Benefits of boarding school for looked-after children to be tested

A project to examine how boarding schools could benefit looked-after children was launched yesterday by children’s minister Beverley Hughes.

The pathfinder project will cover 10 local authorities and 51 schools.

It will seek to set up clear protocols for setting up such arrangements and examining how councils can maintain a stable base for children in their home area.

The government signalled its intention to increase the number of looked-after children in boarding schools above its current small base earlier this year.

However, charities have given the plans a cautious response. NCH chief executive Clare Tickell said: “Poor education is only one of a multitude of problems that face children in care and looking at education in isolation will simply not help.”