Information below is quoted from: Promoting the education of children with a social worker and children in kinship care arrangements: virtual school head role extension (GOV.UK)

"From September 2024, the strategic role of Virtual Schools was extended to include all children and young people in kinship care arrangements.

We know that children who grow up in kinship care have better outcomes than children who grow up in other types of non-parental care. However, their outcomes fall behind those children with no social worker involvement.

The remit of virtual school heads already included kinship children:

• who are looked-after
• who meet the definition of previously looked-after
• with a social worker

The kinship strategy adapted the role of virtual school heads to specifically include championing the attendance, attainment and progress of children in kinship care.

Virtual school heads should bring greater focus and visibility to the distinct needs of children in kinship care within their existing non-statutory responsibilities.

Adaptation of the strategic role

The strategic role adaptation does not require direct intervention with kinship children and their carers, but this system-wide approach has the potential to benefit children in all types of kinship placements, including those in informal arrangements.

There are activities that the adapted virtual school head strategic role should include:

• raising awareness of the needs and disadvantage of children in different types of kinship care arrangements

This could include ensuring that the unique experiences and different kinds of kinship arrangements are visible in existing training for schools, including for the roles of designated teacher and DSL, and other learning support services such as those for children with SEND. It could also include influencing the education system to have a kinship friendly culture, as well as working with education settings to identify the distinct needs of children in kinship arrangements.

• promoting practice that supports attendance and engagement of kinship children in education

This could include facilitating partnerships between, and within, education settings, local authority children’s social care including any designated kinship teams, and voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations that work with kinship families.

• promoting practice that improves the educational attainment of children in kinship care

This could include working with education settings to strengthen how they address barriers to educational progress for kinship children."

Statutory guidance

• Download: The National Kinship Care Strategy December 2023 (DfE)
• Promoting the education of children with a social worker and children in kinship care arrangements: virtual school head role extension (GOV.UK)

Kinship care: framework for local authorities

This statutory guidance (Oct 2024) is for local authorities and their staff, and sets out:

• how local authorities should support children in kinship care and kinship carers
• the duties and expectations on local authorities in relation to kinship families

Kinship care: framework for local authorities - GOV.UK

Children And Trauma Community Hub (CATCH)

CATCH is an online support platform that provides accessible tools to inform and empower families supporting children who have experienced early life trauma and are now under: 

• adoption
• special guardianship order
• child arrangements order

This is applicable to parents and carers with children attending schools or settings in Worcestershire. 

Workshop details

Our upcoming workshop will demonstrate how you can make use of CATCH’s services.

Date: Tuesday 10 December 2024

Time: 11:00am to midday

To book onto the workshop, please contact: virtualschool@worcestershire.gov.uk 

If you do not have a CATCH membership and would like to be a member, please contact: jbusby@worcestershire.gov.uk

Trauma Informed Schools UK: Online conference

Worcester Virtual School will fund places to this upcoming online conference:

Cutting Edge Interventions in Trauma Informed and Therapeutic Parenting for Looked After Children

Suitable for foster carers, kinship carers and adoptive parents

Date: Monday 27 January 2025 

Time: 9.30am to 4:00pm

To request a place, please email: virtualschool@worcestershire.gov.uk 

Cutting Edge Trauma Informed and Therapeutic Parenting for Looked After Children.pdf