Greener Journal of Educational Research

Greener Journal of  Educational Research Vol. 3 (1), pp. 023-033, January 2013

 ISSN: 2276-7789  

Research Paper

Manuscript Number: 112912303

 

Every Child Matters: Raising the Educational Achievement of Looked After Children: Challenges and Solutions for Local Authorities in England

 

Ignatius Isaac Dambudzo

 

The Zimbabwe Open University, PO Box MP1119, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe

 

Email: idambudzo @ yahoo.co.uk

Abstract:

Every Child Matters was an ambitious British Government programme to promote a holistic child development and integrated children’s services in order to enhance their well-being, including educational achievement. Not all looked after children (LAC) have special education needs but they continue to underachieve compared to their peers. The 2004 Children Act placed ‘the duty’ of ensuring educational achievement of LAC on every local authority and yet performance remains poor. The study sought to investigate challenges local authorities faced in fulfilling ‘the duty.’ Content analysis of documents from different local authorities rated as adequate and inadequate by OFSTED was applied to identify obstacles, good practice and recommended action to improve.
 
Keywords: achievement, assessment, placement, looked after, Personal Educational Plans, every child matters

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