Child and family support

Virtual School Newsletter: Spring Term 2 (April 2025)

Virtual School webpages

Just a reminder that all our protocols, guidance, forms, ePEP information and plenty of other
useful resources can be found on the Virtual School webpages. See specfically Information for Schools, Settings and Governors.
There is also a section for Adopted Children & those under Special Guardianship Orders and info on the Extended Role of the Virtual School (to support children on CIN/CP Plans)

Dates for your diary

Designated Teacher Network Meetings:

  • Tuesday 20 May 2025 (focus tbc)
  • Tues 15 July 2025 (focus tbc)
  • Mon 20 October 2025 (focus tbc)

All meetings held 1.30 – 3.00pm via Teams.

Hold the dates in your diary and an Outlook calendar invite will be emailed to all DTs nearer each date. If you don’t receive the invite please request from kate.clarke@devon.gov.uk

If there are any topics you’d like us to focus on in these meetings please email kate.clarke@devon.gov.uk

New DT Refresher Training

We are aware that Designated Teachers change and move on and to help with this the Virtual School and Educational Psychology Service are running a training and information session aimed at new DT`s or those who would like a refresher about the role. The virtual training
sessions will be held termly to cover new people taking up the role as the school year unfolds and to give a choice of dates. Each session will be the same so you would only need to attend one. Structure of the training:

  • 1 hour to understand trauma, attachment and why a CiC may need something additional from a school setting
  • 1 hour looking at ‘What it means to be a DT and the statutory duties it entails’

Dates:

  • Mon 7 July 2025
  • Mon 22 September 2025


All training held from 2.00 – 4.15pm via Teams

To attend the New DT Refresher Training please request the calendar invite/Teams joining instructions from kate.clarke@devon.gov.uk

PEP Meetings: messages and updates

A reminder that a member of the VS cannot attend all PEP meetings due to increasing workloads but please do go ahead without us.

  • If you have a particular concern about a young person that you would like to raise with the Virtual School, please get in touch with your Area Learning Advocate prior to the PEP meeting (see contact details below).
  • We are concerned that not many young people are actually attending their PEP meetings, please encourage them to do so, even if only for the last 10 minutes.
  • If you have any queries regarding PEP meetings, dates or rearranging please contact our PEP Coordinator, Rachel.Friend@devon.gov.uk

Area Learning Advocates

PEP Support Officers

The Virtual School website has lots of useful advice, guidance and forms too.

Quality Assurance: new process

Currently Area Learning Advocates quality assure PEPs. From the beginning of this year PEP Support Officers (PEPSOs) have been supporting them with this process.

PEPSOs have been reviewing PEPs to see if they have been pre-populated before the PEP meeting and completing the first of our new two-stage quality assurance process:

  • Where PEPs are not complete or not completed on time, the PEPSO will be contacting the Designated Teacher to highlight the areas of the PEP that need to be completed, or improved upon, within the statutory timeframe of 5 days. In our experience this usually supports the PEP being fully completed in a timely manner.
  • Where there are exceptions to this, the PEPSO will then contact the DT again, 8 days after the PEP meeting and this time will be escalating the need for timely completion of PEPs with both the Designated Teacher and the Headteacher.

Once PEPs have been quality assured by both PEPSOs and Area Learning Advocates there will be a PEP ‘dip sampling’ exercise with a panel that will include external moderators. This much extended process will ensure that we have consistently high standards of PEPs for our looked after young people.

Since introducing this new process we have already noticed an improvement in the quality and timeliness of PEPs so thank you for your help with this.

Attendance Codes: errors and updates

The VS Attendance Improvement Officers would like to draw your attention to two common attendance coding errors:

Pupils on a Reduced Timetable: use code C2 – please use the C2 code for the sessions that they are not expected to attend and complete an Annex R. If you have Annex Rs in place, please invite the VS Attendance Improvement Officers to the reviews.

Pupils who move placement or new into Care – please use code Y7 if a young person has moved placement while on your school roll or is new to Care and settling into placement, please use Y7 not the C code.

If you have any queries regarding the attendance of our Children in Care or those on CIN/CP Plans please contact us: Rebecca.Brooks@Devon.gov.uk or Alison.Down@devon.gov.uk

ePEP – Contact from Wonde

We have had quite a few enquiries from schools regarding Wonde so just wanted to clarify the situation…

The company that oversee our ePEP system (eGov) is working with Wonde to be able to connect and synchronise ePEP with the information inside each school’s MIS (eg. SIMs, Arbor, Bromcom) for Devon’s young people.

If you are contacted by Wonde regarding this it is genuine and below are the contact details for Wonde and eGov – they will be able to support your IT team with granting permission to your MIS. The person granting permission will require Administration Access to your MIS.

Wonde Email: support@wonde.com Tel: 01638 438094 | https://www.wonde.com/

eGOV Email:caroline.proudman@egov.uk.com Tel: 03337 720944 | https://secure.epeponline.co.uk

All queries regarding accessing ePEP, forgotten passwords, log on issues should be directed to our DCC Education Systems Team via educate.educationsystemsmailbox@devon.gov.uk

College Aspiration Days

For CiC in years 7/8/9, and those on CIN/CP Plans.

Exeter College Year 7/8/9 Experience Day for CiC: 29 April 2025

Experience life at Exeter College, have a tour and take part in an activity. Lunch and goody bags provided. To book your place(s) please click this booking link.

All queries should be directed to careexperienced@exe-coll.ac.uk or t:01392 400144.

It is essential to book so the college can plan catering and goody bag numbers.

Bicton College Experience Day: 19 May 2025, 10am – 2pm

This is a great opportunity to get a glimpse of what could be in store for you at Bicton College. There will be a tour of the campus, two activities (in Arboriculture and Mility & Protective Services) lunch and a goody bag!

Please consider bringing a group of your pupils to this event, which will support them in considering their Post-16 plans.

Book your place(s) via this link (deadline for bookings is 1 May 2025)

If you have any queries please contact kayleigh.oliver@bicton-ac.uk / t: 01395 562408

NB: Bicton is a land-based College so attendees will need to be prepared for the range of outdoor activities on offer during the day by wearing appropriate outdoor clothing and footwear.

Charitable Funding for CiC

We’d like to remind you of two charity funding streams for CiC…

The Farringdon House School Charitable Trust

St John’s Hospital Trust Funds

St John’s Hospital Trust Funds are available to assist any of the following

  • Persons aged 11 to 25 years: To promote the education (including social and physical training) of persons under the age of 25 years who have at any time attended as pupils of a secondary school (any school or college attended after age 11) in Exeter and who are in need of financial assistance.
  • Single parent families and orphaned children or Looked After Children: To provide for the education and maintenance of orphan or Looked After Children resident within a distance of 15 miles from Guildhall, Exeter.
  • Educational establishments: To either maintain or improve any voluntarily aided Church of England School in the City of Exeter or provide Church of England Schools with benefits of a kind not normally provided by the local Education Authority.

Info for PLAC & those on SGO / Kinship Care

To follow up on the topic discussed at the DT Network meeting last week…

Private Fostering: please see full details for this team via this link Private fostering. They can be contacted via privatefostering@devon.gov.uk or t: 01392 381005 option 1

Special Guardianship Order (SGO) Support Info: Further info can be found via this link Special guardianship. There is a closed Facebook group for SGO families with lots of useful information – please ask carers to contact the SGO Duty Team on childsc.specialguardianshipsupport-mailbox@devon.gov.uk / t: 01392 381005 to be added to the group.

VS Support/Funding for Previously Looked After Children (PLAC – including SGO/Kinship Care): Deryn Dewing, VS PLAC Education Advisor: Deryn.dewing@devon.gov.uk offers support, advice and guidance to schools/carers/parents. There is also a section of our VS website dedicated to PLAC: Support and guidance for adopted and permanently placed children and young people.

FREE Attachment Based Mentoring Training: Summer 2025


The Virtual School have again arranged free Attachment Based Mentoring Training and Developing Relational Support Plans Training for Devon Schools (and non-Devon Schools that have a Child in Care to Devon on roll).

Please see full details, dates and booking links below. There are a limited number of spaces, these prove very popular every year and places fill up quickly.

Please note: you need to be logged into your Devon Education Services account to be able to see the ‘book now’ button. If you don’t have a log in please register. If you have any queries please email Educate.educationtraining-mailbox@devon.gov.uk.


Attachment Based Mentoring (3.5 days – full course) @ The Future Skills Centre, Exeter

12 and 19 May and 16 June 2025 (9.30-4pm) and 21 July 2025 (1.30-4pm).

The Attachment Based Mentoring programme aims to meet the specific needs of children who are most in need, by providing them with a significant adult in school who will become a safe base and is able to provide relational support through coaching and mentoring.

This 3.5 day training draws on theories and research from the fields of attachment, coaching and resilience, ABM is a comprehensive practical guide as to what to do and how to be to ensure that the individual needs of each child are met. The approach aims to enable children to feel safe, connected, and capable – forming positive relationships and enjoying learning.

This course is aimed at: teachers and teaching assistants who will be attachment based mentors and senior leaders who have a responsibility for student support and wellbeing.

BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE

Attachment Based Mentoring for Designated Teachers, SENCOs and Senior Leaders (1 day) @ The Future Skills Centre, Exeter
18 June 2025 (9.30-4pm)

The course provides a comprehensive overview of the key components of the Attachment Based Mentoring Approach:

  • Attachment and Relationships (being a significant adult) – The theories which underpin our understanding of effective relationships and their role in development, learning and well-being as well as developing the skills and practical strategies that we need to use in our work with children.
  • Development (being a coach) – The theory and practical application of using solution focused coaching skills to support the child to identify skills and strengths and work towards what they would like to achieve.
  • Practical Support (being a parent in school) – Supporting inclusion, providing information, being an advocate and how we can set and maintain boundaries with nurture and empathy, using a relational rather than behavioural approach.

The course will support participants to co-ordinate and facilitate the mentoring within school as well as developing personal skills. In addition, the course is a comprehensive guide to understanding the needs of CIC and vulnerable children and as such will help to develop practice across the school as well as supporting systemic change.

This course is aimed at designated teachers, SENCos, and senior leaders.

Please note: you need to be logged into your Devon Education Services account to be able to see the ‘book now’ button. If you don’t have a log in please register. If you have any queries please email Educate.educationtraining-mailbox@devon.gov.uk.

Building Relationships that Make a Difference: Developing Relational Support Plans (1 day) @ Exeter (venue tbc) 3 July 2025 (9.30-4pm)

This one-day course explores the theories which underpin our understanding of effective relationships and their role in learning, development and wellbeing as well as developing the skills and practical strategies that underpin the relational and ABM approach.

The course includes:

  • why relationships are key to teaching and learning
  • the role of the adult as a source of safety, security, regulation and belonging
  • the impact of anxious relationships on thoughts, feelings and behaviour and what we can do to help
  • using relational support plans to develop universal to targeted support

The course is aimed at Senior Leaders, DTs, SENDCos and teachers in school who have responsibility for co-ordinating relational support and who may be facilitating relational support plan meetings.

Please note: you need to be logged into your Devon Education Services account to be able to see the ‘book now’ button. If you don’t have a log in please register. If you have any queries please email Educate.educationtraining-mailbox@devon.gov.uk.

Changes to Designated Teachers or contact info

If you have a change of staff please email educate.virtualschool-mailbox@devon.gov.uk to inform us of your new Designated Teacher’s name and email address – so we can ensure that our emails are sent to the correct person and that your new DT is set up on the ePEP system.

Just a reminder to have a back-up DT in case of illness – please email educate.virtualschool-mailbox@devon.gov.uk with any updated contact details, to avoid drift and delay in PEP meetings.

Many thanks.

We wish you a relaxing, enjoyable Easter break and many thanks for all your support and work with our Children in Care.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch…