2012. The sample drawn from the 2012-13 CLAD comprised 7,852 children, of whom 6,236 were still in care on 31 March 2013, but the main focus of the statistical analysis was the smaller subset (4,849) who were looked after continuously for 12 months from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 (which we abbreviate to CLA-LT). Data on both databases are linked to individual pupils using a unique pupil number (UPN), which enables the linking of personal characteristics collected in English schools censuses, examination results collected from awarding bodies, and episodes of care collected from local authorities on the SSDA903 return. It is worth noting that the group studied was older children in long-term care. Children who were only in care when they were younger, or who were in care for shorter periods, may have had different experiences of, and outcomes from, education. The NPD provides data on attainment at National Curriculum Key Stages, attendance at school and exclusions from school. The SSDA903 return provides data on episodes of care and placements, such as dates, legal basis, locations, and providers involved in the children’s different placements, categories of placement (e.g. whether fostered with unrelated carers or with family or friends) and their destination on leaving the system (e.g. whether they were adopted or returned to their birth family). Both sources provide basic demographic data. To simplify the analysis, level data on absences and exclusions from school were aggregated into the five school years of the secondary phase of education; data on episodes of care were aggregated to the child level. (The availability of dates for care placements, absences and exclusions from school, and attainment tests would make it feasible to undertake a more time-oriented analysis but that was beyond the remit of this project). Part 1: Descriptive analysis The sample of interest comprises children who had been continuously in care for at least 12 months at 31 March 2013; it is hereafter referred to as the ‘longer-stay group’. This is a category used by the DfE in its statistical releases. Part 1 of this report with variables that can be used to compare this group with the other comparison groups already identified in the NPD analysis. It thus focusses on: Children in the general population who were not in need or in care at 31 March 2013
2012. The sample drawn from the 2012-13 CLAD comprised 7,852 children, of whom 6,236 were still in care on 31 March 2013, but the main focus of the statistical analysis was the smaller subset (4,849) who were looked after continuously for 12 months from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 (which we abbreviate to CLA-LT). Data on both databases are linked to individual pupils using a unique pupil number (UPN), which enables the linking of personal characteristics collected in English schools censuses, examination results collected from awarding bodies, and episodes of care collected from local authorities on the SSDA903 return. It is worth noting that the group studied was older children in long-term care. Children who were only in care when they were younger, or who were in care for shorter periods, may have had different experiences of, and outcomes from, education. The NPD provides data on attainment at National Curriculum Key Stages, attendance at school and exclusions from school. The SSDA903 return provides data on episodes of care and placements, such as dates, legal basis, locations, and providers involved in the children’s different placements, categories of placement (e.g. whether fostered with unrelated carers or with family or friends) and their destination on leaving the system (e.g. whether they were adopted or returned to their birth family). Both sources provide basic demographic data. To simplify the analysis, data on absences and exclusions from school were aggregated into the five school years of the secondary phase of education; data on episodes of care were aggregated to the child level. (The availability of dates for care placements, absences and exclusions from school, and attainment tests would make it feasible to undertake a more time-oriented analysis but that was beyond the remit of this project). Part 1: Descriptive analysis The sample of interest comprises children who had been continuously in care for at least 12 months at 31 March 2013; it is hereafter referred to as the ‘longer-stay group’. This is a category used by the DfE in its statistical releases. Part 1 of this report with variables that can be used to compare this group with the other comparison groups already identified in the NPD analysis. It thus focusses on: Children in the general population who were not in need or in care at 31 March 2013 level