Agenda item

To inform the Board of ongoing work aimed at improving the educational achievement of children in care in Surrey.

Witnesses:

Maria O’Shaughnessy, Head of Surrey Virtual School

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Head of Surrey Virtual School (SVS) introduced the report and informed the Board that the joint policy paper was positive and unique; with the right organisations communicating and focussed together on the best interests of children in care.  The importance of supporting Looked After Children (LAC) achievement at school as a corporate parent was highlighted. The Board was informed that some LAC have had school interrupted while others have not; the key to educational achievement was stability. 

2.    The recommendations in the report were noted and the Board were informed that the Department of Education (DfE) and Ofsted had established a workshop with Virtual School Services to begin supporting and implementing them.

3.    The Board was informed that the SVS agreed that it was necessary to be able to compare information on LAC achievement in a way that is fair over all abilities and ages. It was added that LAC in Surrey were achieving better results at Key Stage 4 when compared nationally and against other local authority neighbours.

4.    The Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning supported what the Head of SVS had said and added that the profile of SVS had risen and major improvements had been made to logistics and communication.

5.    A Member commented that the report was positive and suggested that Members could find value in regional updates to help identify areas in Surrey that could use specific support.  It was expressed that communication was vital; the service had improved on this considerably.  The Board noted to officers that Local Members can be used to support work in individual areas.

6.    There was a discussion around Academies, officers informed the Board that if needed it can be made a requirement for an academy to enrol a LAC.   Each academy must have a designated teacher to communicate progress back to SVS.

7.    Members questioned the repetition in the recommendations, it was responded that three different authorities had input into the recommendations and repetition emphasised the importance of targeting certain areas of work.

8.    Members were informed that the service had a statutory requirement to support LAC until the end of year 13, officers noted that SVS would always provide support for a LAC of any age; in the past this has included supporting young people getting into university. 

9.    The Board was informed that Electronic Personal Education Plan’s was a cost effective measure to look at the history and future aims of a LAC; they would identify more specific support requirements for individual cases.

10.  Officers noted that work had been started on the national LAC database and that the different categories of information were currently being compiled.

11.  Members of the Board emphasised that they could be used to support the service by writing to the DfE, in particular to raise the issue of academies accepting LAC.  

12.  Learning Mentors were discussed and it was noted that these were always sought after; mentors with specific trade backgrounds as well as educational achievement were important.  Placements that offered educational stability were vital.

Recommendations:

·         It was agreed that the Cabinet Member would write to the Department for Education, further endorsing Surrey Virtual School’s responses to the report recommendations.

·         The Board noted and agreed the recommendations set out in the report.