Children at school

Attainment of children looked after in key stages 1 to 4

The data reported shows the progress for all children who have been in the care of West Sussex. On average, these cohorts are small and each child makes a significant difference to the overall scores which can fluctuate significantly year on year. The measure does not reflect the journey of a child through the care system and no allowance is made for the impact of school and placement changes during the secondary school period.  

Children in care over 12 months


Key stage 1 



Key stage 2



Key stage 4


Children in care less than 12 months


Key Stage 1



Key stage 2



Key stage 4


Outcomes for children looked after by local authorities: 31 March 2019

The following information is taken from the statistical release, dated 26th March 2020. This report reflects those publicly released indicators and aligns to the Corporate Plan measures. These outcome measures at national and local authority level are for children looked after continuously for at least 12 months at 31 March 2019.

Key Stage 4

Our 2019-20 milestone target is a score of -1.23 which we bettered. We are also better than the national average of -1.23, and better than the South East average of -1.36.
CLA KS4 progress (average point score) 2019
However, West Sussex’s average attainment 8 score is less than both England and South East but, with the nature of the cohort, progress for these young people is paramount.
CLA KS4 Att8 (average point score) 2019
However, with such a small cohort, the figures for KS4 can fluctuate significantly according to each individual child’s results.

Key Stage 2

Our 2019-20 milestone target is 33%. Results show that West Sussex have dropped to 30.4%. This is below the national average (37%) and South East (32%). However, with such a small cohort, 23 in 2019, the figures for KS2 can fluctuate significantly according to each individual child’s results.
For individual subject, this pattern is followed, with again a small cohort affecting each year’s results.
KS2 Outcomes - 2019

Key Stage 1

Our 2019-20 milestone target is 19% which we have exceeded. For the main measure of Reading, Writing and Maths, for period of care for 12 months or longer, West Sussex has improved dramatically in 2019 to 30.4% from 16.7% in 2018. National and South East have declined since last year and are now lower than the West Sussex figure. This contrasts with the less than 12 months figure that has fallen from 32.0% in 2018 to 20.0% in 2019.
With such a small cohort, the figures for KS1 will fluctuate significantly according to each individual child’s results. This is statistically not representative of West Sussex position for Key Stage 1 and can change year-on-year.