Agenda item

Report CEF22002

The report provided the Committee with a regular update on the performance of the Virtual School for children in care and children previously in care, currently adopted or cared for under a Special Guardianship Order.

In response to a question, the Virtual School Head Teacher outlined the work being done to better engage young people with education.  The Committee noted that there were a number of factors affecting the persistent absentee data as, due to the pandemic, children had been in education for fewer days.  The periods of lockdown had had a greater impact on young people entering care later and who may have already been more disengaged with education.  Members noted that Primary School attendance was very good with foster carers going a good job of getting young people to school.  There was a greater focus on young people in Years 10 and 11 and engagement had been difficult because of the lockdowns that had been imposed during the last two years.

Advisors were now working in a different way and overseeing a specific cohort.  Weekly attendance was being monitored and every personal education plan quality assured.  Advisors were able to work with schools to identify suitable interventions and direct pupil premium funding in the right way.  A flexible approach was taken to the support provided but the key was to challenge schools to ensure that they were using every resource available to make sure that young people were encouraged to attend school, that the curriculum was appropriate and that adequate support was available to re-engage the young person.

The Virtual School Head Teacher explained that in terms of Covid Catch up for looked after children, each child and young person had a personal education plan which was regularly reviewed.  Three additional questions had been included on the personal education plan in relation to Covid.  The Service had also reorganised how the Pupil Premium Plus was distributed to schools.  Funding was given to schools termly and each term a pupil progress day was held to review the progress of each individual child.  This ensured that the Pupil Premium Plus was tailored to the barriers for the individual child.  It was not always about academic catch up but reviews could also consider aspects such as mental health and extracurricular activities.  For those children who were progressing well, the funding could be used to enrich their educational experience.  Schools were also challenged on how they were spending their Covid recovery funding and the appropriateness of the curriculum provided.

In relation to the impact of Covid in the longer term, the Virtual School Head Teacher explained that figures for the expected progress of children were lower than the service would want them to be, however the figures were also affected by the fact that children missed large periods of education when the lockdowns were imposed.  The Service had an awareness of the children who had been most affected and those who were struggling to engage.  There had been some successes in challenging potential exclusions and good work had been done with schools but there had been some children who had needed to move onto other settings.  The Committee noted that roughly 10-20% of the cohort were struggling and the remainder of the cohort were affected in the same way as every other child who had experienced disruption to their education over the past two years.  The important thing was that the Advisors knew the children very well and extra monitoring and tracking was in place which enable challenge to be used and, where necessary, support put in place.

The Committee noted that the post CLA Advisor met the statutory duties introduced in 2018.  In addition, Post-16 Advisors worked closely with other services to ensure that when young people reached 18 years old, they had a clear idea of their destinations.  There were currently 24 young people in higher education and 8 who had started university in Autumn 2021.  One of the Post-16 Advisors was a specialist in careers advice.  In addition, the Chairman noted that the Leaving Care Team provided a great deal of support as did many of the Council’s foster carers.

In response to a question, the Virtual School Head Teacher explained that there were not many children from displaced families within the Service.  Those who did access the Service were mostly aged 16 and above and were supported by Post-16 Advisors who worked with Bromley College to access a ESL (English and a Second Language) course to enable them to develop their English as quickly as possible.  These young people were particularly affected by the lockdowns as the courses were delivered virtually which, in the circumstances, made them difficult to access.  In these cases, the young people were supported, with meetings taking place in parks and outdoor areas in order to maintain a connection.  It could be more challenging to find a school place for the few under 16s entering the Service but Bromley schools had been very accommodating and had done their best to support the young people.  The Committee noted that there were small numbers but suggested that it would be helpful for a further update to be included in the next Annual Report.

Members noted that the role of the Virtual School had been extended and that some posts were being grant funded.  The Virtual School Head Teacher confirmed that although the grants were provided on an annual basis there was some certainty that the grants would continue.  From September 2021, the duties of the Virtual School had been further extended and there was a requirement to promote the education of all children with a social worker.  Consequently, the Service had been monitoring the education of children with a Child Protection Plan since the beginning of January 2022, and schools had been responsive to this.

In relation to Challenge 2 within the report, the Committee noted that the joined up worked had been further developed and monthly meetings brought together the key Heads of Service and representatives from the single points of contact for SEN.  The meetings considered a number of issues, for example, at one point in the year the transition from primary and secondary school would be reviewed.  This was replicated across the key transition points. 

Members also noted that there were currently 11 staff within the Team including admin and quality control staff.  There were enough staff to oversee the children in a meaningful way, staff knew each child well and meetings were prioritised to ensure the best outcomes.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.