applicable, activity agreements.

[Note 2] Due to the effects of rounding some totals will not equal the sum of their parts.

Longer term trends shown in Chart 6b show there has been an overall narrowing of the gap between school leavers looked after within the year and all school leavers between 2009/10 and 2023/24 in terms of proportions in positive follow-up destinations. In 2009/10, 42.0% of looked after school leavers had a positive follow-up destination compared to 72.4% in 2023/24, an increase from 71.1% in 2022/23. This compares to an increase from 85.9% to 93.1% for all school leavers over the same period. There has been an overall increase in the proportion of school leavers looked after within the year in further education, up from 18.7% in 2009/10 to 37.8% in 2023/24. There has also been a considerable decrease in the proportion of looked after school leavers unemployed and seeking work, which has reduced from 40.7% in 2009/10 to 9.4% in 2023/24.

Chart 6b: Follow-up destinations of school leavers

Destinations by placement type

In general, school leavers looked after within the year who were in a community setting are more likely to be in a positive initial or follow-up destination than those in a residential setting (Table 4.3a). Of the school leavers based in the community, 86.2% were in positive initial destinations, dropping to 74.6% when asked at the follow-up survey. Comparatively, of those looked after in residential accomodations, 83.6% were in positive initial destinations, dropping to 65.5% at follow-up.

School leavers looked after within the year in community settings who were placed with foster carers provided by or purchased by a local authority were most likely to be in a positive initial destination (92.6% and 92.5% respectively). For follow-up destinations, those with foster carers purchased by a local authority had the highest proportion in positive destinations (85.0%), followed by foster carers provided by a local authority (83.1%). Those looked after a home had the lowest proportion in positive initial or follow-up destinations (76.4% and 62.4% respectively).

For school leavers looked after within the year in residential settings, those in a local authority home had the higher positive initial destination (84.1%).

School leavers with more than one placement showed lower levels of positive initial and follow-up destinations (81.5% and 65.8% respectively) compared to all those looked after in the year (85.3% and 72.4% respectively).

Table 4.3a: Positive destinations by placement type

Number and percentage of looked after school leavers in a positive initial and follow-up destination by placement type, 2023/24