A huge part of fostering is encouraging the children in your care to do well at school, but to do so effectively, you need to understand how trauma can impact a child’s education and the ways you can support them as their foster carer.
Children in care face unique challenges both inside and outside the classroom, but when schools, foster carers, and professionals involved in their care work together, we can help them thrive at school.
In this article, you’ll discover the connection between a child’s past experiences and their educational attainment, along with the roles we, you, and schools play in helping them overcome barriers and excel in the classroom.
Educational outcomes for children in care
Figures show that in 2024/2025, 69.6% of care leavers in Scotland left school with one or more qualifications at SCQF level 4 or better, compared to 94.8% of all school leavers. This research also revealed that children in care in Scotland have lower attendance levels and are more likely to be excluded than those who aren’t looked after.
At Foster Care Associates Scotland, we are determined to do our part to bridge this gap and #KeepThePromise. This starts by understanding trauma in foster care and how it can make school challenging for children and young people who’ve had difficult pasts, so everyone involved in their care knows how to support them.
Challenges of school for children in care
Every child in foster care will be living with some form of trauma. This could be due to abuse, neglect, or simply being away from friends, family, and everything familiar to them. Trauma affects every single part of a child’s well-being, from their development and behaviour to their relationships and their emotions.
As a result, they might find education challenging for a few reasons:
- Lack of trust in teachers: They may have frequently been let down by the adults they trusted most, making it difficult to trust that teachers and other school staff have their best interests at heart.
- Hypervigilance: Prolonged stress, such as when a child lives in an unsafe home, impacts brain development, which can lead to hypervigilance. This means they might be sensitive to sensory input and become quickly overstimulated by noisy, crowded classrooms, which can make it difficult for them to concentrate.
- Hypovigilance: This is the opposite extreme of hypervigilance. Instead of being oversensitive to sensory input, a child might be less sensitive. They might zone out, experience brain fog, and dissociate from their environment, making it difficult for them to learn new skills and stay alert in the classroom.
- Behind their peers: The emotional, behavioural, developmental, and relational impacts of trauma, frequently moving schools, or living in a home where education wasn’t encouraged, can result in foster children being significantly behind their peers at school.
- Bullying: Foster children are more likely to be bullied at school than their peers, making school a frightening and stressful place to be – they might refuse to go or just not turn up to avoid the bullying.
- Making friends: Children might worry about sharing their looked-after status and struggle to fit into already established friendship groups. They could also avoid getting to know others through fear of losing that relationship in the future.
- Undiagnosed additional needs: Your foster child might have undiagnosed additional needs, such as Autism, ADHD or FASD, making it difficult for the school to adapt their teaching and meet their specific needs.
What is the school’s role in supporting children in care?
While it’s not mandatory for there to be trauma-informed practice in schools, they still have a responsibility to ensure looked-after children receive the support they need to reach the best possible educational outcomes. This can include:
- Recognising and supporting a child’s individual needs and attending additional training when necessary.
- Being aware of safeguarding concerns and taking steps to ensure children and young people are protected.
- Developing and managing a child’s Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) if needed.
- Collaborating with the local authority, foster carers and our education co-ordinators to help children thrive in the school environment.
- Providing mentors and safe spaces to help children with trauma feel secure at school.
How to help a child with trauma in school
As a foster carer, you play a fundamental role in helping children in your care succeed at school, and here are a few simple ways to support them:
- Be their safe space: When children feel safe, stable, and loved at home, they’re more likely to do well at school. So make sure you focus on building a trusting relationship with your foster child where they feel able to be themselves and share their thoughts and feelings without judgment.
- Discuss names: Talk to your foster child about what they’d like to call you when they’re at school. They may not want others to know they’re in care, so calling you ‘mum’ or ‘dad’ at school drop-off might help them feel more comfortable even if they don’t call you this at home.
- Build a good relationship with the school: Stay in close contact with the school, keeping them informed about changes in your child’s life that could impact their education, so they can continue to meet your foster child’s needs. Attend meetings, open days, and parents’ evenings and get to know teaching and non-teaching staff to understand your child’s progress.
- Help the school understand your child’s needs: The more the school knows about your foster child’s trauma, such as triggers and adjustments they might need, the more equipped they’ll be to support your child in the school environment.
- Assist with homework: Support your foster child with homework. This might mean giving them choices like the time of day they complete it, working alongside them so they don’t feel like they’re missing out on something else, and helping them if they get stuck.
- Help them discover their ambitions: Many children in care have never been encouraged to think about their long-term goals and ambitions. Your support and guidance can give them the confidence to discover their talents and work towards their dreams.
- Getting them to school: If your foster child refuses to go to school, you can help them by looking beyond their behaviour to understand what’s causing their anxiety before taking steps to support them.
- Advocate for them: You are the child’s voice until they are old enough and have the confidence to advocate for themselves. If they’re being bullied or you feel they aren’t receiving the support they need, you’ll work with the school to find a resolution.
- Home learning: Whether it’s time spent reading together, exploring plants and insects in the garden, or going to a museum, playing an active role in your foster child’s education by encouraging home learning can build their confidence and enthusiasm for school. If you’re stuck for ideas, websites like Twinkl provide resources from the early years up to 18.
How FCA Scotland supports children at school
At FCA Scotland, we believe every child deserves the chance to reach their educational potential and leave care with brighter prospects.
During supervision meetings, your social worker will regularly discuss your foster child’s attendance, progress, and achievements at school, offering their advice and guidance if problems arise. You’ll also have support from our education co-ordinator, and we provide plenty of opportunities for children to gain other critical life skills they’ll need for independence.
Not only that, but when you join FCA Scotland, part of our support for foster carers includes regular support groups, along with activities and events for the whole family, giving you the chance to meet other foster families, share experiences, and learn from one another.
When you foster with us, you’ll never manage your foster child’s education alone; we’re in this together.
Learn more about fostering with FCA Scotland
Ready to start your fostering journey?
Learn more about becoming a foster carer by calling us on 0141 646 4805 or by submitting your details via our online form.
From the fostering assessment and panel to allowances, support, training, and more, our team will answer your questions and help you get started on your fostering journey.
