What is a Virtual School?

Every Child in Care in England has a Virtual School Headteacher which is a statutory post within the Local Authority. 

Looked after children keep the same Virtual School and Virtual Headteacher  thoughout their time in care.  This means we can consistently track the progress of our students and provide the best education and support available.

What do we do?

The role of the Virtual School is to monitor the attainment, progress, attendance, exclusions and all other aspects associated with education very much as you would expect from teachers in a physical school.

We provide transition support for our young people throughout their education as they move from school to school and stage to stage. 

As well as our direct work with young people we also work with the professionals who work with them.  We attend meetings within the Local Authority and ensure that Education of Children In Care is kept high on the agenda.  We provide training for Designated Teachers, Social Workers, School Governors, Independent Reviewing Officers and Foster Carers on a range of educational issues.

We manage Pupil Premium Funding and delegate some to schools and run strategic programmes with the rest of the funding to help raise attainment and improve well-being. 

Finally, we manage a document called the Personal Education Plan.  Or PEP.  This is a key tool to raise attainment and support progress and it is our responsibility to ensure that PEP meetings take place and that every child has a PEP every term. 

The staff in  AfC Virtual School love the work we do and appreciate the teamwork between schools, families and our colleagues in the Local Authority.  More than anything we value our young people and strive to do our very best for them so that Together we can Achieve.