Review: Improving Access to Further and Higher Education for Young People in Public Care

International perspective offers lessons for all

As an education director who became a children's services director, I was well attuned to the importance of education for all young people. As a corporate parent, I knew that a decent education was vital for children in care. But my light-bulb moment came when reading the Unicef research, referenced here, that found that whatever went wrong in a child's life, if they achieved good standards of education, their life outcomes were hugely improved.

So it was with interest that I came to this book, recording the EU-funded YiPPEE research programme, an in-depth study of education for children in care across five very different countries - Denmark, England, Hungary, Spain, and Sweden. While everyone who took part said they believed strongly that good educational outcomes were important for children in care and for society as a whole, there was a deep disconnect with what actually happened in practice.