Education Outcomes for Looked After Children 2023/24

Headline findings

• Attainment for school leavers who were looked after within the year has increased since 2009/10 at all levels but dropped slightly in the last two years. For looked after leavers achieving SCQF level 5 or better, there has been an increase from 13.2% in 2009/10, to 40.8% in 2023/24, though this has decreased year-on-year since 2021/22 (46.1%, and 42/3% in 2022/23).
• The gap between the proportion of looked after leavers and all children who achieve SCQF level 5 or better has decreased since 2009/10, though has increased for the second year running. The gap decreased from 63.9 percentage points in 2009/10 to 42.7 in 2023/24 (up from 42.1 percentage points in 2022/23 and 40.3 percentage points in 2021/22).
• For a second successive year the proportion of looked after leavers with no qualifications at SCQF level 3 or better has increased (11.8% in 2021/22, 13.9% in 2022/23 and 15.3% in 2023/24).
• Of the school leavers who were looked after within the year, 72.4% had at least one qualification at SCQF level 4 or better, compared to 75.3% of those who looked after since turning 12 but not in the last year, and 84.8% of those looked after between 5 and 12.
• The proportion of looked after leavers who left school in S4 or earlier has declined from 62.8% in 2009/10 to 35.1% in 2023/24, but this is a slight increase from 31.7% in 2021/22 and 34.3% in 2022/23.
• Of school leavers looked after at home with parents, 74.4% achieved at least one qualification at SCQF level 3 or better. This reduces to 50.8%, 10.6%, and 0.8% at SCQF levels 4, 5, and 6 (or better) respectively. The proportion achieving SCQF levels 4, 5, and 6 for those looked after at home with parents were lower than those achieved in 2022/23 (55.5%, 15,0% and 3.5% respectively).

Stage of school leavers

In 2023/24, 35.1% of leavers looked after during the year left in S4 or earlier, 39.4% in S5 and 25.5% in S6 or other (Chart 3). For children who had been previously looked after, 26.8% of children looked after since turning 12 years old left at S4 or earlier, 36.8% in S5 and 36.5% in S6 or other. The remaining school leavers were looked after between the ages of 5 and 12, and of these children 26.1% left in S4 or earlier, 42.0% in S5 and 31.9% in S6 or other (Chart 3).

Chart 3: Stage of school leavers

Percentage of school leavers leaving school at each stage for looked after leavers and all leavers, 2023/24.

The proportion of school leavers looked after within the year who left school in S4 or earlier has declined considerably between 2009/10 (62.8%) and 2021/22 (31.7%). There was a slight increase in the percentage in the following year to 34.4% in 2022/23. In 2023/24, there has been a further 0.7 percentage point increase to 35.1%. The percentage of school leavers who left school in S4 or earlier for all pupils remained unchanged at 14.4% for both 2022/23 and 2023/24 (Chart 4). This represents a decrease in the percentage of all school leavers who left school in S4 or earlier since 2009/10 (16.7%), but a slight increase since 2021/22 (11.2%).

The percentage of school leavers in S4 continues to remain considerably higher for looked after children compared to all school leavers, although the gap between these groups has narrowed from 46.1 percentage points in 2009/10 to 20.7 percentage points in 2023/24.

Chart 4: School leavers leaving school in S4 or earlier

Percentage of school leavers leaving school in S4 or earlier for school leavers looked after within the year and all leavers, 2009/10 to 2023/24.

School leavers’ attainment

This publication reports on the highest Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level achieved at SCQF Levels 3 to 7 in National Qualifications. Please refer to background notes for more information.

In 2023/24, looked after school leavers had lower levels of attainment than all school leavers (Table 3.1a). Of school leavers looked after within the year, 72.4% had at least one qualification at SCQF level 4 or better, compared to 75.3% and 84.8% for those looked after since 12 and those looked after between 5 and 12. However, there is a considerable gap compared to all pupils, among whom 95.2% left school with at least one qualification at SCQF level 4 or better.

At higher levels of attainment, 40.8% of school leavers who were looked after during the year achieved SCQF level 5 or better, with this level achieved by 83.5% of all school leavers in 2023/24. The relative gap is higher at SCQF level 6. At SCQF level 6 or better, 11.7% of leavers looked after in the last year achieved at least one qualification, compared to 57.4% of all school leavers.

Table 3.1a: Highest level of attainment achieved

Percentage of school leavers achieving SCQF levels for looked after school leavers and all leavers 2023/24.

The proportion of leavers looked after within the year achieving all SCQF qualification levels (Chart 5a) continues to be consistently lower than that of all school leavers (Chart 5b). Trends since 2009/10 indicate improvement in attainment among looked after school leavers at all levels, but slight reductions in the last two years. The percentage of looked after school leavers achieving one or more SCQF level 5 or better has increased by 27.6 percentage points since 2009/10 (13.2%, rising to 40.8% in 2023/24). However, this is following a decrease in the past two years, down from 46.1% in 2021/22. This trend is consistent across all SCQF levels for looked after school leavers (Chart 5a).

The gap in attainment between looked after and all school leavers has reduced for all SCQF levels since 2009/10. The gap between those looked after and all school leavers achieving one or more SCQF level 5 or better has reduced by 21.2 percentage points between 2009/10 (63.9 percentage points difference) and 2023/24 (42.7% percentage points difference). The gap between those looked after and all school leavers achieving one or more SCQF level 5 or better has increased by 2.4 percentage points over the previous two years (40.3% percentage points difference in 2021/22).

Chart 5a: Highest level of attainment achieved for school leavers looked after within the year

Percentage of school leavers achieving SCQF levels for school leavers looked after within the year, 2009/10 to 2023/24.

Chart 5b: Highest level of attainment achieved for all leavers

Percentage of school leavers achieving SCQF levels for all leavers, 2009/10 to 2023/24

Table 3.2: Highest level of attainment achieved by placement type

Number and percentage of school leavers looked after within the year by highest level of attainment achieved and placement type, 2023/24.

[Note 1] Includes ‘with prospective adopters’.

[Note 2] Includes ‘in residential school’, ‘in secure care accommodation’ and ‘crisis care’.

Table 3.3: Highest level of attainment by number of placements

Number and percentage of school leavers looked after within the year by highest level of attainment achieved and number of placements they had in the year, 2023/24.