Books, booklets & multimedia

Nobody Ever Told Us School Mattered: Raising the educational attainments of children in care

	Price: £9.95	BAAF 2001 ISBN 978-1-873868-98-0

The educational attainment of children in care falls far behind that of others of the same age, thereby blighting the former’s school experience and future life chances. This timely anthology charts the slow growth of awareness of this crucial issue from complete neglect to its present high profile in central and local government. It consists of reprinted research papers that were influential in changing thinking and attitudes, amongst them a paper by Sonia Jackson, editor of this collection, which first raised the issue and has been described as “seminal”. Newly commissioned chapters from leading experts in the field discuss the impact of current government initiatives, innovations in policy and practice, issues raised in research and ideas from overseas.

Some pertinent questions are addressed: How can we create a care environment that promotes literacy, desire to learn and high expectations? How can social workers be persuaded to give education the priority it needs and deserves? How can we keep looked after children in mainstream school and prevent them from being sidelined into separate inferior forms of schooling? How can we launch children into promising careers instead of lives of unemployment, homelessness and welfare dependency?

The answers to these questions are vital for social workers, managers, policy makers, designated teachers and the growing army of education support workers. The collection focuses on what can be done now to ensure that looked after children have a better chance to succeed. It also offers much food for thought to social work and education students and professionals undertaking post-qualifying training.