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The government's social exclusion unit has warned that the first year of the The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 has failed to tackle the poor educational performance of looked after teenagers.

Research by the SEU found that in four out of five local authorities, children in care failed to meet the target of one GCSE this academic year. And there was only a 1 per cent improvement in the number of children achieving the national average of five GCSEs or more. Councils' inability to develop a clear model of outstanding practice in meeting the requirements of the new act was also criticised by the unit. The research said care placements remained unstable and too many children were still spending long periods of time out of school and being excluded. The waiting times for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services were also too long. The act came into force last October. It laid out new responsibilities for councils to reduce the number of children leaving care early, improve their life opportunities, and ease their transition into independent living.

Bob Hudson, principal research fellow, Nuffield Institute for Health, University of Leeds
"The educational attainment of care leavers is more a symptom of their disadvantaged background than anything else, and it would be naive to imagine the 2000 act could make a rapid impact. Addressing educational underachievement is a long-term process that needs to begin in the preschooling phase with a dedicated focus and proper funding."

Phil Frampton, national chairperson, Care Leavers Associations
"The government target of children in care gaining one GCSE, and the consequent poor results, are a indictment of a system that has failure stamped all over it. When a child is moved 30 times in 10 years, discussing educational attainment is ridiculous. New placements often mean new schools, which is why government figures show educational achievement declines with increased placement instability. Without a major funding programme to provide stable long-term residential care, and with it stable schooling, the government will continue to fail in its duty to those in care."

Karen Warwick, senior practitioner, Barnardo's
"There still appears to be an expectation of academic failure among looked after children. Many children in the care system have had their education disrupted because of school moves or exclusions. I once worked with a girl who achieved well in her GCSEs. The consensus view was that this child was particularly intelligent as well as resilient to have passed her exams so well, because the others in the unit were not sitting GCSEs, or were achieving poor grades."

Felicity Collier, chief executive, Baaf Adoption and Fostering
"The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 is a vital piece of legislation. However, I find the simplistic educational target problematic. It fails to recognise the adolescents who start to be looked after when they have already been excluded from school, have failed to make educational progress and may be offending and estranged from their families. For these young people, a GSCE may be unrealistic at this stage in their lives, whereas counselling and support will be vital. On the other hand, teenagers who have spent a large part of their childhood in care should have "corporate parents" who have much greater aspirations for them - these children find the target insulting."

Julia Ross, executive director of health and social care, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
"The research is disappointing because it shows we are failing across education and social services. But it is not all bad news. We have had some stunning results, with one of our care leavers getting 10 GCSE grades, and for the first time, we can see signs of really improving care leavers' life chances. I am sending a congratulations card to all the successful care leavers with exam results."