Revealing huge number of vulnerable children failing at school spurs call to action

One in seven of all children in England have a social worker at some stage during their schooling and are behind educationally by at least 30 percent by the age of 16 compared to their peers, according to new research published today. The first-of-its-kind study , led by the University of Bristol , investigated the educational achievements and progress of children who need a social worker, comprising Children in Need and Children in Care, during their school years and its findings have prompted national calls for radical changes. There are currently nearly 400,000 Children in Need in England, meaning they have a social worker but usually live with their parents or family. Children who have ever been 'In Need' fell prey to an educational attainment gap, on average, of between 34-46 percent in their GCSEs. Children who have ever been in Care, who tend to live away from family with foster carers or at a residential home, number more than 78,000 and, overall, achieved 53 percent lower at 16. The joint study with the University of Oxford's Rees Centre, which was funded by the Nuffield Foundation, showed both Children in Need and Children in Care had already fallen significantly behind other children at school by the age of seven, lagging by between 14-24 percent at Key Stage 1. Professor David Berridge OBE, Emeritus Professor of Child and Family Welfare in the School for Policy Studies , said: "The sheer volume of children receiving social worker support was especially surprising.