Young people who leave care with few or no educational qualifications are at very high risk of social exclusion in adulthood. At present a child in public care is five times less likely to go to university than others. This book documents the lack of education in the care provided for children separated from their birth families, and the disastrous implications that this has for their life chances. The book argues the need for major changes in the care and education systems if young people in state care are to have the opportunity to overcome early adversity and do as well as their home-based peers. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Social Work.

Introduction: Prioritising education for children looked after away from home 1. Delayed educational pathways and risk of social exclusion: the case of young people from public care in Spain 2. School as an opportunity and resilience factor for young people placed in care 3. The importance of social relationships for young people from a public care background 4. Enabling young people with a care background to stay in education in Hungary: accommodation with conditions and support 5. Placement, protective and risk factors in the educational success of young people in care: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses 6. Addressing low attainment of children in public care: the Scottish experience 7. The managerialist turn and the education of young offenders in state care 8. Action competence - a new trial aimed at social innovation in residential homes? 9. The relevance and experience of education from the perspective of Croatian youth in-care

Sonia Jackson is an Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Education, University College London, UK. She has published over 80 books and articles on children in out-of-home care. As a psychologist and social worker, she first drew attention to the neglect of their education in the 1980s and has continued to research and highlight the issue in many different countries.

Ingrid Höjer is a Professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of Göteborg, Sweden, and has directed many research projects on children and young people in foster care.