Official figures have revealed that 51 per cent of all children in care in England leave school without a single qualification compared with just 5 per cent of children generally.

The figures will have disappointed the Government which has been aiming to improve the life chances of children in care through better performances at school.

Newly appointed Social Care Minister Jacqui Smith said: "This data shows that large numbers of looked after children are continuing to under-achieve throughout their schooling. Rates of offending are also far too high.

"The consequences speak for themselves - young people with greatly reduced opportunities to move on to further education, training or employment. In short, young people who are unable to make a full contribution to society. That is something we remain determined to tackle."

National statistics on educational qualifications, employment at age 16, health and cautions and convictions of looked after children Looked in England were published today for the first time. The information has not been previously available centrally.

There were, last year, 42,200 children looked after by local authorities who had been in care continuously for at least a year. About 33,000 were of school age and of these, one in four had statements of special educational needs.

Statements are legally binding documents that set out what a child's needs are and how school plans to meet those needs. They tend to be issued only for children with the most significant special needs.

Twelve per cent of school children in care missed at least 25 days of school, and 1.5 per cent were permanently exclused.

Nearly half of those looked after children in the appropriate age group achieved level 2 at Key Stage 1, 36 per cent reached level 4 at Key Stage 2 and 19 per cent reached level 5 at Key Stage 3.

The comparable percentages for all children were 82 per cent, 76 per cent and 62 per cent respectively.

"I regret not having an education. You need qualifications to get a job nowadays. To be honest the system stinks for people in care. That's the only reason I am talking to you now - in the hope that it will help other people get an education in future" - Nathan talking to Barnardo's

Nearly half of Year 11 children in care obtained at least one GCSE or GNVQ compared with 95 per cent of all school children. Only 7 per cent of looked after children obtained at least five GCSE's at grades A*-C compared with 49 per cent of all children.

About half of all looked-after children stayed on in fulltime education at 16 compared with 71 per cent of all school-leavers. A quarter of children in care were unemployed the September after leaving school.

One in ten looked after children, aged ten or over, were cautioned or convicted for an offence during the year - three times the rate for all children of this age.

For 69 per cent of these looked-after children immunisations were up to date, 63 per cent had a dental check, and 65 per cent had an annual health assessment.

The new statistics, collated as part of the Government's Quality Protects programme, do not include children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements (respite care).

Ms Smith said: "A child's educational achievement, health and well being are just a few of the crucial factors which will determine whether they make a successful transition to adulthood.

"We are determined that looked after children should have the same life chance opportunities as other children. This is one of the central themes of the Government's Quality Protects programme.

"Much of this data precedes many of the important initiatives we are now taking forward across Government to tackle these issues. On educational attainment, we have already taken practical action with schools and local communities.

"I am committed to driving this work forward and am encouraged by some of the findings. We know that improving the choice and stability of care placements is central to achieving better outcomes.

"Later this year we'll be publishing new guidance on promoting better health for looked after children. We have also extended the funding for a team of professional advisers to help local councils implement Government guidance on the education of looked after children."

She singled out Bradford, Brighton and Hove and Hampshire councils has having successful initiatives to improve the edcuational performance of children in care. The schemes are included a recent OFSTED report Raising the Achievement of Children in Public Care.

Bradford and Brighton and Hove have appointed project workers to improve co-ordination between social services and education while in Hampshire, two teachers act as advocates and befrienders for looked-after children.

As well as providing support and advice in lessons they are also available to attend homework sessions in the children's homes.

"Most jobs say they need at least GCSE'S. I tend to go for jobs that say they will provide full training, but it makes it harder to find a job" - Ella, Cardiff, talking to Barnardo's

"Projects like these are the first step," said Ms Smith. "We are heading in the right direction, but we must maintain the momentum and I will be looking for councils to demonstrate better outcomes next year."

The Social Exclusion Unit is currently working on a project to improve the educational achievement of children in care and will soon be launching a major consultation exercise, said the Department of Health.

Further analysis of that data is available at the Department of Health website. Or copies can be obtained free from the Department of Health, Room 451C, Skipton House, 80 London Road, SE1 6LH. Tel: 020 7972 5581.

The figures come as new Barnardo's research suggests that many children in care are failing to reach their educational potential because of culture of "minimal expectations" and wide variations in services provided by local authorities.

At the Welsh launch of its report Better Education, Better Future Barnardo's Cymru said the targets for children in care were so low, they were an insult and were setting children up to have little hope of securing a decent job.

The national targets in Wales have set local authorities a goal of getting children in care to get just two Grade G GCSEs or GNVQs in 2001-2 - a target so low that most employers would regard them as having "no currency at all" said Barnardo's.

Its report also suggested that young people are convinced that teachers expect less of them because they are in care and assume they are of low ability.

Barnardo's Cymru children's services director Jane Stacey said: "Children in care have similar ability levels to those in the general population and we need to create a climate in which they can reach their full potential. We are a long way off achieving that.

"We cannot continue to fail our children in care by a culture of low expectations. We need to improve systems and commit funding to addressing the problems.

"At the moment it is a lottery. A child who is taken into care in a local authority which is committed to improving education opportunities, has a much better chance of getting qualifications and getting on in life, than those who don't. We need to root out failings in systems which are blocking individual's progress."

Statistics show that children in care are ten times more likely to be excluded than their classmates and 70 per cent of young people in foster care and 80 per cent in residential care leave school with no qualifications, she said.

"These statistics are clearly unacceptable," she said. "Education is the foundation for a better future and children in care deserve the chance to achieve."

The charity's reported highlighted a number of problems in education children in care including: