Kibble boss:We need to act now for kids

The boss of a leading care charity has urged for more to be done to tackle employment and educational barriers faced by care leavers.

The call was made by Jim Gillespie, chief executive of the Kibble Group, after new statistics showed a 42 per cent attainment gap between care and non-care experienced young people.

Figures released this week show that education outcomes for looked- after children have improved, however, there are still big differences compared to all school leavers.

The percentage of lookedafter children achieving at least SCQF level 5 has increased to 44 per cent while the equivalent figure for all school leavers is 86 per cent.

Mr Gillespie said: “The gap between children in care and all school leavers has narrowed from 62 per cent in 2010 to 42 per cent in 2017.

“But at this rate of progress, it will take another 15 years before we have a level playing field.

“It is a truism to say that young people are only young once and we will not get the chance to repeat their time in care and education. We must do better for them now.

“The Scottish Government and our local authority partners have already invested heavily in trying to create opportunities for young people leaving care.

“However from these latest figures it is clear that there is still much to do.

“We must continue to facilitate supported employment opportunities and guaranteed higher education places for care leavers.”

Paisley young people’s charity Kibble is a specialist provider of services for atrisk children. It helps build positive futures for young people with complex social, emotional and educational needs.