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‘School, for her, has always been her sanctuary…her place where she feels like she can do anything’: What are the systems of support for children in the care system as they enter education?

Figueira-Bates, Cora; (2022) ‘School, for her, has always been her sanctuary…her place where she feels like she can do anything’: What are the systems of support for children in the care system as they enter education? Doctoral thesis (D.Ed.Psy), UCL (University College London). Green open access

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Abstract

Stark gaps have been historically reported in terms of the academic achievement of children in care and their non-care experienced peers. This attainment gap persists despite many government polices targeting improved outcomes for these children. There is a dearth of literature and research into the youngest children in care, particularly in their first years of schooling. Based on the responses from social workers in the current study, I hypothesise that this is related to the vulnerability of the group, their high mobility and their involvement with numerous professionals. This study is the only one to explore the experiences of children in the care system in the first years of formal education and was conducted in a London borough. Initially, I accessed the LA dataset to explore the backgrounds of all children in care from birth to seven years old. I then conducted semi-structured interviews with foster carers of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) or Key Stage 1 (n=6), and then with their Designated Teachers (DTs [n=4]). Interviews were transcribed using thematic analysis. I was then able to gain the voices of some of the children through an Ideal School activity (n=3). This study found that there are a number of different factors in young children in care’s ecosystems which are impacting their experiences and the type of support they are receiving. This will help practitioners and policy-makers to recognise the needs and strengths of these children earlier and prioritise educational experiences alongside issues of security, safety and attachment, and facilitate professional collaboration across the child’s ecosystems to improve their, currently relatively poor, outcomes.

Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Qualification: D.Ed.Psy
Title: ‘School, for her, has always been her sanctuary…her place where she feels like she can do anything’: What are the systems of support for children in the care system as they enter education?
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Author 2022. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request.
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Psychology and Human Development
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10153300
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