Dr Richard Boffey, Head of London Higher’s AccessHE division, responds to a new report by Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO) and the Rees Centre on pathways into higher education for those with experience of children’s social care.
The report reinforces what we already know about higher education participation for the group with experience of children’s social care. The headline participation rate of 14% by age 22 is significantly lower than the participation rate for the general population and indeed the rate for other underrepresented groups, such as those from Free School Meals-eligible backgrounds.
By controlling for factors such as prior attainment and characteristics often associated with under representation in higher education in the data it presents, the report is able to isolate experience of care as an explanatory factor in lower rates of higher education progression. In addition, the report helpfully disaggregates the ‘care experienced’ label to give a clearer picture of rates of higher education access and success for different sub-groups of students within the young population that has experienced care at any point, such as ‘children in need’ and young people with a Child Protection Plan.
The report contains important findings and recommendations relating to the role of vocational training pathways for care experienced young people and of effective information advice and guidance provision in scaffolding post-16 progression pathways for this group more generally. Creating these pathways and ensuring that prospective students with experience of care are informed about them, will require universities, policymakers and local authorities to work together. London Higher is proud to play our part in collaborative efforts of precisely this kind, through hosting our AccessHE practitioner network for those working with care experienced young Londoners, and our involvement in the pan-London Care Leavers’ Compact.
