Your education
Where possible, we try to ensure that you don’t experience too many changes. This means that we will always try to keep you at the same school or college as you were attending before being in care.
This might not be possible if your placement is too far away. If this is the case, your social worker will be able to answer any questions you may have about your new school or college.
In order for you to do the best you can do at school, we will create a Personal Education Plan (also known as a PEP) for you. You’ll find out more about all the different plans you will have on the following pages.
You may also already have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which is reviewed on a yearly basis and more often if it is felt necessary. This document ensures the professionals around you are aware of any additional support you might need to achieve at school.
School can be fun and interesting but also hard work too. When you are in care, sometimes it can be hard to manage all the demands of school, on top of everything else you are going through. It’s important to know that your teachers are there to support you and will do everything possible to help you when times are tough.
Your foster carer will support you with school every day, supporting you to get to school on time and making sure you have the right equipment and space to do your homework at the end of the day. They will also attend meetings at school and other school events.
- Who can I talk to at school?
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Your class teacher
Your class teacher’s job is to support you to learn. In order to do this, be honest and speak up when you find anything difficult.
Your social worker
Your social worker is always in contact with your teacher and school. You can go to your social worker with any concerns and they will try to help you.
A virtual headteacher
A virtual headteacher is responsible for all the looked after children in the area. If you feel like you are not being supported in school, get in touch with them by speaking to your social worker
A Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO)
A SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) can provide you with extra help you are not already receiving.
- What is the Virtual School?
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The Virtual School is a statutory service which exists to support and challenge all those involved in the education of children in care both in the Royal Borough Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster City Councils. They act as a local authority advocate to promote the education achievement of children and young people who are in care so that they attain educational outcomes comparable to their peers.
What a virtual school does
The role of the virtual school is to:
- Be responsible for promoting the educational achievement of all children and young people, including those who live and attend schools in other Local Authorities, by tracking and monitoring their progress.
- Ensure that Personal Education Plans (PEP) are, current, relevant, effective and of high quality.
- Work closely with schools Designated Teachers to identify barriers to learning and develop effective strategies and support for Looked After Children (LAC) and Care Leavers (CL).
- Provide advice and guidance for Social Workers and Carers on issues relating to education of LAC & CL.
- Promote and track the use of the Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) to ensure that short term aspirational SMART targets (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) are set within the PEP.
- Commission and fund additional resources for LAC to support education using the Pupil Premium Plus (PP+).
- Develop and implement programmes and activities to support the education and learning of LAC.
- Provide information, advice and guidance to LAC and CL about education, employment, and training.
Who is the virtual school head
The Children and Families Act 2014 required all Local Authorities to appoint a Virtual School Head. They are responsible for promoting the educational achievement of all the children looked after by the local authority they work for.
The Virtual School Head manages the two virtual school teams within:
- Kensington and Chelsea
- City of Westminster
Your Virtual School Head is responsible for not only promoting your educational achievement but also to ensure that you have the relevant support in place for you to reach your full potential. Our mission as a Virtual School is to place you at the very heart of everything that we do; by advocating for your interests as well as celebrate your successes. We want you to feel happy, safe, and secure in settings where you receive an outstanding educational experience that enable you to grow into confident, resilient adults.
You will be allocated an Advisory Teacher who will monitor your Personal Education Plan and provide you with additional support when needed. Advisory Teachers work closely with you, Schools, Foster Carers, Social Workers, and other external agencies to ensure that the correct provision is in place to support your needs and accelerate your learning. This is done by helping to identify any barriers that you may have that may impact on your learning and ensure that effective interventions are put in place to support you. Your Advisory Teacher are available to give you advice on how the Pupil Premium Plus funding can be used, as well as organise activities for you such as Letter Box subscriptions and tuition when it is needed.
We believe that all children in care can accomplish great things and we are here to help you to achieve your best!
- Your Personal Education Plan (PEP)
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Personal Education Plan (PEP). Each young person in care has a Personal Education Plan, called PEP for short.
Your social worker, a teacher from your school who knows you well and your foster carer or residential key worker will have a meeting with you to see how you’re doing at school, what you are doing well in and anything you may need help with. This is because we want children in care to do as well as they can while we are looking after them.
This is your time to tell the adults how you think you are doing in school. Talking with your Designated Teacher before your PEP meeting will help you to write down anything you would like to say. The PEP meetings are there to give you everything you need to do well in school.