The Virtual School: Support for children in care and adopted children

South Tyneside Council has a responsibility for all children in care in the Borough and with any good parent, education takes a high priority.

The Virtual School is a group of professionals who support children in care, regardless of their background, to help them achieve their potential. See also The Project for Looked After Children's Education (The PLACE).

The Virtual School also now has the responsibility for supporting adopted children. 

It does not replace mainstream school, but instead is an additional resource to support and challenge those involved in the child's education.

These pages have been designed to provide advice, guidance and useful information parents, young people and schools. 

More information and advice for schools about adopted children can be found at Schools. 

If your enquiry is more specific or complex, you can contact the Virtual School on theplace@southtyneside.gov.uk.

We track the progress and attendance of children in care and if needed coordinate educational support.

The Virtual School provides the following:

• a designated teacher who is responsible for educational and pastoral issues
• an additional resource to support and challenge those involved in their education
• support with school moves
• support with choosing the right school
• resources and support for schools
• support with exclusions from school
• pupil premium plus, see Pupil Premium Plus

Each school should have a designated teacher who is responsible for educational and pastoral issues.

The Head of Looked After Children's Education with the PLACE (Project for Looked After Children's Education) makes sure all arrangements are in place to improve the educational outcomes of children in care. The progress is monitored as if they were in one school.

Because supporting LAC effectively sometimes means working across organisational and geographical boundaries, we have signed up to the North East Education Protects Network information sharing protocol for LAC. We work to this protocol in working with colleagues elsewhere.

• LAC Early Years PEP
• LAC Reception PEP
• LAC Year 1 PEP
• LAC Year 2 PEP
• LAC Year 3 PEP
• LAC Year 4 PEP
• LAC Year 5 PEP
• LAC Year 6 PEP
• LAC Year KS3
• LAC Year KS4
• LAC Attendance Protocol
• The PLACE Service Specification

The Virtual School is happy to talk to adoptive parents about the schools in South Tyneside.

For children in care the government recommends looking at 'Good' or 'Outstanding' schools.

Ofsted reports are available by looking on a school's website or at Ofsted.

You can arrange a visit to the school and ask to meet with the designated member of staff for adopted children. Be prepared to ask questions that will clarify that it is the right school.

For more information about school moves and choosing the right school for you child see school moves.

School admissions

Children who were previously in care have priority in the admissions process.

If you need to speak to someone about school admissions, contact the School Admissions team on 0191 424 7706 or school.admissions@southtyneside.gov.uk, or visit school admissions.

View a list of schools in South Tyneside.

Moving to your child to a different school is a major decision to make. It is important to investigate all avenues with the current school to support good outcomes for your child.

The Virtual School is also happy to have a conversation with you to explore relevant issues if this is something you are considering.

For further advice see school moves.

Personal Education Plans (PEP) are not statutory for adopted children but may be used at certain points in a child's education if close monitoring is required, for example times of transition between key stages. 

For more information about PEP see, Schools.

If you are concerned that your child may have additional educational support needs, your first point of contact in your child's school would be the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDco). 

They have a critical role to play in making sure that children with special educational needs and disabilities within a school receive the support they need.

View the South Tyneside Local Offer.

You can also contact the SEND team directly on 0191 424 7410 or sen@southtyneside.gov.uk.

If your child already has an Education, Health and Care Plan then school placement can be discussed at the annual review.

Independent advice

If you want independent information, advice and support about your child's special educational needs, contact the Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) on 0191 424 6345 or SENDIASS@southtyneside.gov.uk, or see SENDIASS.

All schools have a behaviour policy which sets out how their pupils are expected to behave. Any child who does not follow the school rules may be excluded for a number of days. This is called a fixed period exclusion.

Schools should use exclusions as the last resort.

If your child is excluded, you should receive a letter from the Head Teacher telling you the reasons for the exclusion and how many days the exclusion will last.

Fixed period exclusions

The school will let you know how your child's education will continue during the period of exclusion.

During the first five days of exclusion, the school should set work for them to complete and arrange for it to be marked. Parents/carers should make sure that work sent home is completed and returned to school.

When a child is given a fixed period exclusion of six days or longer, the school must arrange for the child's education to be provided at an alternative setting.

This is from and including the sixth school day. The school should contact you about these arrangements.

During the first five days of a fixed period exclusion, the excluded pupil must not be in a public place during normal school hours without reasonable justification. This applies whether or not the child is in the company of an adult.

The Head Teacher should arrange a meeting with you during or following any fixed period exclusion.

This will give you the opportunity to discuss the incident that led to the exclusion. It will also be an opportunity to discuss any strategies to prevent these behaviours happening again in the future.

What you can do to support your child

• Keep the letter about the exclusion. It will contain helpful information including the reason for the exclusion and the arrangements for your child to return to school.
• Listen carefully to your child's version of the events that led to the exclusion. Tell them that you will also be speaking to the school and will listen to them as well. Try to keep an open mind.
• Contact the school as soon as possible so that your child can see that you are working with the teachers and staff to resolve the situation. Your child will feel more secure if they see that adults are in control of a difficult situation.
• Contact the school immediately if you have any questions or queries about the exclusion.
• If your child has had more than one exclusion you should contact the school to discuss any individual support that your child is receiving and to consider whether any further strategies could be tried.

Permanent exclusions

For very serious or repeated breaches of the school's behaviour policy a child may be excluded permanently.

If this happens, the governors of the school will have to hold a hearing to review the Head Teacher's decision. You will be able to attend the hearing, make a statement and ask questions.

The governors will decide to either:

1. uphold the decision to exclude or
2. overturn it and reinstate the child

The school should set work for your child for the first five days after a permanent exclusion.

South Tyneside Council becomes responsible after that and will get in touch to arrange next steps.

More information and advice

For more information and advice about school exclusions, please contact South Tyneside Virtual School on 0191 427 3490.

You can also contact the Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) on 0300 0115 142 or by email at enquiries@ace-ed.org.uk.

In any situation we would always encourage you to contact and meet with your child's school in the first instance. 

They may be able to offer immediate guidance, support or intervention and should be best placed to deal with your enquiries.

The school will have a designated teacher with responsibility for overseeing adopted children in their school.

If you are concerned about your child's progress in school, contact the school and ask to meet with the designated teacher, and if appropriate, the SENDco, to discuss your concerns and agree a plan of action.

Contact the Virtual School on theplace@southtyneside.gov.uk for advice if you feel progress against the action plan has not been made.

If your child is unhappy in school

Check if the school has buddy clubs, Theraplay, or other recognised strategies for supporting friendship.

Suggest activity groups for unstructured times in the day and find out what other activities and clubs your child may benefit from. 

If your child is being bullied about their adopted status

Contact the school and meet with the designated teacher and class teacher, to discuss your concerns openly and honestly, identify the issues and agree a plan of action.

School may need to build their pupils' awareness and understanding of adoption and this needs to be managed sensitively and positively.

If your child is held back a year because they are developmentally behind their peers

It is possible for your child to be held back a year but it needs to be agreed by the head teacher of the school.

For more information see South Tyneside Council: Dealing with requests for admission outside of the normal age group (including summer born children) or GOV.UK: Advice on the admission of summer born children.

If you need advice or assessment from an educational psychologist but school says your child has not reached their threshold for intervention

You can request that Pupil Premium Plus is used to fund an external assessment by an educational psychologist. 

There are many services in South Tyneside that can support with the education of your child.

There are also many information sources and guides that are available nationally to support you and your children. 

Educational Psychology Service

The Educational Psychology Service offers a range of expert advice, support and intervention to children and their families and schools, other professionals and voluntary organisations in South Tyneside. 

For more information see Educational Psychology Service.

Adoption Support Fund (ASF)

All local authorities are eligible to make applications for the Adoption Support Fund to provide post-adoption therapeutic support. 

For more information visit Adoption Support Fund.

To discuss this further or for any other adoption support visit adoption support or contact adoption@southtyneside.gov.uk. Please note, if your child has been adopted for less than three years you will need to contact the adoption team from the original local authority.

Services for Young People

Services for Young People provide a range of informal personal and social education opportunities for children and young people aged 5 - 19 years (up to 25 years if the young person has special needs / disabilities). 

For more information contact 0191 424 7400 or email syp@southtyneside.gov.uk.

South Tyneside Lifecycle Mental Health Service

The team offer a confidential service to individuals, families and groups depending on which method is most effective. 

They aim to help people through difficult times in their lives. They initially offer an assessment appointment to help you decide, with the support of one of their experienced therapists, which therapy would be the most beneficial.

For more information email stpcmhs@stft.nhs.uk or visit South Tyneside Lifecycle Primary Care Mental Health Service.

Patients can also self-refer by calling 0191 283 2937.

Support groups for children aged 13 - 25

The Adoptables
A peer network of adopted young people aged 13+ that allows them to express their views about their experiences as adopted young people at home, in school and in post-adoption support. Find out more at Coram: The Adoptables.

National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS)
A UK charity providing information, advice, advocacy and legal representation to children, young people and vulnerable adults through a network of dedicated paid workers and volunteers throughout England and Wales.

For more information about NYAS call 0808 808 1001, email help@nyas.net or visit National Youth Advocacy Service.

Escape Intervention
Promotes the emotional, social, educational and vocational competence of children and young people by offering a range of therapeutic interventions including counselling, advice, guidance and support to allow them to reach their potential and remove the barriers to personal success.

They work in collaboration and partnership with local agencies to make sure that young people have access to appropriate services to meet their individual needs in a timely manner, in an environment which is comfortable and welcoming.

For more information call 0191 427 6353 or 0759930748, email info@escapeintervention.org.uk or visit Escape Intervention.

Schools are increasingly aware that adopted children continue to have the same or similar needs as when they were in care.

The Children and Social Work Act (2017) now requires schools to appoint a designated member of staff to have responsibility for all children who were formerly in care.

Adoptive parents are welcome to contact the Virtual School if they are concerned about their child's education.

Below are some resources to support adoptive parents with the education of their child as well as as a support group for children aged 13 - 25:

• Adoption UK: Meeting the needs of adopted and permanently placed children
• First4Adoption: BAAF Pupil Premium for Adopted Children report
• Adoption UK: Education resources