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Virtual School for Children in Care

Vision

Our vision is that every child and young person in care is the best they can be.

We aim to enable this to happen by having a direct impact on the life experience of children and young people in care through working directly with:

  • children/young people.
  • schools.
  • social care staff.
  • foster carers and the full range of support services, and acting as their ‘champion’ in facilitating the best educational opportunities possible.

Who is part of the Virtual School?

  • All children and young people in the care of Warwickshire belong to the Virtual School as well as their mainstream school, wherever they are placed.
  • Children and young people in the care of other authorities who are living and attending schools in Warwickshire.

How do we work?

Each area of Warwickshire is supported by a fully qualified teacher known as the Virtual School Area Lead. They work closely with the designated teachers in schools, social work teams and carers to support children in care living in the area and ensuring that they are ‘the best they can be’. They monitor the progress of the students, offer advice to designated teachers, social workers and carers and will broker interventions when necessary. There are also two support workers who provide direct interventions with pupils and students when appropriate.

The Tiffin Club

The Tiffin Club is the Virtual School Corporate Parents Association and it was started by a group of senior managers who wished to demonstrate openly their commitment to corporate parenting.

There are three projects that offer support for students in the Virtual School

  • Volunteer mentoring – an opportunity for a child or young person to have the support of someone who is ‘there for them’ rather than having to report to someone else.
  • Work experience opportunities – either short term in a block of one week or a longer commitment of a day a week for a term or a year.
  • Apprenticeships – there is a protocol in place that if an apprenticeship is advertised in the local authority and a care leaver wishes to apply, if they meet the criteria, there is a guarantee of an interview.

Ofsted

Safeguarding and Looked After Children achieved a 'Good' rating in the recent Ofsted Inspection. To read extracts from the Ofsted report, please click on the 'Ofsted November 2011' document in the Downloads and documents section of this page.