The UK is facing a national attendance crisis in schools. For some groups of children, going through the school gates and being in the classroom can be particularly tough. Up to half of adopted children and those in kinship care struggle to attend school or access lessons.
AUK is campaigning to remove the barriers to learning for adopted and kinship children. We are calling on governments to help schools understand these children better by improving the data on their attendance and attainment and the codes used to record absence. As adopted and kinship children are more likely to have learning support needs than their peers, we’re also calling for earlier identification of these needs.
The current phase of the campaign focusses on teacher training. We want to ensure teachers have the knowledge and skills they need to help adopted and kinship children attend school and thrive while they are there.
If you are a parent/carer or a teacher, please get involved in our letter campaign.
Find out more here
A checklist for educators which includes information and possible support measures and strategies to better support previously looked after children in school. Print this off and give to your child’s teachers.
England - click here to download
Northern Ireland - click here to download
Scotland - click here to download
Wales - click here to download Cymraeg - click here to download
This guide is for children and parents/carers to print and complete to give to their teachers to help them better understand their needs. This was designed by our Psychology and Therapy Hub (PATH) team.
Click here to download
Cymraeg - click here to download
A 4-page leaflet explaining what school is like for previously looked after children and how schools can help to support them. Download and send this to your school.
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