"I wasn't asking to be treated differently because I was in care. I just wanted to be given the same chance to succeed as everyone else. Is that too much to ask?"

Sadly the answer to this young person's question would appear to be 'yes' for many children in care, at least that's what research by Barnardo's has discovered.

A new report by the leading children's charity blames a culture of low expectations surrounding children and young people in care for the gulf between their educational attainment and that of their peers.

Barnardo's report Better Education, Better Futures was based on research covering all four nations of the UK and suggests practical measures to improve the education attainment of all children in care.

Hugh Mackintosh, Director of Barnardo's Scotland said: "There are many examples of good practice in Scotland, however young people who have been looked after in the care system continue to be over represented in unemployment and school exclusion statistics."

At the moment up to 70 per cent of young people in foster care and more than 80 per cent in residential care leave school without a single qualification in the UK.

And fewer than 1 per cent go on to university than fewer than 20 per cent go on to further education compared with 68 per cent of the general population.

Children in care are are ten times more likely to be excluded than their peers and as many as 30 per cent are out of mainstream education, because of either truancy or exclusion.

Between 50 and 80 per cent of care leavers are unemployed between the ages of 16 and 25.

"These figures are unacceptable," said Mr Mackintosh. "Children and young people in the care of local authorities have the same capacity of educational achievement as other children - and it is incumbent on all of us involved in their care to identify ways of enabling them to realise that potential.

"As corporate parents, the state must ensure that its social workers, education practitioners and policy makers, including those in the voluntary sector, learn from good practice elsewhere, and from the experiences of the children and young people that they serve."

The law and accompanying guidance in the UK states that all children in care should have the same rights and opportunities as other children to education, including further education.

They should also be offered other opportunities for development, such as leisure and extracurricular activities.

Some looked-after children who took part in the Barnardo's research had had good stable placements and had done well at school. But others felt undermined and discouraged.

"For many there was a huge gulf between well-meaning policies devised in council offices and meeting rooms and the day-to-day experience of being buffeted about (as they often saw it) in the care system," said the report.

It suggested that things were going wrong for children in care because of the "bewildering number" of people involved in the child's welfare but with no specifically appointed person to take a special interest in the child or to act as an advocate in times of trouble as parents would do.

Education and social services departments too often failed to work together and communicate about the children in their care and social workers and education staff frequently lacked knowledge of each other's structures and specialist language.

Teachers often had limited understanding and misconceptions of the care system while the initial training of social workers included little information about schools and education. Most social workers did not see education as part of their brief, said the report.

Research shows that social workers and teachers generally have low expectations of the educational abilities and potential of young people in care.

Barnardo's' research found that a child's education was not adequately planned and targets were not set or monitored by local authorities. Many youngsters in care had special educational needs that were not being properly assessed and addressed while social workers consistently underestimated their difficulties.

Then there was the age-old problem of children and young people in care often having to move to different schools when their placements changed.

Meanwhile children in residential care frequently lacked space and quiet to study as well as resources such as books, stationery and access to computers.

As one youngster told the researchers: "It's very hard to pass your exams if you've got kids running around all night, setting fire alarms off and throwing plates."

Foster carers could do much to improve educational outcomes for children, suggested the report. This was particularly so if the foster carers, especially the mothers, had had a good education themselves.

But a the moment, foster parents often did not receive advice about liaising with schools.

The report also highlighted the problem that many looked-after children had with low self-esteem.

Research shows that when looked-after young people's achievements are recognised, this boosts their confidence, gives other young people good role models and can change the negative perceptions of teachers and social workers.

Leisure time experiences, such as looking after animals, sport, volunteering and part-time work can also improve a young person's self esteem.

So can giving them the chance to become involved in decisions which affect their lives. As one young person said: "They all talk about you as if you're not there. You're sitting there and all these people are saying 'oh, we think it's best for him if we.'"

The report called for local authorities to take more steps to avoid children in care being excluded from school and to provide better quality forms of alternative education for them when they were.

At the moment, very little support is available to young people to challenge exclusion and and little is done to re-engage them back into mainstream education, it said.

It is still rare for looked-after young people to take A-levels (or Higher Stills in Scotland) even if their Year 11 results are good enough. They also frequently miss out on the careers advice offered to others and their ambitions are often not taken seriously.

Young care leavers wishing to enter further or higher education face a range of obstacles. Often the care leaving projects did not prioritise education, said the report.

The researchers pointed to good practice within local authorities such as better communication between education and social services departments, award ceremonies to celebrate the achievements of young people in care, training for foster carers, residential care staff, social workers and teachers.

Some young people have transport provided so they can stay at the same school if their care placement changes and others have access to good educational support such as revision clubs during the school holidays, extra tuition before exams and extra payments to foster carers to encourage help with reading and homework.

A few local authorities provide financial, accommodation and emotional support for those going on to further or higher education. But whether or not a child in care was likely to do well in school, remained a postcode lottery, suggested the report.

It also warned that despite encouraging signs of progress in some areas, a great deal of commitment was needed to ensure improvements were sustained and made more widespread.

Its key recommendations included: