Our Impact
Our Impact
As of 2021, Foster the Future provides weekly tutoring to approx. 110 students, and accepts applications from Kindergarten right through to Year 12. Along with providing educational support, our FTF tutors develop a friend and peer-mentorship role with students, supporting them through various aspects of their schooling.
As a result of the support from our tutors, a recent survey demonstrates that 85% of our students are now on track to finish high school, compared to only 25% of foster children across Australia. Furthermore, 85% of our carers have also noted a significant improvement in the way that their child approaches school, with all carers that responded to the survey agreeing that tutoring with Foster the Future has increased their child’s confidence in regard to their education.
“Educational outcomes for children and young people in care are consistently poorer than their peers in the general population.”
Supporting these students through to the end of year 12 helps reduce the impact of educational gaps and hurdles, and expands their options for the future. Removing these barriers to opportunity enables students access to more employment opportunities and greater confidence in themselves.
Having support in their education allows students to:
Build stronger relationships within their community (NSW Gov, 2020)
Learn how to set + accomplish goals, and deal with disappointment (NSW Gov, 2020)
Avoid outcomes like suspensions, exclusions, or repeating grades (Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, 2013)
Such challenges include*:
Poorer literacy and numeracy outcomes
Higher numbers of children and young people repeating a grade at school (10–30% of children and young people in out-of-home care in NSW)
Higher incidences of learning difficulties, behavioural problems and intellectual disabilities
Higher numbers of young people leaving school at an early age.
*(NSW Gov, 2020)
The Impact of Covid-19 and Distance Learning
Lockdowns and distanced learning have significant impacts on all students, however youth in out-of-home care have faced unique challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prior to the pandemic, youth in foster care were already at high risk of falling behind their peers in school. However, since the introduction of distance learning, foster youth face greater challenges in engaging with lessons as they are more likely to encounter obstacles in accessing the added technology and resources required to keep up during lockdowns (Children Now, 2020). Furthermore, the social detachment of distance learning can amplify the disengagement students may feel towards learning.
Children Now 2020, The Impact of COVID-19 on Students in Foster Care, viewed at 3 November 2021, <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED610710.pdf>
Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, 2013, Valuing and improving educational outcomes for children in out-of-home care, Queensland Government, <https://www.cyjma.qld.gov.au/resources/childsafety/practice-manual/pp-valuing-improving-educational-outcomes.pdf>
NSW Government 2020, Fostering a Child, viewed at 3 November 2021, <https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/families/carers/fostering-a-child/chapters/school-and-education>