THE NUMBER of kids in care who are going on to jobs or training has fallen below target for a third year running.

Glasgow City Council aims to ensure 75 per cent of children leaving care reach either employment or further education.

The latest figures, revealed in the council's annual report, show just 67 per cent of around 3,500 young people in care had a job or went on to further training in 2015/16.

The local authority admitted they had failed to reach their target but welcomed the improvement on the previous figure of just 51 per cent in 2012.

Four years ago, council bosses committed to making sure three quarters of all young people leaving care in Glasgow would have jobs or go on to further study.

The city has the largest proportion of looked after children in Scotland, with more than 22 per cent of the country's looked after children and young people based in the city.

Of Glasgow's 3504 looked after children, 92 per cent are looked after in the community while the other eight per cent - or 268 - are in residential care.

Despite having a disproportionate number of children in care, Glasgow kids are making headway in terms of academic achievements but are still lagging behind their peers who are not in care.

Looked after youngsters also have a higher rate of exclusion, and lower attendance levels than the general school population.

At secondary level last year there were 209 exclusion incidents per 1000 pupils for children looked after at home compared to 64 per 1000 for the general school population.

The council said it faces "significant challenges" in terms of scale when trying to help all kids in care however they are determined to achieve their 75 per cent target.

Councillor Liz Cameron, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Lifelong Learning, said “Improving the life experiences and chances of young people in care is a key priority for the council.

“The recent improvement in the positive destination figures for care leavers is greatly encouraging and clearly we want to build on this progress.

“At all levels of the organisation there is a strong focus on raising the attainment and sense of achievement among young people in care.

“Through our Care Leavers’ Employment Service and close links with further education colleges as well as Skills Development Scotland, we have been able to enhance the outcomes of the young people.

“We also invested heavily in the wide range of care settings for looked after children so they can live in safe and stable environments where the risks they have faced are greatly reduced.

“Front line staff, who support young people and do so long after they have left care, deserve great credit.

“Our aim is to see care leavers achieve their full potential.”

Martin Crewe, Director of Barnardo's Scotland, said: "We want positive destinations for all our young people but we have to make special efforts to do this for children in care.

"We need to keep on setting ambitious targets, as Glasgow City Council has done, and Barnardo's Scotland will work with other agencies to achieve the best for care leavers."