ATTAINMENT AND BEHAVIOR OF CHILDREN IN CARE AND AT HOME

This paper reports findings from a longitudinal study on the education al progress and behaviour of children in long-term foster care and a ' comparison' group of children receiving social work support while rema ining with their birth families. The study reinforces earlier research showing low attainment and high levels of behaviour problems among ch ildren 'looked after' in local authority care and children in need liv ing in the community. It was found that children with substantial beha vioural problems (that is, who showed indications of behavioural disor der) had significantly lower educational attainment than did those wit hout major problems. But even the foster-children who did not show ind ications of behavioural disorder scored below the national average in standardised tests of educational attainment, and showed no sign of re lative improvement over the course of the study.