Warwickshire Virtual School - for children in care and previously children in care

Training

The Virtual School provides training for:

Designated Teachers
Social workers
Foster carers
Teacher Training students
School staff

The Virtual School works with a small group of Warwickshire schools at a time to help them become attachment aware and trauma informed, providing training and support to enable them to develop better relationships within their settings leading to improved academic outcomes.

In 2022-23 we are continuing to share good practice and ideas through our network meetings.

To book any of the sessions please email virtualschool@warwickshire.gov.uk with the desired session(s) and the email of the person attending the training.

New to Designated Teacher (DT) training

Are you new to the role of DT? This training will cover understanding the roles and responsibilities of being a DT, including the ePEP online system.

New to DT training will be delivered via Microsoft Teams.

List of New to Designated Teacher (DT) training available
Date	Time
Tuesday 13 September 2022	9.30am-11.30am
Thursday 6 October 2022	1pm-3pm
Monday 7 November 2022	1pm-3pm
Tuesday 29 November 2022	9.30am - 11.30am
Wednesday 11 January 2023	1pm-3pm
Tuesday 14 February 2023	9.30am - 11.30am
Friday 17 March 2023	9.30am - 11.30am
Thursday 27 April 2023	1pm - 3pm
Tuesday 23 May 2023	9.30am - 11.30am
Wednesday 21 June 2023	1pm - 3pm
Thursday 13 July 2023	9.30am - 11.30am

Designated Teacher (DT) training

Annual full day DT training will take place in autumn 2022. The morning session will be delivered by the Educational Psychology Service and afternoon by Virtual School Education Advisers.

Date	Time	Location
Wednesday 12 October 2022	9am-4pm	The Sydni Centre, Leamington
Thursday 13 October 2022	9am-4pm	Bulkington Community Centre
Thursday 20 October 2022	9am-4pm	Bulkington Community Centre
Thursday 3 November 2022	9am-4pm	Rugby College
Wednesday 9 November 2022	9am-4pm	The Sydni Centre, Leamington

Network meetings

Designated Teacher Network Meetings will continue to be run via teams this year. We will be running one meeting per term rather than the area based meeting. Please let your linked education adviser / officer know if you would like to share an idea or resource or an idea that you would like to Virtual School to cover.

Network meetings for upcoming terms
Term	Date and Time
Autumn Term 2022	Wednesday 23 November 4pm to 5pm
Spring Term 2023	Wednesday 8 February 4pm to 5pm
Summer Term 2023	Thursday 22 June 4pm to 5pm

To book any of the sessions please email virtualschool@warwickshire.gov.uk with the session being booked and the email of the person attending the training (so that the Teams invitation is set up with the correct email address).

Warwickshire Virtual School Training

To be delivered remotely by the Educational Psychology Service on behalf of the Warwickshire Virtual School.

This training is targeting Designated Teachers for children in care and previously children in care, in addition to members of staff who are, or have been, part of the Attachment Aware and Trauma Informed (AATI) School Project and may have missed training delivery in their school.

Please note that to take part in any of the sessions noted as being a ‘Part 2’ training there is an expectation that those attending will have received training in Attachment and/or Developmental Trauma as a pre-requisite.

To book your place(s), please email virtualschool@warwickshire.gov.uk confirming which training session, name and email address of the delegate. A link to the online training will be forwarded to the email address given, a few days prior to the training.

Autumn term 2022

Course title and description	Target audience (max 30)	Date and time	Venue
Domestic Abuse Introduce Domestic Abuse within the context of Adverse Childhood Experiences; Look at the impact of Domestic Abuse upon children and families, from a psychological perspective; Explore what schools and settings can do to support children affected by Domestic Abuse;	Preschool Primary Secondary	09.15-12.15 Wednesday 28th September 2022	Bulkington Community Centre, Bulkington (Unity Hall)
Anxiety: A Psychological Rethink Understand anxiety from a psychological perspective; Recognise a range of anxiety signs and symptoms; Consider the implications for Children Looked After/ Previously Looked After and other vulnerable individuals; Introduce a framework and approaches to support children experiencing anxiety.	Primary Secondary Post 16	09.15-12.15 Tuesday 11th October 2022	Bulkington Community Centre, Bulkington (Beaumont Rm)
Inclusive Solutions to Behaviour that Challenges Explore core values surrounding inclusion; Review a series of theoretical approaches/strategies and their application to inclusion in school; Consider a range of practical strategies to approach challenging and distressed behaviour; Increase awareness of strategies to support young people’s development of self-regulation skills.	SLT Primary Secondary	09.15-15.45 Tuesday 18th October 2022	Bulkington Community Centre, Bulkington (Beaumont Rm)
An Introduction to Attachment Understand what attachment theory is and the implications of differing attachments; Consider the impact of attachment on child development and in particular on the brain; Consider a ways to support children/young people displaying attachment needs.	Preschool Primary Secondary	09.00-12.00 Thursday 10th November	Bulkington Community Centre, Bulkington (Weston Room)
Emotion Coaching Understand why emotion coaching is important for children and your educational setting; Learn about the physiological basis of emotions and the importance of self-regulation; Learn the 5 steps of emotion coaching and apply to a practice scenario.	Primary Secondary To make best use of this course, it would be preferable to have attended an input on Attachment and/or Trauma first.	12.45-15.45 Thursday 10th November 2022	Bulkington Community Centre, Bulkington (Weston Room)
An introduction to Trauma Learn more about developmental trauma; Understand the impact of trauma on the brain and the biological responses; Be aware of ACEs and, in particular, their impact on children who are looked after (CLA) or previously looked after; Consider strategies to support children who have experienced developmental trauma.	Preschool Primary Secondary Post 16	09.00-12.00 Tuesday 29th November 2022	Bulkington Community Centre, Bulkington (Beaumont Rm)
An Introduction to Resilience Develop an understanding of resilience theory; Briefly consider teacher resilience and wellbeing; Explore known protective factors across child development; Introduce a practical tool that can be used to promote pupil resilience.	Primary Secondary	12.45-15.45 Tuesday 29th November 2022	Bulkington Community Centre, Bulkington (Beaumont Rm)
An Introduction to Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Understand more about the causes and characteristics of FAS Explore implications within education Consider approaches and strategies to support inclusion	Primary Secondary	09.15-12.15 Thursday 8th December 2022	Pound Lane, Leamington Spa (Main Hall)

Spring term 2023

Course title and description	Target audience (max 30)	Date and time	Venue
Anxiety: A Psychological Rethink Understand anxiety from a psychological perspective; Recognise a range of anxiety signs and symptoms; Consider the implications for vulnerable individuals and especially those who have been looked after by the Local Authority; Introduce a framework and approaches to support young adults who experiencing anxiety.	Primary Secondary	09.15-12.15 Thursday 26th January 2023	Pound Lane, Leamington Spa (Main Hall)
Making the difference - trauma informed key adults Understand and develop your key adult role in supporting vulnerable children in school, creating contexts and relationships in which children and young people thrive. This course will enable you to: Understand the psychology underpinning the role of a key adult. Explore how to build relationships of trust and understanding. Understand challenges and develop ways to find solutions. Practice new, and develop existing skills to further your role as a key adult. Making the Difference – Trauma Informed Key Adults Poster (PDF, 247 KB)		9am to 4pm Wednesday 1 February 2023	Bulkington Community and Conference Centre
Gang Exploitation and its relationship to developmental trauma Gain a psychologically informed understanding of gang exploitation; Consider gang exploitation within an attachment and trauma informed framework; Explore attachment aware and trauma informed ways of responding and supporting CYP with these needs.	Secondary Post 16	09.15-12.15 Tuesday 7th February 2023	Pound Lane, Leamington Spa (Main Hall)
Making the difference - trauma informed key adults Understand and develop your key adult role in supporting vulnerable children in school, creating contexts and relationships in which children and young people thrive. This course will enable you to: Understand the psychology underpinning the role of a key adult. Explore how to build relationships of trust and understanding. Understand challenges and develop ways to find solutions. Practice new, and develop existing skills to further your role as a key adult. Making the Difference – Trauma Informed Key Adults Poster (PDF, 247 KB)		9am to 4pm Thursday 9 February 2023	Venue TBC
Self-Harm Identify and understand self-harming behaviours in children and young people; Consider strategies for good practice in supporting children and young people who self-harm; Plan and identify a whole school approach.	Primary (KS2) Secondary	09.15 - 12.15 Thursday 2 March 2023	Bulkington Community Centre, Bulkington (Beaumont Rm)
Teenage Anxiety Understand anxiety from a psychological perspective Recognise a range of anxiety signs and symptoms in adolescence Consider the implications for looked-after/previously looked-after children and other vulnerable students Introduce approaches to support young people experiencing anxiety using CBT based approaches	Secondary	09.15-12.15 Tuesday 7th March 2023	Bulkington Community Centre, Bulkington (Beaumont Rm)
Understanding Teenage Brain Development and Possible Implications for Learning and Behaviour Understand the changes which occur in the brain during adolescence Understand how adolescence provides a ‘window of opportunity’ to shift the course of development Consider strategies to build a resilient adolescent brain, with a focus on children looked after/previously looked after Explore programmes to teach young people about their own brain development	Secondary Post 16	09.15-12.15 Thursday 9th March 2023	Pound Lane, Leamington Spa (Main Hall)

Warwickshire Virtual School CPD Opportunity

Focus: Raising the Attainment of Disadvantaged Youngsters (RADY)

Louise Blackburn from Challenging Education will lead the day and we will hear from a number of people.

Houlton School regarding their mixed-attainment strategy, which is inclusive for all children, but particularly those who might be vulnerable. Houlton School’s strategy recognises all children are able and talented. It is proven to lead to the best progress and happiest children.

Rugby Free Secondary School will share what they are doing with their Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, and Safeguarding in relation to equity. Rugby Free Secondary’s “ambitious culture has been achieved through the development of strong and positive relationships with staff, students, parents and carers. Our reflective approach means we are always striving to improve in all that we do and believe that mistakes are only an opportunity to learn.”

Clapham Terrace Primary’s passion and dedication to inclusion is infectious! They will share their strategy and demonstrate how they ensure equity for all children. “At Clapham Terrace Community Primary School and Nursery we are committed to creating an outstanding, happy and secure learning environment in which the unique qualities of each child are recognised, respected and valued.”

Trevor Sutcliffe from Challenging Education shared the idea of ‘Achieving Equity in Education’ at the October headteachers conference. Now designated teachers and other senior leaders can spend a day focussing on ways to improve attainment for all vulnerable children, with a particular focus on those who are CiC, children previously in care and those who have or have had a social worker.

The day will cover:

The RADY pledge

A practical session on understanding uplift in the context of your own school data. Please bring a laptop or other means of accessing school data. This is for personal use only and will not be shared.

The golden thread of equity

Challenging Education – Education consultancy, training and monitoring to maintained and academy schools across all phases.

This face-to-face event for designated teachers and senior leaders responsible for the progress and attainment of vulnerable groups, is taking place on Thursday 16 March 2023, from 10am to 3pm at:

Weston Lawns Farm
Bedworth Rd
Bulkington
Bedworth
Warwickshire
CV12 9JA

To book places contact virtualschool@warwickshire.gov.uk with the following details:

delegate name
school name
job title
email address
dietary/access requirements

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