A decent education will liberate children in care

Moreover, in his speech to the Association of School and College Leaders last week, he said: "When you spend the first months of your life in care, but know that education liberated you to enjoy opportunities… then you know it’s a sin not to do everything in your power to help every child transcend the circumstances of their birth." Gove is absolutely right in this – the evidence is that whatever goes wrong in young people’s lives, if they can somehow achieve a decent level of education, their life chances are hugely improved.

That is why, when I was director of children’s services in Dudley, I supported the setting up of Creating Chances, a charity aimed at improving the educational outcomes for children in the care system. We started from a successful government-supported pilot using the teachers the children already knew to provide extra support out of lesson time. Four years on, Creating Chances is now financed through a range of fundraising activities, including gala events with professional performers giving their own time and talent, alongside payroll donations from four councils.