RSS web feeds 
Share 
Print 
Email 
Save Promoting educational achievement
Latest information for designated teachers and virtual school heads
Virtual school head (VSH) newsletter (January 2010)
The first VSH newsletter has been sent to VSHs and other stakeholders in local authorities.
New resources for schools (20 November 2009)
Three new resources to support schools to improve the educational attainment of looked-after children have been published. The Statutory guidance for school governing bodies sets out the roles and responsibilities of the designated teacher for looked after children. There are also separate good practice guidance documents for primary and secondary schools.
Important advice on improving the educational attainment of looked-after children (Spring 2009)
Improving the educational attainment of children in care: Looked-after children
Statutory duties on local authorities as corporate parents
All local authorities (LAs) have a statutory duty to promote the educational achievement of the children they look after, regardless of where they live. This fits into their wider role as a corporate parent: LAs must strive to offer everything that a good parent would in order to make sure that the children they look after reach their full potential. Statutory guidance on what LAs need to do to discharge that duty was published in 2005; revised guidance will be available later in the spring of 2010.
Narrowing the gap between the achievement of looked-after children and their peers
In 2008, 14 per cent of looked-after children achieved five A*-C grades at GCSE, compared to 65.3 per cent for all children. Because looked-after children achieve significantly poorer educational outcomes than all children it is a major priority of Government to narrow this gap.
That is why Public Service Agreement 11 (PSA 11) aims to "Narrow the gap in educational achievement between children from low income and disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers". For looked-after children, this translates into three national targets for 2011 which are:
- for 20 per cent of all LAC who have been in care for 12 months to achieve five A*-C GCSE or equivalent grades
- for 55 per cent of all LAC who have been in care for 12 months to reach level 4 at Key Stage 2 in mathematics
- for 60 per cent of all LAC who have been in care for 12 months to reach level 4 at Key Stage 2 in English.
A national strategy to improve education outcomes for looked-after children
In order to drive improvements, DCSF has developed a national strategy which is made up of four main components.
- A virtual school head in every LA who will champion the education of looked-after children, including those placed out of authority, as if they were in a single school. Virtual school heads are a key part of how a local authority can demonstrate that it is meeting its legal duty to promote the educational achievement of the children it looks after.
- A designated teacher for looked-after children in all maintained schools. Designated teachers are responsible for promoting educational achievement within individual schools. Their role is set out in Statutory guidance for school governing bodies on the role and responsibilities of designated teachers.
- The commitment that all looked-after children at risk of not reaching expected standards of attainment are eligible for a personal education allowance. There is Statutory guidance on personal education allowances which local authorities must act under unless there is a good reason for not doing so.
- The offer of one-to-one tuition to all looked-after children who would benefit from this kind of additional support. From September 2010, as part of the Pupil Guarantee, all looked-after children in Key Stage 2 and Year 7 will be entitled to one-to-one tuition.
Every LA must set statutory annual targets for the achievement of all the children they look after at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4. This is done as part of the school and local authority targets (SALTs) process. Guidance on setting educational performance targets for 2011 is available. The virtual school head should be closely involved in this process and make sure that there is a robust strategic plan with specific actions in place (which includes the use of personal education allowances and one-to-one tuition) which will help them to meet the targets they set.
Supporting education and training beyond compulsory schooling
Local authorities have on-going responsibilities to support looked-after children as they make the transition to adulthood. That means supporting them to continue their education and training. This is why LAs, as part of their duties to care leavers, must pay a bursary to all former relevant children who are undertaking a recognised course of higher education. Details about the bursary are set out in the Children Act 1989 (Higher Education Bursary) Regulations 2009 and further details about how these should be administered are included in the HE Bursary FAQs.
Further information
The resources for VSHs and others to use referred to on this page are available under ‘Associated documents’ below, or by hyperlinks in the text above.
For more information, go to the 'Educational achievement of looked-after children (LAC): Frequently asked questions (FAQs)' page.
You can find more general information about education in the 'Schools' section as well as on other pages in the 'Education, training and employment' part of this website.
Associated documents
HE Bursary FAQ
(40Kb)
Setting education performance targets for 2011: Guidance for local authorities and schools
(298.3Kb)
Download the contents of this page:
as a Word Document
Last updated on 09/02/2010
