Social Care

The Virtual School supports our colleagues in social care by providing timely educational advice and guidance to ensure strong, joined‑up practice for Children In Our Care (CIOC). This includes support with key processes such as Admissions, Attendance, Exclusions, Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), holiday requests, and school move requests, ensuring decisions are informed, child‑centred and aligned with statutory expectations. Through close partnership working, we help ensure that each child's education remains stable, safeguarded and personalised to their needs.

Children In Our Care (CIOC) processes and guidance

Admissions

The Virtual School works with social care colleagues to support admissions processes for Children In Our Care, ensuring placements are timely, appropriate and aligned with the child's educational, safeguarding and SEND needs. We provide advice to help secure smooth transitions and maintain stability in learning.

Refer to our School Admissions webpage for further information.

Attendance

We support social care colleagues by offering guidance on promoting and monitoring attendance for Children in Our Care, ensuring any emerging concerns are identified early and addressed in partnership with schools and carers. Our aim is to maintain strong engagement and reduce barriers that may impact participation.

Refer to the Working together to improve school attendance guidance for further information.

Exclusions

The Virtual School provides advice to help prevent exclusions for Children In Our Care, working with social care teams to ensure early intervention, coordinated support and consideration of alternatives. We promote collaborative planning so that exclusion is used only as a last resort.

Refer to the School suspensions permanent exclusions guidance for further information.

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)

We support social care colleagues in understanding and navigating SEND processes, ensuring that Children in our Care receive timely assessments, appropriate provision and strong multi‑agency coordination. Our guidance helps ensure that educational needs are clearly reflected in plans and regularly reviewed.

Holiday requests

The Virtual School, in line with Department for Education (DfE) statutory guidance 'Working Together to Improve School Attendance' will only approve term-time holiday requests for Children in our Care in exceptional circumstances. The DfE does not consider a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation to be an exceptional circumstance. When a request for absence during term time is required due to exceptional circumstances, social workers should complete a decision making form prior to any booking or arrangements being made. This will then be discussed and a decision made between the Virtual School Headteacher and Service Leads.  

School and settings move requests

We provide guidance on school move requests to ensure any changes are well‑planned, necessary and in the child's best educational interests. Working closely with social workers, carers and schools, we support stable placements and minimise disruption to progress

Personal Education Plans (PEPs)

Every child in care has a Personal Education Plan that supports their learning journey, sets clear targets, and ensures their educational progress is regularly reviewed. Every child in care must have an up‑to‑date Personal Education Plan, which sets clear targets, supports their learning journey and ensures that educational progress is regularly reviewed. Social workers play a key role in coordinating the Personal Education Plans process, working closely with designated teachers to ensure information is accurate, timely and centred on the child's needs. Personal Education Plans are completed and managed through Welfare Call, the secure online platform used to record updates, monitor progress and support effective multi‑agency planning. This system ensures that education, social care and carers have consistent, high‑quality information to help secure the best outcomes for each child.

Pupil Premium Plus

Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) provides targeted funding to help children in care and previously looked‑after children overcome barriers to learning and achieve strong educational progress. Social care colleagues play an important role in ensuring that the child's needs are clearly identified within the Personal Education Plans so that schools can use Pupil Premium Plus effectively and in a child‑centred way. Working with the Virtual School, social workers help ensure Pupil Premium Plus is used to provide personalised academic support, enrichment opportunities and interventions that promote stability, engagement and positive outcomes. Close collaboration between social care, carers and education settings ensures the funding has a meaningful impact on each child's learning journey.

Welfare Call

Welfare Call is the secure online platform used by designated teachers and social workers to complete, update and manage Personal Education Plans for Children in Our Care. It provides a central place to record progress, set targets and ensure that all professionals involved have access to up‑to‑date information to support the child's education.

A guide to SMART targets

School Age Exemplar Personal Education Plan targets - Primary

Please remember that targets need to be created to suit each individual Child in Our Care.

Virtual School would expect as a minimum two academic targets and, if appropriate, an Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) target (for those with a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) score of above 17). Where pupils are making below expected progress in reading, writing or maths, targets should be set to address this. We would still expect aspirational academic targets to be set for students who are making expected progress.

When writing new targets designated teachers should also take account of pupil and carer views provided for the PEP. The table below is an example: Costings used for these targets have been supplied by a School Business Manager. It is advisable for designated teachers to speak to their own School Business Management (SBM) to check rates.

New SMART targets and outcomes

These should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based (SMART). Therefore, please ensure that targets set focus on learning and personal and social development. We would expect targets focus on core areas of the curriculum. Targets set should be achievable with adult support before the next Personal Education Plan.

How?

What adult support and intervention is needed to enable the pupil to achieve the SMART targets(s)?

Who will be responsible?

This may involve the support of the parent or carer, social worker or other key professional.

Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) example cost of intervention for each action or activity

For audit purposes, this section must be completed to reflect the total spend for each term. 

Example Key Stage 1 Level Reading

Child A will start to say how they think a character in a story is feeling. When they are more confident, they will be able to say why they think the character is feeling that way by giving reasons based on the story. By the next assessment point, Child A will make the expected two steps of progress in reading this term.

Example of Key Stage 2 Level Reading

Child B will be able to talk about the author's use of language and the impact on the reader. They will be able to contribute to discussions in their reading group and evidence this in their written response to a Standard Assessment Test (SAT) style question on at least four occasions over the term.

Example of Key Stage 2 Level Writing

Child C will plan their writing by identifying audience and the purpose of written work. They will be able to tell an adult who they have written for and what they have written about. Written work will be structured to suit the genre (for example, introduction or story beginning, paragraphs in sequence, conclusion or story ending of particular type, cliff hanger).

This will be supported during whole class teaching but Child C will evidence independence in planning structure of a story and one piece of non-fiction writing at the end of term.

Example of Key Stage 2 Level Writing

Child D will use inverted commas to punctuate direct speech in their independent writing assessments. Their writing will correctly show when someone is speaking at least 75% of the time.

Example of Key Stage 1 Level Writing

Child E will use capital letters for the names of places and people. Their work evidence increased progress over the term so that 90% of capital letters for proper nouns is correct.

Example of Phonics

Child F will recognise some alternative phase 5 digraphs (ay, ou, ie, ea, oy, ir, ue, aw, oe) and will be able to read books containing these graphemes and will achieve 32 plus in phonics check.

Example Key Stage 2 Level Maths

Child G will know the 7 and 8 times tables and confidently recall multiplication and division facts when asked, Child G will consistently score 20 plus on a practice multiplication tables check.

Example of Key Stage 1 Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)

Child H will be able to use calming strategies such as breathing, singing, visual aids, favourite texture when supported by an adult at times of dysregulation. Thrive assessment will show increased percentage (at least 5 %) within the Being strand.

Example of Key Stage 2 Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)

Child J can follow classroom routines and rules without becoming dysregulated with adult support 70% of the time.

Example of Key Stage 2 Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)

Child J can use the 5 point scale regularly as a way of communicating feelings and anxieties. Key adult will report that Child J is able to recognise own feelings and identify own coping strategy from the selection at least twice a week.

School Age Exemplar Personal Education Plan targets - Secondary

Targets must be personalised, so they reflect each child's individual learning profile, ensuring support is meaningful and appropriate.

The Virtual School would expect two academic targets as a minimum and, if appropriate, a Social, Emotional, Mental Health (SEMH) target (for those with a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ score of above 17). Where students are making below expected progress in English or Maths, targets should be set to address this. Set aspirational academic targets for students who are making expected progress.

When writing new targets, designated teachers should also take into account the pupil and carer views provided for the Personal Education Plan (PEP).

Example Maths

Child A to be able to use equivalent fractions to order fractions and use the symbols (=, <, >). They will score above 60% on the next end of topic assessment.

Example Maths

Child B to be able to use a protractor to accurately measure and draw angles. On the next assessment Child B will measure and draw angles within a 4 degree tolerance 90% of the time.

Example English

Child C to be able to comment on how a writer is using language for effect. On the next Paper 1 assessment Child C will score at least 4 marks on question 2.

Example English

Child D will use speech punctuation accurately and remember to start a new line in their narrative writing and will demonstrate this in their independent end of term assessment. Child D's current grade will become a Grade 3.

Example Science

Child E will be able to independently answer assessment questions relating to the structure and functions of the human skeleton. E will continue to achieve in line with, exceed expectations and progress towards a Grade 4 in science at the next assessment point.

Example Religious Education

Child F will devise three arguments for and against an evaluative statement in Religious Education. They will achieve at least 10 of the 15 marks available on the evaluation question in their next assessment.

Example Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)

Child G to be supported to name feelings to aid effective communication with staff in order to reduce current daily episodes of dysregulation. Improvements will be evidenced in the school's (behaviour) tracking system.

Example Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)

Through positive relationships with staff and support with feelings of overwhelm, Child H to remain on track to achieve predicted grades 3 in English and Maths and grade 4 for Science at next data collection.

Costings used for these targets have been supplied by a School Business Manager. It is advisable for designated teachers to speak to their own School Business Management (SBM) to check rates.