A new report commissioned by the Children and Young People Commissioner Scotland and created by Who Cares? Scotland to illustrate and amplify the current educational experiences of Care Experienced children and young people and to gather their views on the priorities for change within education.
The report was commissioned by the Children and Young People Commissioner Scotland as part of their Strategic Plan 2024-28 activity on education and their commitment to include evidence from groups of children less likely to have their views heard.
Who Cares? Scotland use a broad and inclusive definition of care experience, which includes anyone who is, or has been, in care for any period of time, regardless of their age of when their supervision order was removed. Their experience of care could have been in a range of settings, including foster care, adoption, secure care, kinship care, residential care, or being formally looked after at home. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors are also Care Experienced.
In March 2025, the Commissioner published: “This is our lives, it matters a lot”: Putting children’s rights into the heart of education. The report summarised views from children and young people about their experience of education which was grouped into five main themes.
This report into the educational experiences of Care Experienced children and young people highlights key areas of success, and those requiring improvement across those same five themes:
Topics covered in this report include: