“Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now!” —Goethe

When you come into care we will work closely with our partners in Social  Care and every effort will be made to keep you in your existing school.   We really want you to do well in education as this will give you options for a good life when you are older.  You will be a member of AfC Virtual School all the time you are in care no matter whether you are educated in Richmond or Scotland! 

Sometimes you will need to move to a different school.  In this case AfC Virtual School will work with your previous and new school to ensure that the teachers know about your skills and that you get support with your learning if needed.  One of the teachers you might meet is Michaela who is in charge of Transition and will help you if you need any support.

We really care how you do in school and so you will have a group of people who are there to help you.  In AfC Virtual School you will have an Assistant Headteacher as your Educational Case Worker.  You will sometimes see them in school working with your other teachers to ensure that you have all you need.  You will either be allocated to Kerry Crombie or Clare Farley, both are qualified teachers and experienced leaders of education.

In the school that you attend there is a specialist Designated Teacher who  receives training from the Virtual School and it is their job to ensure that you are happy and doing well in school. 

Because there are so many people who care about your education we have a meeting every term to check that everything is going well.  This is called a Personal Education Plan meeting.  We call them ePEPs because our forms are all electronic.  You are the VIP guest at these meetings and, if you want to, you can ask your teacher if you can lead them.  We really want to hear what you feel about your learning. 

What happens at an ePEP meeting?

This is a mini-celebration of achievement meeting.  A chance where your Carer, Designated Teacher, Social Worker and sometimes your Assistant Headteacher from the Virtual School meet and look at all the great things you are doing.  As part of the meeting you will help everyone set learning goals for the next few months.  You need to have a think what would help you do better, especially in English and Maths.

There is a page on the ePEP form which is just for your views.  Don’t forget to fill this in because your Assistant Headteacher in the Virtual School always reads this page to see how you are getting along.

As your Headteacher I send the school money to help with your education.  This is really important as it is a way to help you achieve your potential.  We can sometimes send you additional funds too, so if you would like to get extra help, just ask your teacher.

How else does the Virtual School help me?

We spend our funding on your education and this means we have some specialist staff who can visit and help you if you need it.  Also we send fun parcels to Carers which have games and books and quizzes in them so look out for these if you are in Year 4 -8.   We run an AfC Virtual School Summer School; a children in care Radio Station called Radio Aspire; days out to University; Drama Classes and much much more.  Just ask your Carer to contact the Virtual School for more information.

If you have any thoughts, suggestions or questions then please contact me using the contacts page.  I am very keen to hear from you.

“You can tell whether a person is clever by their answers. You can tell whether a person is wise by their questions.” – Naguib Mahfouz

Suzanne Parrott

Headteacher

AfC Virtual School