Lambeth Virtual School How Governors can make a difference for Children Looked After

Session Structure Overview of the Lambeth Virtual School (including PEPs and Pupil Premium) Focus on the Children? What are the main barriers to learning that CLA face? What can schools do to overcome the barriers? What Governors can do to make a difference? The skills to support and challenge.

Children in Care account for ½ % of the school population Children in Care account for ½ % of the school population. In Lambeth there are 450 children in care. About 250 of statutory school age About 1/3 live in Lambeth 1/3 in Greater London 1/3 in other boroughs Numbers are falling slightly in Lambeth Currently the VS is not responsible for POST LAC though this may change with the education bill currently going through parliament

Main purpose of VS in each LA is to promote educational achievement of children in Care to THAT authority. Offer a range of services For Children For Professionals Letterbox Training, Support and Guidance Nimble Multi Professional Forums On line learning platforms Conference Tuition CPD – on line

Personal Education Plans This is the main vehicle through which all professionals can work together to identify children’s main needs and the way these can be met. All PEP’s Should have SMART targets Should show how pupil premium will be used Should measure outcomes (and provide evidence of) of impact of Pupil premium Should include the child’s voice Should allow all parties to work collaboratively

A PEP meeting should take place within 20 days (school days)of a child coming into care A PEP should take place at least every 6 months – but good practice is every term A PEP should also take place whenever there is significant change eg school or placement move In Lambeth we now have an ePEP and ALL PEPS must be completed on line THE PEP IS THE MEETING THE ePEP is the record of the meeting ALL PEPs are quality assured by the Virtual School If a PEP has not taken place OR if the PEP is not of good quality or if the PEP doesn’t detail what the pupil premium spend will be the school may NOT be given the PPG+ payment

PUPIL PREMIUM The LAC PPG + is a discretionary grant – paid to schools by the VS who receive it from Central Government based on the numbers of children in Care (census in April) Currently PPG + is £1900 per child Lambeth top slice £400 per child to provide services to all children and those who are most needy Conditions of grant stipulate that schools must show how it is spent for the benefit of the individual child Post LAC PPG is completely different

Children in Care research from NSPCC Children in care are 4 times more likely than their peers to have a mental health difficulty Children in Care are less likely than their peers to do well in school While much has been done many of the barriers identified over a decade ago – it seems many of the BIG ISSUES facing Looked after children remain the same

The five big issues Social Inclusion Unit (2003) In 2003 the Social Inclusion Unit identified 5 main issues that affected the education of children in care.

Instability Write down (on “nice” pieces of paper) 3 things that are significant to you. Might be a person, an object, an activity, a pet. Explain to the person next to you why you have chosen one of them. Now imagine you have to give one of these 3 things up. Put it in the bin. How do you feel? Repeat for other 2 things. Imagine what it is like if you have to move home/were taken into care and give up all 3 things. Greater stability – so that children in care do not have to move home or school so often

Time out of school Research suggests that ?? missed school days a year = 1 GCSE grade drop in achievement 17 days Lot in the news lately about children having time out of school. Fines for term time holidays etc. How many days school do you need to miss to drop a GCSE grade? Guess in numbers. Missing school is an issue for our LAC children. Less time out of school – longer in education – help with school admissions, better access to education with more support to help children in care attend school regularly and stay on after age 16

Carers not expected to help 11. What is the Carers input in supporting the young person? please tick Attends open evenings / parents evenings Encourages with out of school learning Encourages good attendance Maintains contact with school when child is off ill Phones on first day of any absence Dresses child appropriate to the season/weather Arranges appointments out of school hours wherever possible Provides an adequate, healthy packed lunch (if appropriate) Pays dinner money on time [if applicable] Communicates with school about any circumstances that may impact on stability of young person Encourages taking part in out of school activities Do you have any concerns about your foster child's education? What would you like to happen for your foster child in the short term? What would you like to happen for your foster child in the long term? What do we expect from carers? Discussed at PEPs. What can you do as a health professional to support a child/carer with the above? Do you have any concerns about your foster child's education? More help from home to support schoolwork - by giving carers better training in children’s education

Children need more support with their emotional and physical health Pupil Voice How are you feeling today? Over 201 different emotions have been identified. Where are you on the tree of life? Where would you like to be? Need to find ways to support our LAC children with identifying and managing their emotions. How can you as a health professional support a child with their EHWB? Improved health and wellbeing - with teachers, social care staff, health workers and carers all working together in the interests of the child

What do our looked after children need? Greater stability – so that children in care do not have to move home or school so often Less time out of school – longer in education – help with school admissions, better access to education with more support to help children in care attend school regularly and stay on after age 16 Help with school work – more individual support tailored to the child backed by more training for teachers and social workers More help from home to support schoolwork - by giving carers better training in children’s education Improved health and wellbeing - with teachers, social care staff, health workers and carers all working together in the interests of the child (Social Inclusion Unit 2003) The needs appear NOT to have not changed substantially since then. Recap on 5 key issues.