School education and school experience of young people in out-of-home care in Germany are vastly underexplored. Starting from considerations in social inequality research, the paper brings together previous findings, including results from an own study on transition to secondary school of children in residential care settings. Thus, the paper aims to reach a deeper understanding of both school education and school experience of young people in care as a phenomenon of inequality. Conclusions point out the need for more profound analyses of structures and processes of inequality (re-)production and transformation for this group of young people.