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How Fostering People Nurture School Success

School is a significant part of your foster child’s world. It’s where they discover their interests, form friendships, and work towards a brighter tomorrow. But, sadly, children in care often face barriers that can make achieving at school difficult.

Whether it’s low attendance, a lack of confidence, or behavioural concerns, trauma can have a profound impact on a foster child’s relationship with learning, school staff, and their peers.

The good news is that when you foster with Fostering People, we take every child’s education seriously. We recognise the unique challenges each child faces and work with you, their school and other professionals to make sure the right support is in place for children to thrive at school.

But how do we do it? Read on to find out.

School Success

Approaching barriers to success at school 

At Fostering People, we believe every child deserves a good education, but we also recognise the barriers foster children face. That’s why our approach is holistic, focusing on each child’s entire well-being. Here are just some of the ways we help foster children feel safe, confident, and ready to learn so they can achieve academic success. 

Creating a stable foundation 

Trauma can impact a child’s brain development, cognitive functioning, emotional regulation, and overall well-being. This has a knock-on effect on their experience at school and ability to achieve in the same way as their peers.  

A child’s relationship with education begins at home. When a child lives in an unstable environment where they’re constantly in fight-or-flight mode and finding ways to survive, learning will be difficult. But when they’re in a safe home that nurtures every aspect of their well-being, they have space to explore the world with curiosity and develop a passion for learning.  

That’s why at Fostering People, we carefully match children with the right foster families. Those with the patience, understanding, and compassion that children in care need to feel a sense of stability, which will help them thrive at home and in school. 

Providing high-quality training  

As an independent fostering agency, we have the resources to provide high-quality therapeutic training that helps children heal from their experiences and feel more confident at school.  

We’ll teach you how to apply PACE, a therapeutic parenting approach which can help children in your care feel safe, heard, and understood. You’ll also learn about trauma and attachment, as well as nurturing academic success and bullying.  

Through these courses and our library of educational resources, you’ll develop the knowledge and skills to support children on their healing journey and help them have a more fulfilling school experience. 

Understanding success for each child 

At Fostering People, we know that success means something different for every child. For some children, it might mean improving their attendance, whereas for others, it may be sitting their GCSEs. Whatever it is, we are proud of the progress that every child in our care makes, no matter how big or small.  

As part of our support for children in care, we have an education coordinator who communicates regularly with each child’s school or college and stays up-to-date with their academic progress. They can also help advocate for the child in your care to ensure they’re receiving the support they need.  

In 2025, our individualised approach to each child’s education helped 23 children take their GCSEs, of which 82% gained a grade 4 or above, with 47% of those achieving a grade 5 – 9.  

Supporting children through their exams 

Before exam season arrives, our supervising social workers will complete a monitoring form with you. This will record your foster child’s upcoming exams, their predicted grades, and any additional support already in place to help them.  

To prepare children for their exams, we provide SATs and GCSE revision guides, workbooks, and exam pencil cases if needed, which our current foster parents say are extremely useful.  

Once exams are over, we include the whole foster family in celebrations, and this year, we gave every young person in year 11 a gift voucher to recognise how far they’ve come. 

Going the extra mile 

In 2023, Fostering People Scotland secured funding from the Corra Foundation to develop a resource called School Through My Eyes. This project aims to understand the barriers foster children face at school and take steps to improve support.  

This highlights the lengths we’ll go to as an agency for children in our care. We listen to their experiences and use them to make a real difference to the way foster children are supported both in their foster homes and at school. 

We’d love to have a chat 

Want to learn more about fostering? Call us on 0800 077 8159 or submit an online enquiry form, and one of our friendly fostering advisors will call you. 

You can also join us at one of our weekly virtual information sessions. From the assessment process and fostering allowances to support, training and more, you’ll discover everything there is to know about becoming a foster parent with Fostering People.  

foster care School Success

Achieving for Children in Care: School Through My Eyes

At Fostering People, we know education opens doors for children in care and helps them achieve the best possible outcomes in adulthood. Yet research shows that children in care often face additional barriers. They are more likely to be excluded from school, have lower attendance, and leave with fewer qualifications than their peers.

That’s where the School Through My Eyes project comes in. This child-led training resource is designed to help close the gap, giving professionals the insights to better support children and young people in care and ensure they have the same opportunities as everyone else.

Join us as we take a closer look at the School Through My Eyes project and hear from one of the project leads about what we’ve learned, the impact it’s already having, and plans for expanding the project across Scotland.

School Through My Eyes project

What is School Through My Eyes?

The School Through My Eyes project aims to truly understand the barriers to education that children in care face. It’s more than just listening to their lived experiences; it’s about using their stories to make a real difference in how they’re supported with their achievement and inclusion in schools.

The project began in 2023, when Fostering People Scotland secured funding from The Corra Foundation to develop a resource that would help Scotland improve educational outcomes for care-experienced people, in line with recommendations from The Promise.

We spoke to Amber Mann, one of the project leads, to find out more.

What makes this project different?

“What makes School Through My Eyes stand out is its strong focus on amplifying the voices of care-experienced children and young people. Rather than relying on assumptions about what they need, the project encourages practitioners to start by truly listening, gaining insight directly from those with lived experience. It shifts the focus from doing what we think is best, to understanding what young people are actually saying, and using that insight to shape more meaningful, responsive support.”

How does it work in practice?

“This isn’t about ticking boxes or following a fixed model. It’s about creating space for meaningful connection, reflection, and growth. We view care-experienced children and young people as experts in their own lives, and this resource encourages practitioners to step back, listen deeply, and work with them, rather than doing things to or for them.”

“Importantly, School Through My Eyes is not designed to criticise or shame practitioners. We fully recognise the challenges and limitations that exist in education and care settings. Instead, this resource aims to empower professionals, celebrating good practice, sharing real-life strategies, and creating a safe space to reflect on what’s working and where we can do better, together.”

“It encourages cross-sector collaboration, shared ambition, and a collective commitment to ensuring care-experienced young people feel seen, heard, supported—and above all—cared for within education. By closing the gap between intention and experience, and by drawing on the diverse expertise across our sector, we believe we can help shift the narrative from barriers to possibilities.”

What has this project taught us?

Listening to care-experienced voices

“Through School Through My Eyes, we’ve learned just how powerful and necessary it is to listen directly to the voices of care-experienced children and young people. Their insights reveal consistent themes around feeling misunderstood, unsupported, or excluded in education — but they also highlight what does work. We’ve heard stories of connection, belonging, and encouragement that show how even small, thoughtful actions from practitioners can make the biggest difference.”

Responding to what we hear

“We’ve learned that when practitioners truly hear and respond to these lived experiences, real change becomes possible. We’ve seen how young people feel empowered when they feel heard, and how their confidence can grow when practitioners take the time to understand their perspective. This project has deepened our understanding of the barriers to learning that care-experienced children face, but it has also shown us the hope, resilience, and potential that exists when the right support is in place.”

“It’s reminded us that change starts with empathy, openness, and a willingness to see school through their eyes, and that positive, meaningful relationships are at the heart of every success story.”

How are we putting what we’ve learned into practice?

“We’ve taken the learning from this project and woven it into our everyday practice. We actively reflect on what young people have told us and use that to shape our approach. We’re more intentional about asking young people how school feels for them, and we’re supporting professionals to do the same. We’ve also used the training materials and case studies to challenge assumptions and promote a culture of curiosity and compassion when working with schools.”

What difference has this project made?

“School Through My Eyes is still in its early stages, with promising outreach planned for schools in the 2025–2026 academic year. While we look forward to capturing direct impact through feedback and follow-up with practitioners over the coming months, we’re already seeing powerful early outcomes.”

“The young people who have worked with us directly on this project have shared how much they’ve enjoyed being involved. They’ve spoken about feeling heard, valued, and empowered, exactly what we hoped to achieve. Many expressed excitement about the potential for School Through My Eyes to create real, lasting change, not only for themselves, but for other care-experienced children and young people across Scotland.”

“We’ve also seen new friendships form, both among young people and between young people and staff. Their involvement has sparked more open, honest conversations about education; what’s working well, and where there’s still room for improvement.”

“These early signs are incredibly encouraging, and we’re excited to continue tracking how the resource influences both the experiences of young people in school and the confidence of practitioners to better support them.”

What’s next for School Through My Eyes?

“We’re excited to continue growing School Through My Eyes and sharing it more widely. Over the remainder of 2025 and into early 2026, we plan to deliver the resource to education providers, social care staff, and foster families across Scotland. Our aim is to ensure the resource reaches the people who can make the biggest difference in the lives of care-experienced young people.”

“To make the project as accessible and sustainable as possible, we’re developing a training pack that can be used across different settings. This will allow our learning and messages to be shared far and wide, helping to create consistent, informed support for young people across sectors.”

“We’re also mindful that many valuable projects are limited by funding and deadlines. That’s why our team is working hard behind the scenes to find practical, long-term ways to keep School Through My Eyes going, without compromising the integrity of the content or the privacy of the young people who have contributed so honestly.”

“Education is always evolving, and we want our project to reflect that. By regularly updating the resource in line with emerging data, insights, and the voices of young people, we’ll ensure School Through My Eyes stays current, relevant, and impactful. Our goal is to create a living tool that supports ongoing reflection, shared learning, and improved practice across all who support care-experienced children.”

Take part in the project

The role of a foster carer means you have first-hand experience of helping children in care with their education. That’s why we’ve created a questionnaire specifically for foster carers so we can understand your perspective.

This gives you a chance to share what you’ve seen, like the barriers they face, the support they need to thrive, and what’s already working well. Your insight will help us identify any gaps and improve our training resources to ensure better educational support for children in care.

To join one of our School Through My Eyes training sessions, head to our training resources page and submit an enquiry form.

Want to learn more? 

Whether you’d like more information about The School Through My Eyes Project or want to learn more about fostering, call us on 0800 077 8159 or submit an enquiry form and we’ll be in touch. Together, we can help children in care have a positive school experience and brighter futures.  

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