Support and Guidance for Parents, Carers and Guardians

Introduction

Welcome to the Devon Virtual School’s web pages for supporting children and young people who have previously been looked after. This page details support and guidance for parents, carers and guardians.

A list of key terms used on these pages is available here.

In addition to the information on this page, the government, in collaboration with adoption UK, have produced a comprehensive guide to meeting the needs of adopted and permanently placed children.

Support at home

Family support

Adopt South West provides support for adopted children’s emotional, social and educational development, including:

Information about resources and funding
Individual and group support for parents and children
Events and support activities
Child’s identity support

Adoption support continues from the beginning of the adoption process and continues throughout childhood and teenage years. It is recognised that adopting is rewarding but can also be challenging at times. Adopt South West aims to offer a service that meets adoptive parents’ needs, or help to find the right support from other providers when necessary – this includes specific support for children aged 0-10 and support for children aged 10-18.

You can also call 0345 155 1076 or email adoptsouthwestsupport@devon.gov.uk.

Information and support for special guardianship can be found on the Devon special guardianship website. The special guardianship team can be contacted by email at childsc.specialguardianshipsupport-mailbox@devon.gov.uk or by phone on 01392 383000 (ask for “Fostering Devon duty” and then choose option 5 for special guardianship).

Self-care and mental health

Adoption UK provide some helpful resources about self-care for adoptive parents.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)

The Devon Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) provide help for children and young people who may need support with their emotional or psychological wellbeing or mental health. Please see the Children and Family Health Devon website for further information and contact details.

Life Story Books

Many children who have experienced loss, change, or trauma face the additional challenge of not having a clear or positive narrative about their early life. Having open, honest communication within a loving and trusting relationship about these experiences is an important step in a child understanding themselves. Sometimes, finding the right words for the right age of child to have these conversations can be difficult and many parents, carers, or guardians feel that they don’t know where to start.

A life story book can be used to help your child gain a sense of identity and an understanding of their history. More information about life stories is available on the Adopt South West website.

Support with Education

Who should I speak to at school?

If you have concerns about your child’s education or wellbeing in school, you should talk to your child’s teacher in the first instance. All schools also have teachers with specialist roles and responsibilities:

Designated Teacher – Every maintained school and academy must have a designated teacher for previously looked after children who provides information, advice and support. Alongside the class teacher, they would be a good first person to speak to.
Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator (SENDCo) – If your child has any special educational needs or disabilities, which may include having an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), then the person responsible for making sure that their needs are met is the school SENDCo. They would be a good person to talk to about specific issues surrounding education provision and learning.

What support is available at school?

Early Years

A free early education place from the age of two – This needs to be applied for online with supporting evidence
Early Years Pupil Premium – This is additional funding for early years providers to improve the education they provide for three and four year olds who are eligible. The funding goes directly to early years providers that offer children the free early education entitlement. Early years providers can choose how they use the funding to improve the quality of the provision that they offer.

Primary and Secondary

Priority School Admission – This entitlement will be made clear in the published admission arrangements for schools.
Pupil Premium Plus for school-aged children – This is extra funding for schools to provide additional support for vulnerable or disadvantaged children. This is not ring-fenced for the child that attracts the funding. Schools need to deploy it to have the maximum impact on eligible children (for example, through group interventions or staff training) and are accountable to Ofsted on how they have used the funding to benefit the children who attracted it.
Education Plan for Adopted Children (EPAC) – This is offered by the Virtual School as a way to improve collaboration between school, parents/guardians/carers, and other professionals and ensure that there is a clear plan for supporting a child’s educational outcomes. The meeting also provides an opportunities to share important information about your child and generates a record of this information that can be shared with key school staff that will work with your child. An EPAC meeting may be offered by school or can be requested by parents/carers. Review meeting will be agreed between parents/carers and schools, based on support needed and outcomes. The EPAC form can be found here.

Educational Psychology

There is a small team of educational psychologists who offer support and advice to adoptive parents, guardians and carers, schools and a wide range of professionals who support permanently placed children. Support includes:

Workshops (advertised through Adopt South West newsletter)
Monthly parent/carer/guardian consutlations
Attendance at EPAC meetings
Training and supervision for school staff
Further interventions as requested by the Virtual School

Educational Psychology support is accessed through the Adoption Team Social Workers (Adopt South West), Family Practitioners from Special Guardian Support, Kinship Care Team (Devon Children and Young People’s Services), or the Virtual School.

Consultation appointments can be booked directly through Adopt South West: childsc.adoptsouthwestsupport-mailbox@devon.gov.uk

Choosing a School or Early Years Setting

Deciding which early years setting or school your child goes to can be a dauting task. Below is a list of things to consider when making this decision:

Check the setting or school’s website.
Check the admissions policy which should be on their website. If your child has any special educational needs, the admissions process may be different.
Check the Ofsted inspection report. This must be linked on the setting or school’s website.
Arrange a visit.
Find a childcare provider, if needed.
Contact the Designated Teacher and/or SENDCo.
Consider what you want a setting or school to be able to provide for your child and your family. Some good questions to ask are:
- How do you support children who find it difficult to keep calm?
- How do you support children with special educational needs?
- How do you communicate with parents/carers/guardians?

Some parents/carers/guardians may consider requesting their child be educated out of year group, or ‘held back’ a year, if they are struggling academically. Guidance on this suggests that it is not an effective intervention to support academic or social and emotional development.

What to do when you apply for your child’s school place

When you apply for a school place you will be asked if your child:

was adopted from care in England or Wales on an Adoption Order
was adopted from state care outside England and Wales. State care is care provided by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other organisation whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society
left care in England and Wales on a Special Guardianship Order or a Child Arrangements Order

The Order must still be current. You don’t have to tell anyone that your child was previously looked after, but without this your child won’t have priority in getting a school place. You’ll be asked to provide evidence that your child was previously looked after, for example the Court Order.

Planning for Transitions

Whether starting school, moving to a new school or moving on to a new class, transitions are very important for children and young people. They can be also be a challenging and anxiety-provoking time, particularly for children who are vulnerable owing to their early experiences, or those who have special educational needs and/or a disability that require understanding and support.

The Educational Psychology and Early Years Services have collaborated to produce guidance for schools and settings to promote successful transitions across all phases of education. These guidance documents aim to support parents/carers, staff and other professionals in ensuring high quality transition practice across Devon.

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