Parents want their children to have the best start in life and to reach their full potential. As corporate parents, Worcestershire Local Authority has equally high aspirations for the children they look after. 

As such Worcestershire Virtual School will:  

• support and challenge schools, carers and all relevant partners to achieve the best possible educational outcomes - giving the highest priority to creating a culture of high educational aspirations for children
• work collaboratively to ensure our CLA attend the best possible education establishments - provided with the opportunities to progress and realise their individual potential
• co-ordinate and support effective delivery of Personal Education Plans (PEPs) and monitor their outcomes
• track and monitor attendance, exclusions, progress and personal achievements of our CLA
• manage the Pupil Premium Plus funding for CLA and work with schools to ensure it is used effectively
• encourage, support and celebrate our young people’s successes and achievements - this includes the promotion of children's participation in out of school activities and projects
• provide advice and guidance to children, parents, carers, social workers, schools and others - around the education of CLA and previously looked after children (PLAC)
• provide a range of training opportunities to support partners to support the educational needs of CLA, PLAC and CWSW
• maintain an up-to-date roll of children who are in school or college settings - gather information about their placement, attendance and educational progress through the PEP process
• ensure social workers, designated teachers and schools, carers and IROs understand their role and responsibilities - in initiating, developing, reviewing and updating the child’s PEP and how they help meet the needs in PEP
• work to avoid drift or delay in the provision of suitable educational provision, including SEN, and unplanned stopping of arrangements through proactive, multi-agency co-operation - this should be completed quickly and with the best interest of the child, this also may require other authorities

For previously looked-after children (PLAC) and those in kinship care, the Virtual School will be a source of advice and information to help their parents to advocate for them as effectively as possible. 

The Virtual School are not acting as part of the corporate parent role in these circumstances, but are there to promote the educational achievement of these children through the provision of advice and information to relevant parties.

More information:

• Previously looked-after children
• Kinship care

From September 2021, the Virtual School Head’s role has been extended to include the strategic leadership of promoting the education outcomes of all children and young people with a social worker (CWSW). 

It covers all children who were assessed as needing a social worker at any time due to safeguarding and/ or welfare reasons, which includes all those subject to a Child in Need plan or a Child Protection plan. This includes children aged from 0 up to 18 in all education settings.

Initial enquiries to the Virtual School should be made to:

• Ruby Tasney (Business Support Officer)
• email: virtualschool@worcestershire.gov.uk
• telephone: 01905 844913

For individual contacts, please see ‘Virtual School: Our team’.

The expectation from Worcestershire Virtual School is that all professionals and partners:

• have high aspirations for the children they work with
• work with the Virtual School to ensure our children and young people achieve the best possible educational outcomes and life chances by giving the highest priority to creating a culture of high educational aspiration
• have a continuous dialogue with the Virtual School so that the student is supported in the best possible way
• we need to be informed of any issues regarding education and home placement

We expect school and social workers to:

• complete their sections of the PEP at least three days prior to the PEP date

Both PEP completion and processes are covered in other tutorials:

• Virtual School Personal Education Plan

Following Childrens Services ILACS inspection in May 2023, Ofsted reported:

‘29. The virtual school ensures that most children in care receive a good-quality education. Personal education plans (PEPs) appropriately identify the additional support children require and as a result they are progressing well. Children are encouraged to enjoy various activities and hobbies.’

The support we provide to our CYP, their carers and our other partners and stakeholders is invaluable and has improved the life chances of many hundreds of Children Looked After, Children Previously Looked After and Children With a Social Worker.

Through Worcestershire Virtual School Learning Advocates leading PEP meetings and providing support and challenge to schools, social care colleagues and other partners, the visibility of our children and young people has increased and educational settings have been challenged to provide a wider and more targeted range of strategies to support their most vulnerable learners. 

Worcestershire Virtual School’s mission to create Trauma Informed and Attachment Aware Settings (TIAAS) across the county has improved schools’ or settings’ ability to support our children and young people and improved their educational experience, outcomes and wellbeing.