Virtual School for children in care

A ‘child in care’ is a child or young person who is in the care of a Local Authority. The Local Authority must safeguard and promote their welfare including promoting their educational achievement whether they live locally or in another area.

What we do to promote the education of Children in Care

The Virtual School has a duty in law to promote the educational achievement of children in care to Brighton & Hove local authority wherever they live.

We have a team of advisers and assistants who work directly with:

• staff in educations settings
• foster carers
• social workers
• other professionals

This is to ensure that children in care do the very best they can in their education. We do this from the start of their education through to the end of their last year in compulsory education.

How we can help

We provide:

• advice and support to:
  • education staff
  • foster carers
  • social workers
  • other professionals
• training and development opportunities for:
  • education staff
  • foster carers
  • social workers
• oversight of the Personal Educational Planning (PEP) system ensuring that PEPs are highly effective and recorded on ePEP
• oversight so that the best use of the Pupil Premium Plus grant is made, using evidence based interventions
• oversight to ensure that children and young people are supported to take part in the PEP process to contribute their views
• support for children to get a full range of educational support and opportunities

There are many areas of education and linked services that we can provide advice on, including:

• School Admissions – accessing good or outstanding schools
• Special Educational Needs – working with SEN teams
• access to relevant services and learning support for children such as:
  • 1:1 tuition
  • Every Child a Reader
  • Every Child Counts
  • Letterbox Club
  • in-school and after-school clubs and activities
• working together with other professionals

Help us improve

We also want to learn from you to improve our work. If you're a young person in care, a foster carer, education staff or other professional, email us with your views about how we can best promote the education of children in care in Brighton & Hove.