The focus on and prioritisation of the interests of care experienced people is one of the major successes of the Scottish Government. Driven by the voices of lived experience, the commitment and reflection that has taken place across Scotland over the past decade has brought opportunities for change of which previous generations could have only dreamed.

The Independent Care Review – and the resulting commitment to Keep The Promise – has attempted to bring ‘the system’ around a vision for change, and set a direction that ensures that this change can take place.

And some change there has been, though there must be great care that the drive for progress is not lost.

That is why it was particularly disappointing that this week’s publication of education outcomes for Looked After Children came with no press release, no media call, and no real attempt to ensure attention was drawn.

The figures – reported extensively in The Herald today - show in clear terms once again how far there is to go for Scotland to create the conditions and experiences that allow children in its care to achieve their potential.

Let us be clear that there has been progress in improving outcomes, particularly since the early 2010s where my own attainment at school – as someone who grew up in Kinship Care - would have been part of the statistical publication.

But starkly, less than half of young people with experience of care have even one National 5 upon leaving school, they are several times less likely to be able to access Higher Education, and we are actually even less likely to know what they are doing upon leaving school. And these numbers are once again worsening compared to recent years.

Be under no illusion that these outcomes continue to be nothing but a national shame.

I ask if you, the reader, to think about whether you would accept these educational outcomes for your kids?

I’d then remind you that these are your kids.

Care experienced young people are the shared responsibility of us all. They are a relatively small number of young people whose care is up to us, and whose outcomes and life chances are up to us.

And who, despite the clear progress I have mentioned, we are still failing badly.

There is something even more depressing than the reality of these statistics – and behind the numbers are real people and real lives - and that is that they are expected. They seem almost inevitable, but my contention is that they are not.

One of the things I think there is a struggle to communicate is the questions of ‘why’ in relation to education outcomes. We can say to people 'this group of disadvantaged young people (whether that is poverty-related, care experience, additional support needs etc) have worse outcomes at school' and intuitively that makes sense to us. What isn’t always done adequately, I think, is explaining the why - the day to day lived experience which builds up to lead to those outcomes.

I was recently at an event run by the brilliant Each and Every Child where I saw a film made by Falkirk CHAMPS board.

‘Dear Education…’ is a visual letter to all within the education system that sets out the way in which these disruptions can present at school, and how the reaction at school can alleviate or accelerate the impact. I thought the film the clearest communication of the impact of daily experience I have seen.

The film allowed me to reflect upon my own experience of school. Despite my general geeky demeanour, I was never a ‘straight A’ student, and particularly not in my S4 exams. My suite of Standard Grade results was very poor – a few 3s, couple 4s, and a stray 5 (I won’t be speaking fluent French anytime soon). This was a result of the disruption to schooling caused by a diabetes diagnosis and the passing of my mum when I was in S3. These were of course ‘major’ disruptive events, and from them stemmed a countless number of consistent, sometimes daily, disruptions.

It is these disruptions that are at the core of the experience of many pupils who are in care.

For many it is the lack of stability that occurs in their lives - through no fault of their own, of course. It is often a feature of the care system: not something that the system addresses, but rather something it causes.

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It is for this reason, I believe, that the young people at the sharp end of these already horrendous education outcomes are young people who have more than once care ‘placement’ or who are looked after at home. These young people face more of this disruption and often experience even less stability than their peers. As with the poverty-related attainment gap, the inequality isn’t driven by the four walls of the classroom, but rather the classroom is a microcosm of what is going on outside of it.

The only things that gave me a second chance at it and has allowed me the privilege to continue on to completing a PhD is the understanding and empathy I was afforded, and the wonderful family networks I have had in kinship care since birth until now, which has offered me stability, resources and opportunities.

There is excellent work going right across Scotland to improve things. I am lucky in my work to get to meet and hear about many of these initiatives. I have heard from CELCIS of the impact that Virtual School Head Teachers have had in many local authorities to create better learning environments. I have seen the work CYCJ are doing in Polmont with the Activate Programme, which is introducing some of the most marginalised young people to Community Learning and Development and creating pathways for life after the institution. The National Leadership Network – who I am privileged to work with – are putting lived experience not just at the heart of decision making, but making it the only way to make decisions, and are funding and developing leadership opportunities with relationships at the core of all they do.

The list of examples could go on and on, but these projects and initiatives require support. They also can’t change things for every young person - we require ‘the system’ to do that.

If we want to build a care system of which ‘love’ and respect is a feature, it must at its foundations provide that stability and provide those resources and opportunities that allow people to meaningfully engage. The efforts, urgency, and cold hard cash must be re-doubled to ensure that The Promise is kept.

If not, we will be here in a few years’ time looking at the same statistics, and knowing all that means for cutting off real life chances.

Barry Black is an education researcher at the University of Glasgow. He grew up with an auntie and uncle in Kinship Care.