Agenda item

Victoria Banks, Head of Virtual schools will provide an update to the Board.

Victoria Banks, Head of Virtual Schools provided an update in relation to virtual schools.

 

The Head outlined that every year the Virtual school holds an annual conference, however due to covid the last 2 years have been online, however this year it was held in person, which was fantastic.

 

The conference was held on 11 February 2022 at the Riverside Stadium. Virtual schools now have a responsibility for all children with a social worker and one of the aims was to gather delegates together to champion the education for our children with a social worker. There were over 150 delegates and it was attended by head teachers/ governors/ designated teachers/ mental health leads/foster carers/ delegates from children’s service.

 

The conference was extremely well attended and the Head expressed a thank you to the senior leadership team. Rob Brown, Director of Education and Partnerships hosted the event, however the event was jointed hosted by Middlesbrough Council and Redcar Cleveland Council. There was a joint address from the Directors of Children’s Services and Sue Butcher provided an inspiring speech.

 

Feedback from the event was excellent, and there were some excellent outcomes and change of practice for our children, for example:

 

“It was great to hear from people who have  had lived experience of being in care and I was very moved at times. I found the balance of speakers great”

 

“I found it really beneficial and I am meeting with someone this afternoon about Trauma Informed Practice”

 

The event was free, however there was a catch for all delegates, in that they were asked to make an Education Champion pledge to become a champion for children with a social worker.

 

There were over a 150 signatures and the pledge was a follows:

 

·         I pledge to become an Education Champion for children with a social worker

·         I pledge that I will promote good educational outcomes for children with a social worker I will raise awareness of the needs of children with a social worker within my daily practice andoffer professional challenge to colleagues to ensure that children with a social worker have

·         access to the best possible education both in school and in the community

·         I pledge that I will advocate for children with a social worker in my daily practice by keeping children with a social worker in mind throughout my working day I will hold high aspirations and support colleagues to ensure all children with a social worker have outstanding educational opportunities I will have high expectations of the key adults who feature in the

·         lives of children with a social worker and expect them to be involved in their learning and educational progress

·         I pledge that I will, within my given roll, swiftly intervene if there is evidence of any child with

·         a social worker not reaching their full potential I will be mindful of educational barriers and

·         work collectively with other professionals to remove the barriers preventing a child with a social worker reaching their potential.

·         I pledge that I will delight in celebrating the achievements of children with a social worker I will encourage the ambition of our children and guide them into the future they aspire to.

The Head outlined that she would be calling on Councillors and if any Councillors would like to sign the pledge to become an Education Champion for children with a social worker, to get in touch directly.

 

The Head of Virtual School briefly outlined that data of the virtual school cohort.

 

The virtual school statutory school age roll has decreased month on month.

 

·         Currently 339 school aged children

·         155 (46%) primary school

·         184 (54%) secondary school

·         53% male

·         47% female

·         207 (61%) are in-borough schools and 132 (39%) are in out of borough schools.

As a virtual school we give advice, and therefore the further they attend school, the more difficult it is to influence, however they have excellent partnership working and have a North East virtual schools group to ensure the education of the children is at heart.

 

In terms of education stability, these were reviewed by the Virtual schools governing body for oversight. The figures were as follows:

 

	Sept 2019 – July 2020	Sept 2020 – July 2021	Sept 2021 – April 2022	Projection 21-22
School Moves	85	67	43	57
Permanent Exclusions	0	0	1	2
Sessions  lost to Suspensions	843	252.5	349	465
Attendance	74.4%	83.9%	88.1%	86%

 

20In terms of permanent exclusion, there has been 1. However this decision would be going to an independent reviewing panel for challenge.

 

     Next steps and how to sustain improvements

 

•       DFE attendance improvement plan

•       Inclusion policy launch

•       School inclusion pledge

•       PROCLAIM project roll out 

The key priorities for the virtual schools for this year is as follows:

Each child with a social worker should have a personal education Plan (PEP) and the virtual schools is responsible for is making sure that the right people are reviewing the PEP- the social worker, the school, the foster carer and the young people.

 

Where all the stakeholders are in attendance, there are good outcomes and holistic PEPS which support the young people.

 

One aspects which has been a struggle is the attendance of young people at their PEP meeting. They voices are captured and someone speaks for them, however Tia James, Virtual Schools Educational Champion Apprentice has a list of young people who have not attended their PEP meeting and asking if there is anything we can do to change this e.g. face to face/ identify barriers.

 

     At the end of each term, using the data we look at the outcomes the PEPs have made. There are over 300 sections of data within a PEP that can be analysed which can be done on a termly basis.

 

The virtual schools has an intervention centre, which had specialist English, Maths and Science tutors and young people who may require additional support can be identified by the data. Mental health and emotional support is also captured and we can fast track support if required.

 

The Head of Virtual Schools finally discussed the PROCLAIM project:

 

PROCLAIM

Providing Rich Opportunities for Children Who are Looked After In Middlesbrough

 

Looked after by the community, who are vulnerable (who have a social worker, have special educational needs or who are young carers).

 

 

 

VISION

Our vision is to ensure that all Middlesbrough education settings are Attachment Aware and Trauma Informed in their practice, for the benefit of their whole learning community, by 2025.

 

MISSION

 

Our mission is to have a universal language of attachment and trauma across Middlesbrough, underpinned by training, supervision, support and challenge which will drive excellent outcomes for all children and young people, particularly those who are most vulnerable.

 

PURPOSE

 

Our purpose is to address the needs of children and young people in Middlesbrough. In education, we have witnessed further significant increases in children and young people requiring alternative provision, being referred for Education, Health and Care needs assessments, being persistently absent and being subject to permanent exclusions from our education settings.  This data highlights an ever growing need to provide environments that are rich in positive and nurturing relationships and where our children and young people can achieve their potential and ‘grow and prosper’ (SEND strategy 2020-2024).

 

      The Head advised that key individuals from outside Middlesbrough have become interested in our work e.g Luke Rodgers, which is a fantastic achievement for Middlesbrough.

 

There had been an Easter holiday club, which focused on education , however this was only attended by 3 young people, and therefore further discussions would be held to discover how to engage further with young people.

 

The Head of virtual schools was commended for her report and presentation.

 

AGREED- That the update be noted.)