In 2010 there were 1,338 children in care ‘located in, and actively attending’ government schools. (1)
Disability
According to the education department’s assessment, 33.7 per cent of children in care who attend government schools were recorded as having a disability. This compares to nine per cent, for the state.
Disability data is divided into five categories and following are the 2010 results for children in care:
- Language and Communication 22.2%
- Intellectual 8.9%
- Autistic / Asperger’s Disorder 1.3%
- Physical 0.7%
- Sensory (Hearing / Vision) 0.5%
.
Attendance
All cultural/racial groups (2)
- Absences for children in care (all children in brackets) 10% (10%)
- No absences 10.5% (7.8%)
- Over ten absences 28.1% (28.7%)
.
Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander children
- Absences for children in care (all children in brackets) 12.9% (21.4%)
- No absences 8.8% (4.5%)
- Over ten absences 36.7% (55%)
.
Basic skills testing results
National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing is carried out for children in years three, five, seven and nine. From 2008 to 2010 in all year levels, figures showing percentages ‘at or above the National Minimum Standard’ demonstrate that the results for children in care are significantly lower than the total for the state.
Read the subject/age group breakdown for 2008-2010 in PDF.
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(1) The phrase ‘located in, and actively attending’ is used by ECD in their report to the Office of the Guardian.
(2) Education department, absence rates are collected for fulltime students who are:
- Enrolled during the period Semester 1 – Terms 1 and 2;
- Absent for a whole day or half a day;
- Active or left at the time of the Term 3 census;
- For reasons which contribute to counts of absence for departmental reporting.