Children in care are to get a helping hand with their educational potential.

Two new education posts have been created to help children in care in Lincolnshire get the most out of their school and college years.

Children who may have come from a background of disrupted education and difficult home circumstances are being encouraged to do well at school and pursue higher education and work placements, as well as to go to university.

Education officer Sarah Brooks and education services co-ordinator Bev Robson have been appointed by Lincolnshire County Council to ensure that children in public care are fulfilling their potential, it has been revealed.

Fusing the work of social services and education, Philip Hunt, Social Services county manager for children, hopes that the roles will provide vital information and communication links between the two departments.

"We are dedicated to ensuring children's needs are met as best we can," said Mr Hunt. There are currently 48 places for children in homes in Lincolnshire, as well as those in foster placements. More than 60 per cent of children looked after in Lincolnshire sat GCSEs this year and more than 55 per cent obtained at least one grade C or above.

Mr Hunt said: "The latest results for this year compare favourably with last year's and we believe these new posts will continue to bring further improvements."

Mrs Brooks offers advice, assistance and information on education issues for any child in public care, while Mrs Robson acts as a central focus for all agencies involved with raising the educational attainment of looked after children. Jenny Thornton is Social Services county manager for children's services.

She welcomed the chance to talk about the opportunities children looked after in Lincolnshire were being given.
She said: "It has long been understood that children looked after by local authorities fare less well in the education system than other children - in particular their ability to gain qualifications and move onto higher education.
"This is because when children become looked after they has often had very disrupted or difficult home circumstances, which in turn have had an impact on their ability to stay in school."

Mrs Thornton was confident the new posts would work positively in the outworking of children's academic interests. She said: "The posts will help in making sure education is available and beneficial for children in children's homes and those in foster placements.
"We have seen improvement in children attending school and achieving success academically, but there will always be room for improvement.
"The good news is that we do have young people who move into higher education, work placements and university and we'd like to see a lot more of this happening."

Used courtesy of the Lincolnshire Echo