Principles
Care-experienced and previously looked after children or young people in Devon should expect to benefit from a safe, happy and successful education just like any other child, so that they can reach their own potential in school and beyond.
Our aim is that no care-experienced child should be excluded from school, they should be able to attend the most appropriate school for them, regularly and full time and that all necessary and appropriate support is in place for them to be the best they can be.
Our aim is that this vulnerable group of children should be supported and encouraged to achieve positive learning outcomes, be fully included in learning and so have equity in being able to plan their independent futures like any other young person.
Commitment
There is a strong commitment throughout Devon that the exclusion of children or young people in care should be avoided, this is upheld by Devon education leaders and the Local Authority through the Virtual School and Children’s Services.
We have a shared recognition that children or young people in care as a group are more likely to struggle in school because of their early-life trauma and adverse childhood experiences can have a negative impact on their ability to manage the social, emotional and academic demands of school without some additional support.
Exclusion has a huge impact on a child in care and often leads to increased challenges within school, deterioration in relationships, reduced attainment alongside adding strain to care placements. We are committed to working in a multi-agency manner to support children or young people in care to be successful in our schools and colleges.
We all share a commitment to ensure our Devon children in care have all the support we can give them and every chance of success in education. Sadly due to their trauma, school moves and time missing from education their outcomes are often not as good as for children who are not in care.
Despite our Devon children making slightly better progress than children in care, nationally the outcomes are poor and our aspiration is to help them fill those gaps to be able to gain outcomes at the same level as all children.
Care-experienced young people are also at greater risk of becoming NEET. At age 16 this is four times more likely and at age 18 it is eight times more likely.
We all need to work together to help our care-experienced young people to feel welcome in school, to engage in their education and remain in school to change these figures and so ensure that every child in care can live their best independent adult life.
In September 2023, Devon recognised being care-experienced as a protected characteristic and in doing so the expectation in education is that we should make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of this cohort of young people and help them thrive.
We know that at times care-experienced young people are challenging in educational settings and the Devon Virtual School will provide training and support for schools to understand how trauma and attachment needs may impact a child`s ability to engage in learning but also support with strategies to help overcome these additional needs (see Appendix 1: Provision for Children in Care, Adopted and Care- Experienced Children and Appendix 2: Supporting a Child in Care in Your School).
Working together to support the education for a care-experienced child
The responsibility for supporting care-experienced children and young people does not lie with one individual or agency but is shared by all adults in the team around them.
Where a school has concerns about the behaviour of a child or young person in care, the Virtual School and child`s social worker should be informed and involved at the earliest opportunity so that a plan to support the child and the education setting can be made.
We would look at all other interventions and strategies before suspending a child from education at school or college, as rejection and lack of the sense of belonging is so detrimental to a care- experienced young person.
There is a very clear explanation of the processes required in the DfE Guidance September 2023 on suspensions and exclusions for a child with a Social Worker.
`Where a looked-after child (LAC) is likely to be subject to a suspension or permanent exclusion, the designated teacher (DT) should contact the Local Authority’s Virtual School Headteacher (VSH) as soon as possible.
The VSH, working with the DT and others, should consider what additional assessment and support needs to be put in place to help the school address the factors affecting the child’s behaviour and reduce the need for suspension or permanent exclusion.
Where relevant, the school should also engage with a child’s social worker, foster carers, or children’s home workers.’ (paragraph 60)
‘Whenever a headteacher suspends or permanently excludes a pupil they must, without delay, after their decision, also notify the social worker, if a pupil has one, and the VSH, if the pupil is a LAC47, of the period of the suspension of permanent exclusion and reason(s) for it.’ (paragraph 78)
‘Both the social worker and/or VSH, must be informed when a governing board meeting is taking place, in order to share information. The social worker and/or the VSH can attend the meeting, should they wish to do so.’ (paragraph 79)
Early intervention
In Devon, we would ask to be informed of any suspension as stated in the guidance but ask that we intervene and discuss how the child can be supported before we get to this stage. Designated teachers should contact the area learning advocate for their school at the earliest opportunity if the child is not engaging well and additional support may be needed.
Concerns should be raised and recorded at the termly PEP but early intervention is vital to prevent escalation into a suspension, waiting until the next PEP is not likely to be timely in bringing about the immediate change needed.
‘All looked-after children should have a Personal Education Plan (PEP) which is part of the child’s care plan or detention placement plan. This should be reviewed every term and any concerns about the pupil’s behaviour should be recorded, as well as how the pupil is being supported to improve their behaviour and reduce the likelihood of exclusion. Monitoring of PEPs can be an effective way for VSHs to check on this.’ (paragraph 61).
We would ask that a school calls a review meeting to bring together a support plan for the child considering a relational support plan as part of the intervention process (Appendix 3: Emergency Review of Need Meeting Pro-Forma; Appendix 4: Relational Support Plan).
Please liaise with the Virtual School who will support with the setup of the meeting and leading it if required.
Appendix 1:Provision for Children in Care, Adopted and Care-Experienced Children
Building trusted relationships with adults
- A significant adult or teams of adults (or both) to provide relational support. Support co-ordinated through a Relational Support Plan which should detail how the child is made to feel safe at school, how adults will connect with them and support them to connect with peers and develop a sense a belonging, how their behaviour will be understood, regulated and responded to and how they will be cared for.
- Mentoring from an appropriately trained adult, for example an Attachment Based Mentor. As well as meeting the child’s need for attachment and relationships, the mentor should also provide coaching and practical support. This may involve making individual agreements, identifying, teaching and practicing strategies to support specific behaviours, building on strengths and making reasonable adjustments.
- All adults aware of the child’s needs and able to provide relational approaches, such as regular opportunities for meaningful connection, check-ins or greetings at the start of lessons, check-ups, check-outs and holding in mind.
- Opportunities to experience a high level of care and nurture through meeting needs for unconditional regard, attention, belonging, being held in mind etc.
A template and guide to developing relational support plans can be found here.
The following courses are all available to book via this link Devon Education Services online shop – DES:
- Attachment Based Mentoring Programme – for those who wish to become Attachment Based Mentors (3-day programme).
- Attachment Based Mentoring for Designated Teachers, SENCOs and Senior Leaders (1 day course).
- Building Relationships that Make a Difference – including Developing Relational Support Plans. (1 day course).
Managing the school day and the environment
- A safe base within school which can be accessed at the start of the day, at social times and when needed throughout the day as appropriate. Safe bases need to provide a comfortable environment and access to familiar significant adults.
- Enhanced support for transition. This includes significant transitions such as those between schools, key stages and year groups as well as beginnings and endings throughout the day. Guidance on support for transition
- Pre-warning of change and novelty and reasonable adjustments as appropriate
- Reasonable adjustments for sensory sensitivities such as differentiated expectations for uniform, quiet spaces to eat lunch, use of ear defenders, specified seating position in class
- Access to sensory calming and soothing support such as a low sensory space when needed, resources to support sensory regulation and flexibility to support sensory and grounding techniques in and out of lessons and throughout the day
Supporting behaviour
- A regulatory and restorative approach to supporting behaviour including reasonable adjustments to the behaviour policy where appropriate.
- Intervention and support to develop emotional regulation skills. This could be small group intervention followed by adult support in the classroom and social times to support the child to generalise skills covered in the intervention.
- A regulation plan which outlines intervention (for example emotional literacy intervention) required and the adult’s response at different stages of dysregulation from mild stress to crisis including the response for when the child has calmed down.
- The use of restorative frameworks to support everyday conflict and when incidents have occurred. Emphasis should be on supporting the development of understanding why the behaviour occurred, the consequences and ensuring that relationships are repaired.
Guidance on using a relational approach to supporting behaviour including a template and guidance for a Co-Regulation Plan and a guide to using restorative approaches can be found here devon.cc/relational-learning
Supporting peer relationships
- Enhanced and supported access to extra-curricular activities.
- Enhanced support to make and maintain friendships such as adult support to mediate relationships, interventions to develop skills such as listening to other perspectives, being and following a leader, managing peer pressure and resolving conflict, buddy systems and circles of friends.
- Peer mentoring from an older child or peer support groups (or both).
- Opportunities to connect with role models, particularly role models who are care-experienced or who have the same cultural and ethnic heritage (or both).
Supporting learning
- Base line assessments carried out for literacy and numeracy followed by appropriate support and intervention.
- Support for executive functioning skills such as organisation, planning, working memory and attention.
- Access arrangements for exams when appropriate.
- Language assessments followed by appropriate support and intervention.
- Enhanced support in key stage 4 in preparation for post 16 options and for leaving care such as enhanced opportunities for work experience, careers advice, visits to educational and/or apprenticeships settings.
Support for self-esteem and agency
- Child centred approaches in order to ensure that the child has a voice and is heard, is able to have some control and able to make decisions, establish goals and experience agency. such as person-centred planning meeting.
- Approaches to support the child to reflect, identify their strengths, problem solve and establish their preferred vision of the future and small steps towards establishing this. For example, through solution focused coaching.
Support for attendance and belonging
- Close monitoring. early identification and intervention. Use the relational approach to emotionally based school non-attendance to provide intervention if the child starts to express reluctance to attend school, finds it hard to come back to school after weekends and holidays, starts truanting within school or has occasional days off.
- The pathway can also be used when there are concerns relating to severe or persistent non- attendance and to plan reintegration.
- Further information available via this link a relational approach to emotionally based school non- attendance (EBSNA)
Appendix 2: Supporting a child in care in your school
Supporting a child who is taken into care while on your school roll
When a child comes into care they will experience a mix of emotions which are often unpredictable.
Often school is the only remaining constant in the child`s life so support from the trusted adults at their school is vital in helping them process all the other changes in their life at that time.
This offer of support and care can be the difference in helping the child feel safe and cared for as behaviours can change and be out of character at this very challenging time.
How the school supports the child or young person at this time is critical as their behaviour may put them at risk of exclusion.
Good practice is for the designated teacher and area learning advocate from the Virtual School to discuss needs and create any plan needed to include:
- DT to ensure that all relevant staff are aware of the young person’s new status.
- DT begin to collect information from members of staff to identify support needs for the young person.
- DT to ensure that a mentor is appointed to provide a supportive relationship for the young person.
- DT to contact carer to introduce themselves and their role.
- Virtual School to arrange a PEP meeting within twenty working days of the date that care began.
- Discuss any additional support needed for the young person and training needs for school staff.
Supporting a child or young person who transfers to your school
Children or young people in care experience a great deal of loss in their lives. Moving schools is another loss which children may have to contend with. They will have left behind friends and staff who know them and have supported them.
For a child or young person in care to succeed in their new school there needs to be an enhanced transition where the sending and receiving schools are fully committed to the sharing of information.
The welcome from the new school is pivotal to helping a child in care process the school move and feel they can begin to make new relationships in the new setting.
Simple welcoming gestures and personal touches really make the difference for a child at this very emotional and challenging time.
Devon Admissions (CiC) will provide the new school with transfer information completed by the previous school. This information will be provided after an offer has been made. We do not expect Devon schools to refuse admission to a child or young person in care.
The area learning advocate and the DT of the receiving school must:
- call a ‘Planning for Success’ meeting within five days of the offer of a school place. This meeting will be with previous school, new school, social worker, carers, Virtual School and any other key people in the child`s life. At this meeting strengths and barriers to learning will be discussed; exam entries if relevant; additional educational needs; care situation update given; a plan made for a visit to the school; a start date agreed and PEP meeting date arranged. The meeting will consider how the school can be supported to offer the most positive welcome to the child to begin building relationships to create the sense of belonging we hope they will find there
- make use of specific guidance when planning for this transition (See appendices)
- ensure that all relevant staff are aware of the child or young person’s status and learning needs
- ensure that a mentor is appointed to begin a supportive relationship with the child or young person and consider creating a relational support plan
- arrange a PEP meeting within 20 working days from the date of admission
Appendix 3: Emergency review of needs meeting
Download and print the emergency review of needs meeting form here