Virtual School annual report – attainment and achievement 2021/22

The aims of the Virtual School

Promote: High aspirations and excellent educational outcomes

Support: Children and young people, carers, schools and settings

Challenge: Anyone who does not deliver on our aspirations

Celebrate: All our successes

Introduction

This report has been designed to provide information on the attainment and achievement of the Local Authority’s looked-after children in 2021/22, set against a background of our performance in previous years and national benchmarks.

This report is based on LA-held pupil information and results from schools for 2022. As in previous years, the data in this report is constantly updated from first issue until all national data becomes available.

It is important to note, however, that due to the pandemic and the disruption caused for education, that all areas are not comparable with previous years. This includes attainment, attendance, exclusions and progress.

The report also outlines the work of the Virtual School in 2021/22 in working to advocate for the Local Authority`s looked-after children to ensure high aspirations and the best possible outcomes for each young person.

We have embraced the extended role of the Virtual School Head promoting the education of all children with a social worker (see Appendix 1). The purpose of this strategic role is to:

• make visible the disadvantages that children with a Social Worker can experience
• enhance partnerships between education settings and Local Authorities to help all agencies hold high aspirations for these children
• promote practice that supports children’s engagement in education, recognising that attending an education setting can be an important factor in helping to keep children safe from harm
• level up children’s outcomes and narrow the attainment gap so every child can reach their potential

We have also been successful in our bid to be one of only 18 local authorities to pilot post-16 pupil premium funding aiming to raise aspirations, reduce those not in education, employment and training and ensure further education providers promote best practice to ensure learners can access their studies and remain engaged in their courses.

We have appointed a part-time post-16 learning advocate to give focus to this cohort and provide expertise in post-16 opportunities. Each of our four major FE colleges has used the funding for staff training and additional pastoral support for our young people in college. Each college has committed to providing an aspiration day for learners aged 11-14, to inspire and set goals for the future so preventing future NEETs.

We held an awayday for FE staff where 40+ colleagues shared good practice, training and discussed how we can best support post-16 engagement. The funding has also enabled us to support individual young people to access courses and opportunities which may lead to future employment and engages them in learning. We have also provided mentoring for a number of young people to help them get ready to engage.

The work of the Virtual School is supported by a governing body, chaired by the Cabinet Member for Children`s Services and Schools, and has secondary and primary headteachers along with representatives from further education and partner groups.

Celebration of success

We were thrilled to be able to hold our annual Celebration of Achievement event at St James School, Exeter in the spring.

The event was unable to take place in 2021 so it was particularly special to gather together to celebrate the many achievements of our young people. Over 300 young people were nominated and we welcomed 123 families on the evening, awarding each young person a personalised certificate and gift voucher.

We were entertained by some of our young people showcasing their talents on the drums, guitar, singing and reading from their favourite books.

Summer school

Over the school summer holidays, we offered outdoor challenges and art activities across the county. The activities were all fully-funded and run in blocks of two-day experiences.

The outdoor activities were provided by a local outdoor company who are experienced in working with a wide range of needs and can tailor activities to suit the group.

The activities included traditional rock climbing and abseiling, gorge walking, weaselling, bouldering, canoeing, archery and bushcraft skills.

Each day was supported by a range of DCC staff from the Virtual School and the Participation Team. It was very special to see new friendships being made, young people with some very traumatic backgrounds stepping out of their comfort zone and challenging themselves, learning that they can do things they really did not think possible.

Art activities were also offered across Devon for all age ranges and included mosaic making, print making, mask making, recycled sculpture, painting, drawing and collage. We have received some great feedback, including:

“… a fantastic opportunity for C to meet new people and a chance for his talent to shine! He produced an amazing mirror with a mosaic around it, enjoyed every moment of it and gald of the opportunity, thank you.”

and

“R loved the art days finding them therapeutic and great for mixing with other children who understood and didn’t judge.  The adventure days left R feeling empowered and raised his self-esteem.  Staff were brilliant and I was able to book essential appointments for myself.”

Improving outcomes for young people

Personal Education Plans

During the lockdown period, we were able to attend all PEPs for all young people, which gave a very clear overview of progress and interventions needed to accelerate progress for each young person. However, this does not replace the benefits of face-to-face working where relationships are built with school, carers, social workers and most importantly young people.

We have worked a hybrid model in this academic year and from the summer term have planned for each young person to have at least one face-to-face meeting in a school year and have published a timetable scheduling which year groups will be face-to-face in which term. In this way, we will have utilised the best of both models while keeping real contact with families, schools and young people.

We continue to work with schools to complete PEPs within five working days of the meeting and can see improvements. We appreciate that designated teachers are extremely busy and focus on the quality of the meeting and the outcomes for each child.

We have begun to regularly moderate the quality assurance of each PEP within the VS Team and have seen the quality of PEPs increase with a higher percentage now being recorded as good. We continue with training for designated teachers on their role and the purpose of the PEP with 57 taking up the offer this academic year.

Training

Throughout the year we have been able to offer designated teachers, other school staff, social workers and foster carers a fully-funded training offer to support their work:

• Attachment-based mentoring for schools – training for school staff to help them effectively support children with attachment difficulties and those who have suffered from adverse childhood experiences. Our aim is that every secondary school in Devon has at least one member of staff who has attended the training. The training is incredibly popular and always over-subscribed. It has been specifically developed for children in care on behalf of the Virtual School by the Educational Psychology and SEMH Teams and has been offered both virtually and face-to-face. There is also a one-day course for senior leaders as an introduction to the learning.
• Training for newly qualified social workers has continued, covering the role of the Virtual School and the challenges for children in care in schools and now includes newly appointed personal advisors.
• Training for foster carers on supporting children in care in education.
• Training for foster carers on supporting a child in care with special educational needs.
• A wide range of training for schools fully-funded from Psychology Associates, for example, Speech and Language Development, Understanding ACEs and Early Childhood Trauma, Child Mental Health Awareness, Supporting Children with DLD and SEMH, Understanding Complex Trauma and Language Difficulties, Sensory Processing Workshops for parents and carers, Recognising and Supporting Anxiety in the Classroom, Therapeutic Play, Precision Teaching, Differential Diagnosis Autism and Attachment, Sensory Processing and Expanding your Creative Toolbox.
• Emotional Logic Foundation Award training for schools and an offer of a funded practitioner in school for a day a week to work with children to give skills to manage classroom learning.
• Relational policy and practice support (see below).
• Speech and language training: we offered six sessions of training based on the work of Branagan, Cross and Parsons ‘Language for Behaviours and Emotions’. This was taken up by 150 members of staff across 75 settings involving 1800 CPD hours across the year. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive:

“thank you for guiding us through the course and the huge amount of information you have passed on. We have learned a lot and will most definitely be taking the new skills and using them to move forward with our SLCN provision.”

• We also offered 10 speech and language assessments for individual young people.

Relational policy and practice

Over the past two years, we have invested in developing a guide and offering support for schools on a journey to build a relational approach to teaching and learning, which influences whole school ethos and systems as well as everyday teaching practice and targeted support.

It has been seeking to support schools to develop relational behaviour policies, where behaviour is seen as the communication of a need and which takes into account current research and theory from the fields of attachment and trauma and effective support for personal development.

This year we launched with an invite to all Devon schools to attend Exeter Racecourse and find out more about the work. We had input from Carr Manor School in Leeds who have really put this way of working into practice and have no exclusions as a result.

Schools were then invited to express interest for support in this work. Currently, we have 10 schools working at level 1 accessing online learning modules to better understand and plan for future work; 14 schools working at level 2 with consultancy time to begin to plan their actions and 3 schools working towards beacon level accessing intensive support and training for the whole school.

The project has been developed and is led by two colleagues from the Social and Emotional Mental Health and Educational Psychology Teams.

Working with education providers

Information, advice and guidance is provided by area learning advocates and PEP support pfficers as requested. This is supported by our half-termly newsletters and Designated Teacher Network meetings, which are held virtually at the request of schools, they are very well attended with up to 100 designated teachers logging in each time.

We purchased social emotional mental health practitioner time for schools to access for support and guidance around individual cases.

The Designated Teachers Conference was held as a hybrid face-to-face and virtual event in October 2021 with an inspirational keynote address by Kriss Akabusi. As a care-experienced adult he reflected on his life and journey through care calling on us to dream big for our children and believe in them as we would for our own children.

This really was an inspirational day with fantastic feedback from delegates feeling re-energised for their daily work. Feedback included:

“The morning sessions were incredibly inspirational and also helpful with supporting young people in care. The afternoon gave opportunities for discussion with colleagues from other schools which was a real pleasure.”

“It was simply the most incredible day. I cannot express how deeply Kriss’ session affected me and inspired me to want to go that extra mile for our looked after children.”

“Inspiring, entertaining and engaging. Very relevant to our work and the importance of relationships.”

“The conference was superbly organised, relevant to our day-to-day roles and incredibly inspiring. I laughed a lot, nodded a lot and shed a few tears too (in a good way).”

REDS Programme (Reducing Exclusions in Devon Schools): Evaluation summary

The Virtual School commissions the Devon Educational Psychology Service (EPS) and the Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Advisory Teacher team to deliver an intervention to reduce exclusions in Devon’s schools (REDS) for children in care or children with Care experience.

The REDS process works by promoting empathy and inclusive practice in response to challenging or trauma-related behaviours. The aim of the intervention is to reduce the risk of exclusion and increase school placement stability for children in care or children with previous care experience. The process involves a package of educational psychologist (EP) and SEMH advisory teacher support to develop a needs-led understanding of challenging behaviour that informs a comprehensive support plan.

Between April 2021 and March 2022, the REDS team received 19 referrals for REDS support from area learning advocates (ALAs). Thirteen of these students were secondary age and six were primary age. Eleven of these students were male and eight were female. The REDS intervention was appropriate for 14 children. The remaining children were provided with an alternative suitable intervention. Eight REDS interventions have been completed this year and six are ongoing.

Results

In the eight completed interventions, a risk of exclusion measure was taken at the beginning of the process and again at the end, measured through school staff rating of the likelihood of the student being permanently excluded (1= very low risk, 10= very high risk). The average risk of permanent exclusion at the initial REDS meeting was 8.4. The average risk of permanent exclusion at the review meeting was 3.4 Therefore, on average the risk of permanent exclusion had reduced by 5.0 points.

Analysis of school placement indicates that seven of the eight students remained in the same school between the start of the REDS process and three to twelve months later. Considering the high rate of exclusion risk, this is very positive and indicates that placement stability is typically maintained in the longer term.

Positive feedback on the impact of the REDS intervention on the child/ young person from school staff and parents or carers includes:

“He used to be on constant internal exclusions. Since the REDS plan, he has had none. He has had postcards and attendance awards. He only leaves class once in a blue moon these days and is much more able to return to class independently now.”

and

“She has made excellent progress in the past few months. In particular there is a noticeable difference in her manner and demeanour. She is described as being more approachable, smiley and happy.”

School staff have also commented that REDS has increased their confidence and skills to support children displaying trauma-related behaviours and that they feel more supported and less stressed.

Implications

REDS continues to be a highly successful intervention. A greater number of children were supported this year, and the risk of exclusion was considered to have decreased more than in previous years. REDS has been delivered in a challenging context largely due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic and challenges with staff capacity in the EP service and schools.

Despite this, EPs and SEMH teachers have shown great flexibility, creatively and at times tenacity in their approach to supporting schools through the REDS process.

The REDS intervention remains highly pertinent to improving the life changes of children in care. 62 children in care in Devon received a fixed-term exclusion this academic year. This is an increase of 32% from last year and 31% from 2018/19 which was pre-pandemic.

Interventions such as REDS and the work the Virtual School or EPS or SEMH team are doing around relational approaches continues to be crucial to address exclusion rates in schools and develop systems to support school staff to understand trauma-related behaviours and implement appropriate support for our most vulnerable children.

The Timpson Project 2021/22 evaluation

The Alex Timpson Attachment and Trauma Awareness in Schools Programme is a national research and intervention project led by the Rees Centre at Oxford University and the Alex Timpson Trust. Over 300 schools across 26 local authorities in England have participated.

In Devon, the Virtual School commissioned this project for the last four years and 18 schools have participated. Participating schools receive training in attachment and trauma and bespoke follow-up support.

In Devon, this has been delivered by the Educational Psychology Service and SEMH Advisory Teaching Team. The project aims to help teachers and schools develop a whole school approach to address attachment and trauma which will improve children’s educational progress by increasing attendance, reducing exclusions, and enhancing their wellbeing.

Between September 2021 and July 2022 eight Devon schools have been supported to engage in this project, including five secondary schools, three primaries and two special schools.

A team of Educational Psychologists and SEMH Advisory Teachers worked closely with each school to create and deliver individualised training that met the project’s and school’s aims. This support ranged from whole school attachment and trauma training online or in person, consultations with the pastoral team or sessions on relational support plans. After receiving the training, staff members were asked to either give verbal feedback or fill out a questionnaire.

The quality of the training was rated as ‘’very good’ or ‘good’ by the majority of school staff who attended. Further analysis indicated that the training helped school staff to understand:

• the relational model, and trauma and attachment research
• that all behaviour is communication
• and implement strategies to support children and young people
• the importance of early and current relationships
• how to write and implement relational support plans

Participants reported that the training has changed their practice. It has made them ‘more mindful, understanding and aware’ of children’s (and their own) verbal and non-verbal communication.

It has also meant for some participants that they are ‘concentrating on relationships’ and for others, they are ‘reassessing’ their communication style and behaviour management strategies.

Funding

Pupil premium

Pupil premium should be discussed at the PEP meeting and joint decisions made about the best interventions for each young person to aid accelerated progress. The funding, of up to £600 per term, is released on completion of the PEP.

We have been creative again with pupil premium funding ensuring that it is used by those who need it most. We have supported some young people at high individual cost with education packages and interventions to enable them to remain included in school. Examples of this are offering alternative provision for individuals for one day a week and teaching assistant support to help them regulate and stay in class.

Personal education allowance

Our aim is always that a child in care should have access to everything we would want for our own children, so applications can be made for funding up to £300 for children of statutory school age for extra-curricular activities and clubs or other enrichment activities.

Recovery premium

This fund was issued by the DfE as part of the funding support package to help pupils whose education has been impacted by the coronavirus. We have passed this on to schools at the recommended rate of £145 for mainstream learners and £290 for those in specialist schools. Suggested uses of this fund are to:

• support the quality of teaching
• provide targeted academic support
• deal with non-academic barriers to success in school, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional support

School led tutoring

The School Led Tutoring (SLT) grant is part of the tuition offer from the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) and it is intended to help close the education gap, which widened as a result of COVID-19.

We have advertised this widely to all our schools and have enabled 231 young people to have a total of 9731 hours of additional tutoring from this fund. Some have extended these sessions into the school holidays for those young people who wished to continue.

Education outcomes

Important definitions

Looked-after child

The term ‘looked after’ has a specific, legal meaning based on the Children Act 1989. The definition is as follows – a child is legally defined as looked after by a local authority if he or she is:

• provided with accommodation for a continuous period of more than 24 hours
• subject to a Care Order
• subject to a Placement Order

Child in care (CiC)

The Department for Education and the National Statistics Office’s definition of a ‘looked after child’ (CiC in this report) is a child who has been continuously looked after for at least 12 months, up to and including 31 March of that year.

Outcomes are for all children and young people who are subject to a Care Order or who are accommodated by the local authority, regardless of in which authority they are being educated. This cohort is sometimes referred to as the OC2 cohort in reference to related statutory returns.

In order to add clarity to this report we have used the term looked after child when using the legal definition of a child looked after and the term child in care (CiC) with DfE LAIT or National Statistics methodology or comparisons.

Summary

Based on local information for children in care and looked after children the main points to note are:

• the number of children in care for 12 months or more (OC2) has risen whilst the number of children looked after has fallen
• the percentage of children in care to Devon, for 12 months or more, with SEN has fallen slightly (from 74.6% to 73.9%), with the percentage with an EHCP falling from 49% to 45%
• during the 2021/22 academic year, Devon CiC for 12 months or more had an overall absence rate of 11.4% (8.3% authorised absence rate and 3% unauthorised absence rate)
• there were no permanent exclusions for CiC to Devon
• overall number of fixed-term exclusions has risen in the last year and when compared to 2018/19 rates (before the pandemic struck)
• at key stage 4, Devon CiC for 12 months or more have not achieved as highly as in 2020/21 but nationally GCSE results for all students are lower in 2021/22
• 74% of children in care to Devon for any period of time attend mainstream schools compared to 78% in 2020/21
• 81% of children attend schools judged as good or outstanding (higher than 77% in 2020/21)

Data

Numbers of children in care as of May 2022

The chart below has been split into three sections that relate to the categories identified in the previous section. The reference date which has been used is 31 May as this reflects numbers at the end of the 2021/22 academic year, before year 11s were taken off school rolls. Whilst the Education Service supports all children in care, national comparisons are only possible for those under the CiC definition.

(Graph data source: Virtual School, Devon County Council Aug 2022)

The graph above shows that the number of children who stay in care to Devon for a period of 12 months or more has risen by 8% to 410. The number of children who have been in care for any length of time has fallen by 4% to 585 (23 children).

The table below provides a further breakdown for children who have been in care for 12 months or more. The number of pupils aged 4 to 7 has remained stable at 12% of the CiC cohort. Those aged 8 to 10 and 11 to 16 have also remained relatively stable, making up 27% and 61% of the cohort respectively (28% and 61% in 2020/21).

The number of CiC aged 11 to 16 normally fluctuates year on year. Overall numbers have risen steadily over the past 5 years.

Number of CiC to Devon for 12 months	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22
Early years (reception)	10	6	14	12	11
Key stage 1	28	28	31	32	38
Key stage 2	86	97	102	108	109
Key stage 3	107	110	111	126	131
Key stage 4	116	106	121	102	121
Aged 4 to 7 (EY and KS1)	38	34	45	44	49
Aged 8 to 10 (KS2)	86	97	102	108	109
Aged 11 to 16 (KS3 and KS4)	223	216	232	228	252
Total	347	347	379	380	410

SEN status of children in care for 12 months or more

Local information indicates that Devon continues to have a significantly higher percentage of children in care with SEN than the latest available national average. In 2021/22 nearly 45% of CiC for 12 months or more have an EHCP compared to 29% nationally (2020/21 latest available data).

The table below is based on nationally published data which will be available in March 2022 and compares Devon to national and regional averages.

Percentage of pupils with a statement or EHC plan – CLA 12 months at 31 March

Area	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Devon	36.4%	35.7%	39.3%	43.2%	49.1%
England	26.4%	26.1%	26.8%	27.4%	28.9%
South West	31.6%	31.3%	33.3%	34.9%	38.0%

Percentage of pupils with SEN support – CLA 12 months at 31 March

Area	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Devon	33.9%	36.0%	32.0%	29.7%	25.4%
England	29.3%	28.9%	28.5%	28.0%	27.4%
South West	32.6%	33.3%	31.7%	30.4%	27.1%

(Data source: DfE Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities in England, 31 Mar 22)

Outcomes for Devon-funded CiC

Due to the Department of Education cancelling all face-to-face exams due to take place in summer 2020 and 2021 there was limited publication of any school or college level educational performance data based on tests, assessments or exams for these years so comparisons with previous years here will be limited.

There were no national, regional, local or constituency statistics for any primary school assessments for the previous two years. This includes:

• early years foundation stage profile
• phonics year 1
• key stage 1
• key stage 2

As these assessments are returning for the first time since 2019 and the pandemic will have impacted on schools and colleges, comparisons to previous years cannot be made.

Early years foundation stage outcomes (local information)

70% of Devon CiC for 12 months or more achieved a good level of development in 2021/22. This is higher than Devon CiC for any period of time where 63% achieved a good level of development.

Phonics outcomes (local information)

57% of Devon CiC for 12 months or more met the expected standard in 2021/22. This is higher than Devon CiC for any period of time where 53% met the expected standard.

Key stage 1 outcomes (local information)

Devon CiC performed best in reading, followed by maths and writing. At KS1 Devon CiC for any period of time perform better than those in care for 12 months or more. The chart and table below provide further details on each of the subjects.

Topic	Devon CiC for 12 months or more (OC2 cohort)	Devon CiC for any period of time	Any LA-funded CiC attending a Devon school
Reading	45%	47%	44%
Writing	32%	37%	36%
Maths	32%	40%	42%

Key stage 2 outcomes (local information)

Local information indicates that Devon CiC performed best in reading, followed by maths and then writing. This pattern applies to both Devon CiC for 12 months or more and Devon CiC for any period of time.

At KS2 Devon CiC for 12 months or more perform better than those in care for any period of time. 32% of Devon CiC for 12 months or more achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, compared to 26% for Devon CiC for any period of time and 17% for any funded CiC attending a Devon school. The chart and table below provide further details.

Topic	Devon CiC for 12 months or more (OC2 cohort)	Devon CiC for any period of time	Any LA-funded CiC attending a Devon school
Reading	52%	49%	40%
Writing	40%	34%	29%
Maths	44%	37%	34%
RWM	32%	26%	17%

(Data source: Babcock LDP 16/07/22, KS2 cohort is based on those who sat KS2 assessments, excludes pupils at independent schools)

Secondary education (key stage 4)

The headline accountability measures for KS4 are normally: grade 9 to 5 in English and maths, Attainment 8, Progress 8, and English Baccalaureate (EBacc).

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic Progress 8 measures are not reported on by the Department for Education.

Profile of children in care (for 12 months or more) at end of key stage 4

Local information indicates there are 60 children within the children in care cohort (those who have been in care for 12 months or more). 23% of these pupils came into care whilst studying their GCSEs. Local information indicates that 53% of these pupils have an EHCP whilst a further 17% are receiving SEN support at school level.

Children in care – end of key stage 4 local results

In 2022, Devon children in care for 12 months or more (OC2 cohort) GCSE outcomes are lower than the previous year. We do not have national data for CIC yet but nationally for all students GCSE outcomes are lower. The chart below compares Devon’s performance against last year and national averages (National data for CIC not yet released).

33% of Devon children in care for 12 months or more achieved a standard pass in English (grade 4 or above), 33% also achieved a standard pass in maths.

In the whole CiC cohort, 21% of our Devon year 11 students (16 young people) were not entered for GCSE exams due to their special educational needs (SEN EHCP). Of the 67% who were entered for GCSEs, 31% achieved English and maths at grade 4+.

Percentage of pupils achieving GCSEs grade 4 or above in English and maths

Area	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Devon CiC for 12 months or more	7.8%	37.5%	32.8%
England CiC for 12 months or more	17.8%	24.3%	28.8%
Devon all pupils	64.9%	73.2%	73.0%
England all pupils	64.9%	71.2%	72.2%

Data sources: CiC pupils: DfE Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by LA in England, published 31/03/22, all pupils: DfE Key Stage 4 performance 2020/21 academic year, published 04/11/21.

Post-16 educational outcomes

Children who have been in care to the Local Authority for 13 weeks, between the age of 14 and 16 and were still in care on their 16th birthday, are legally entitled to care leaver status.

Young people who are still ‘in care’ post-16 are also entitled to care leaver status and are therefore included in the figures below.

In 2022, for the students in further education for whom data has been returned:

• 95.2% had either completed or were continuing with their post-16 learning programme at the end of the academic year, a slight increase on the previous year (93.6%)
• 83.3% passed the primary course for which they were entered, in line with the previous year
• 84% of students who passed studied a main qualification at Level 1 or above, with 72% studying a main qualification at Level 2 or above
• 25% of those who chose to take maths GCSE or English GCSE passed with a grade 9 to 4 or equivalent but none passed with grades 9 to 5 (all achieved grades 1 to 4)

The chart below illustrates the breakdown of qualification level of main courses passed. In 2021/22 the greatest percentage of qualifications passed were at Level 3, comprising of 44% of qualifications passed.

At a more detailed level, level 3 diploma courses were the most prevalent qualifications having 24% of passes. This was followed by level 3 AS or A level courses with 12% of passes. The chart below shows the breakdown of passes achieved by qualification level and type.

In addition to studying a main qualification, some students took additional qualifications, or their main qualification consisted of unit qualifications.

For those students for whom data has been returned, 49 qualifications were taken in total. These include full qualifications and modules of qualifications, for example, ESOL qualifications are separate awards for individual modules. The chart below provides a breakdown of all qualifications entered and passed.

Destinations

Year 11 moving onto post-16 education, training or employment

Information on the destinations of the 2021/22 year 11 cohort will be available in November 2022. This section, therefore, refers to the latest available data for the 2020/21 academic year.

Of the 2020/21 year 11 cohort, two out of three young people have remained in education, either by staying on in school or moving on to an FE College. This is slightly lower than the previous year (69% compared to 76% previously).

A breakdown of the destinations of pupils who left school in 2020/21 and earlier is provided below:

Year	Staying at school	FE college	HE or advanced FE	Apprenticeship	Employed with training to NVQ2	Employed with other training	Work-based training – trainee	Preparation on training	Employed without training	Non EMS eligible PDO	Unemployed	Not available	Moved away
2019	15.3%	47.2%	0%	1.4%	0%	2.8%	0%	8.3%	1.4%	0%	16.7%	4.2%	2.8%
2020	18.8%	57.4%	0%	4.0%	0%	0%	0%	6.9%	0%	0%	10.9%	1.0%	1.0%
2021	22.1%	46.8%	0%	5.2%	0%	0%	0%	5.2%	3.9%	0%	13.0%	1.3%	2.6%

Data sources: Careers South West: 2021 Yr 11 cohort Dec 2021, 2020 Yr 11 cohort Nov 2020, 2019 Yr 11 cohort Nov 19

Update on students attending university

Latest available national data indicates that 5% of care leavers now aged 19 – 21 years are in higher education. Fewer care leavers in Devon progress to higher education than nationally.

Attendance

Latest published national data

Autumn term 2020/21 absence – children in care at least 12 months at 31 March)

Absence data for the 2021/22 academic year will not be published until March 2023. This section, therefore, refers to the 2020/21 academic year. 2020/21 autumn term overall absence rates are slightly higher in Devon than nationally. Overall absence rates are higher in secondary schools than primary schools, both in Devon and nationally.

National data for the 2020/21 academic year indicates that Devon is performing better than nationally for unauthorised absence rates:

EAL Devon data dashboard (LAIT) – 7/4/22

Performance indicator	Academic year	Last updated	Next update	Devon	South West	SN (Mean)	National	Quartile	Percentile	National rank
% unauthorised absence from school of children who have been looked after continuously for at least 12 months	2020/21	March 2022	March 2023	1.2	1.4	1.2	1.5	B	34.9%	52
% absence from school of children who have been looked after continuously for at least 12 months	2020/21	March 2022	March 2023	9.1	10.0	10.1	9.1	C	51.7%	77
% of children looked after who are classed as persistent absentees	2020/21	March 2022	March 2023	30.5	33.6	33.4	30.4	C	53.4%	79

Attendance local data

2021/22 academic year

Attendance rates in this section of the report are based on the 2021/22 academic year. Comparisons against the previous year cannot be made due to school closures as a result of COVID-19; in 2020/21 schools were closed during the period of January to March 2021 whilst in 2019/20 schools were closed for the whole of the summer term (April to July 2020).

As can be seen from the chart below, Devon CiC for 12 months or more have lower absence rates than the overall cohort who have been in care for any period of time. However, nearly one in three Devon-funded CiC for any period of time is classed as a persistent absentee with an absence rate of 10% or more. This falls significantly for those who are severe persistent absentees with absence rates of 50% or more.

Persistent absence

2018/19 and 2020/21 national data

Absence data for the 2021/22 academic year will not be published until March 2023. This section, therefore, refers to the 2020/21 academic year. The percentage of children in care classified as persistent absentees rose both in Devon and nationally in the 2020/21 academic year.

Devon’s persistent absentee rate is in line with the national average and is better than regionally (30.5% compared to 30.4% nationally and 33.6% regionally).

Persistent absentee rates for the 2019/20 academic year were not published due to the pandemic and school closures. The graph below illustrates Devon’s performance against the regional and national averages.

   Note: persistent absentee rate is based on percentage of children in care with less than 90% attendance.

Exclusions (autumn and summer term)

Looked-after children face significant challenges and are more likely to be permanently excluded from school and be subject to suspensions than other children.

Permanent exclusions

There is a long delay in the release of national statistics for exclusions for children in care. No Devon child in care has been permanently excluded since autumn 2019 as we work hard to support schools and intervene early.

Suspensions

In 2021/22 schools were open for the full academic year. However due to the pandemic, in 2020/21 schools were closed during the period of January to March 2021 whilst in 2019/20 schools were closed for the whole of the summer term (April to July 2020). To enable comparisons against previous years, exclusions data has been provided on a termly basis.

Suspensions in 2021/22 are higher than the previous year and are also higher than the period before the pandemic struck (2018/19). 59 children in 2021/22 were subjected to a suspension (compared to 46 in 2018/19), with a total of 194 exclusion (compared to 117 in 2018/19). As can be seen from the chart below the number of pupils subject to a suspension has risen slightly whilst the number of suspensions has seen a significant increase.

Looking at suspensions on a termly basis, the autumn term saw the highest number of suspensions this year (72). These gradually reduced in the spring and summer terms. The number of CiC subject to one or more suspensions rose from the autumn to spring term (from 30 to 33 children) before reducing down in the summer term (26).

Please note: comparisons to the 2020/21 spring term cannot be made as schools were closed for a period of time during this term.

When reviewing children in care cohorts, those children in care to Devon for 12 months or more saw an increase in spring term suspensions, with 5% subject to a suspension (compared to 3% in autumn 2021/22). This then remained stable for the summer term (5%).

Children looked after for any period of time also saw an increase in suspensions in the spring term but these then fell in the summer term (dropping from 5.5% in the spring to 4.5% in the summer). The table below provides a breakdown of the various cohorts.

Academic year	2019/20 autumn term	2020/21 autumn term	2020/21 summer term	2021/22 autumn term	2021/22 spring term	2021/22 summer term
A. Total Looked After Children in Devon subject to a suspension	23	31	23	30	33	26
B. Number of Children in Care to Devon for 12 months (OC2)	379	380	380	410	410	410
% of CiC to Devon for 12 months (OC2) subject to a suspension	6.0%	8.0%	6.0%	3.0%	5.0%	5.0%
C. Number of Children Looked After for any period of time (May 21 & 22)	583	608	608	585	585	585
% of CLA for any period of time subject to a suspension	4.0%	5.0%	3.0%	5.0%	5.5%	4.5%
D. Number of Devon funded Children Looked After (for any length of time) attending any mainstream school (any LA)	426	460	460	423	423	423
% of CLA to Devon for any period of time attending a mainstream school subject to a suspension	4.0%	4.0%	3.0%	6.0%	7.0%	5.0%

The majority of suspensions are for persistent disruptive behaviour, which have risen in the last year (from 31% to 42%) and verbal abuse/threats against an adult, which whilst being the second highest reason, have fallen this year (from 22% to 13.4%). The percentage of suspensions that were drug or alcohol related have risen significantly in the last year from 3.3% to 10.8%.

The table below provides a breakdown by each type, comparing Devon CiC against suspensions for all Devon pupils.

Suspension reason	CiC 2018/19	CiC 2019/20 ^	CiC 2020/21 ~	CiC 2021/22	All pupils 2021/22
Abuse against sexual orientation *	0.0%	0.0%	0.8%	0.5%	0.4%
Bullying	0.9%	0.0%	0.8%		0.9%
Damage	0.0%	3.0%	8.1%	2.1%	2.2%
Drug and alcohol-related	2.6%	10.6%	3.3%	10.8%	4.9%
Inappropriate use of social media or online tech *				1.5%	0.7%
Other	9.4%	6.1%	0.0%		0.03%
Persistent disruptive behaviour	32.5%	22.7%	30.9%	42.3%	47.1%
Physical assault – pupil	13.7%	16.7%	11.4%	11.9%	12.7%
Physical assault- adult	10.3%	13.6%	5.7%	7.7%	4.9%
Racist abuse	0.0%	1.5%	4.1%	1.0%	1.2%
Sexual misconduct	0.0%	0.0%	0.8%	1.5%	0.8%
Theft				0.5%	0.4%
Transgression of public health measures *	0.0%	0.0%	2.4%	0.5%	0.2%
Use or threat of use of an offensive weapon *	0.0%	0.0%	1.6%	3.1%	1.1%
Verbal abuse/threats – pupil	4.3%	4.5%	8.1%	3.1%	3.6%
Verbal abuse/threats – adults	26.5%	21.2%	22.0%	13.4%	19.0%

* new reasons introduced in 2020/21
^ Autumn and spring term only, no data for whole of summer term as schools were closed due to COVID-19
~ whole year with the exception of part of the spring term (Jan to Mar 21) when schools were closed due to COVID-19

Local information indicates that the number of suspensions for Devon children in care are lower after they came into care than before they were taken into care. In 2021/22 this is especially the case for CiC in NCY11 which has seen the greatest reduction between the two key cohorts (NCY6 and NCY11).

(Data source: VSR at 31 May 2022)

When we compare the percentage of CiC with at least 1 suspension we see there continues to be a slight reduction post-care for the overall cohort (NCY R to 11). Children in NCY6 saw an increase in the percentage with at least one suspension post-care, whilst children in NCY11 continue to see a significant reduction post-care.

(Data source: VSR at 31 May 2022)

Latest available national data for 2019/20 indicates that Devon is in the top-performing quartile for its low level of suspensions.

EAL Devon data dashboard (LAIT) – 7/4/22

Performance indicator	Academic year	Last updated	Next update	Devon	South West	SN (Mean)	National	Quartile	Percentile	National rank	Trend (prev yr)	% Change
% of children who have been looked after continuously for at least twelve months with at least one fixed-term exclusion from school	2019/20	March 2022	March 2023	6.93	11.33	11.50	9.38	A	15.1%	52	⇓	-44.56%

Early years

Take-up of provision by two-year-olds in care was 73.9% (17 out of 23 children) in summer 2022 and 82.4% 14 of these were accessing the full entitlement of 15 hours; this compares with the Devon averages for all children of 90.7% and 72.7% respectively (spring 2022).

The take up of two-year-old places was slightly lower than last summer (76.9%) while the overall take-up of eligible two-year-olds across Devon has increased since then (86.5%). Indications are that most of the two-year-old children not taking up a place are likely to take up their entitlement in the future with only one child not likely to take up their place at all (carer said not ready).

Of the six non-funded children, only one was placed outside the county and this child is likely to take up their place in autumn 2022 in the LA area where they are based.

As of summer 2022, 30 of the 31 (96.8%) three and four-year-olds in care were taking up some of the early years entitlement and 93.3% (28) of these were accessing the full entitlement of 15 hours; this compares with the Devon averages for all children of 96.4% and 88.3% respectively (spring 2022).

There were four children, of those funded, also accessing the extended entitlement. The only child not taking up a place will be home schooled when of statutory school age and this is the reason why the early years entitlement is not being used.

There were 11 children accessing funded hours outside the county, including settings in the neighbouring authorities of Cornwall (1), Plymouth (3), Somerset (3) and Torbay (2).

All children in the above figures were accessing funded settings in the private, voluntary and independent sectors or were funded at maintained schools.

Children in care or care leavers not in employment education or training (NEETS)

NEETs – 2021/2 academic year (local data)

Local information indicates that, on average, year 12 has a NEET rate of 15%, with the lowest rate of 11.9% occurring in October 2021 and the highest of 24% in summer 2022. The average EET rate for year 12 during 2021/22 was 75% with the highest rate of 88% in October 2021.

In summer 2022 the cohort increased by 17 young people many of whom had little experience of education and had been NEET prior to coming into care for some time.

Year 13 has a higher NEET rate than year 12. Local information indicates that, on average, year 13 has a NEET rate of 18%. The average EET rate for year 13 during 2020/21 was 79% with the highest rate in (89.5%) in July 2022.

We continue to run a fortnightly multi-agency NEET panel where each young person is discussed and interventions agreed however these are often not accepted by the young person. Everyone is offered a CSW key worker and access to learning or training opportunities.

Step Forward attended all PEPs for year 10 and 11 this year in the spring term to offer support for anyone who has no transition plan. They have also run employer workshops for all young people to hear from employers about how to access opportunities in a wide variety of work environments.

At each PEP meeting from year 7, each child is rated 1-5 for risk of NEET so we can engage strategies early and change the young person`s direction. Early intervention is key to reducing future NEET numbers and will be a key priority as we move forward.

The volume of children in care who require close additional support is not large, but the circumstances faced by each one is unique and individually tailored solutions are often required.

A snapshot of NEET data April 2022

Year 13 NEET data for graph

Month	Cohort size	NEET	NEET %
September 2020	83	21	25.3%
October 2020	82	15	18.3%
November 2020	75	16	21.3%
December 2020	72	14	19.4%
January 2021	58	13	22.4%
February 2021	48	13	27.1%
March 2021	45	7	15.6%
April 2021	21	8	25.8%
May 2021	26	8	30.8%
June 2021	23	5	21.7%
July 2021	15	2	13.3%
September 2021	106	20	18.9%
October 2021	98	18	18.4%
November 2021	97	19	19.6%
December 2021	87	17	19.5%
January 2022	82	19	23.2%
February 2022	73	19	26.0%
March 2022	57	16	28.1%
April 2022	57	16	28.1%
May 2022	46	12	26.1%
June 2022	32	5	15.6%
July 2022	26	3	11.5%

Year 12 NEET data for graph

Month	Cohort size	NEET	NEET %
September 2020	102	10	9.8%
October 2020	102	11	10.8%
November 2020	104	12	11.5%
December 2020	103	14	13.6%
January 2021	102	14	13.7%
February 2021	104	14	13.5%
March 2021	103	10	9.7%
April 2021	102	10	9.8%
May 2021	102	10	9.8%
June 2021	105	12	11.4%
July 2021	106	14	13.2%
September 2021	83	15	18.1%
October 2021	84	10	11.9%
November 2021	85	12	14.1%
December 2021	86	12	14.0%
January 2022	89	14	15.7%
February 2022	92	11	12.0%
March 2022	96	15	15.6%
April 2022	96	22	22.9%
May 2022	97	23	23.7%
June 2022	100	24	24.0%
July 2022	99	24	24.2%

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC)

Currently, in Devon in September 2022 we have 31 UASC young people in care and nine of these are in care to other local authorities but live in Devon. The large majority of these young people are in post-16 education, with most attending courses at Exeter College.

Since January 2022 there has been a significant increase in the numbers of UASC arriving in Devon. We are now expecting to have up to eight new arrivals every month and this is set to continue for the foreseeable future. This uplift in numbers is a direct consequence of the National Transfer Scheme becoming mandatory for UASC arrivals in the UK. This continued increase in numbers will have a significant impact on the UASC budget that the Virtual School uses to support education.

Over the summer holidays, a programme of activities was organised for these young people to join in both fun and educational activities around the county. There are plans for this to continue next summer should budgets allow.

We have also continued to provide tutoring to boost educational outcomes and improve the English grades required for college places. This year this education has taken place at Ivybank. This is a mini-school that has been set up by the Virtual School to support the increased number of young people who are currently arriving in Devon.

Provision here helps to bridge the gap between learners starting at Exeter College. This will have a significant impact on the UASC budget that the Virtual School uses to support education.

The educational support that the Virtual School provides is mainly focussed on English and ESOL courses, there are also a group of young people who are having science tutoring to support their aspirations for careers in medicine. During term time there are also group tutoring sessions to support reading, writing and spoken English skills, these are also delivered at Ivybank.

We continue to work closely with Exeter College to ensure that all UASC have access to courses that will best support their futures. This year we have been able to fund a learning support assistant to support some students on their courses at the college.

The Virtual School aim to respond to the individual educational needs of each young person in care so we have both an Advocate for UASC young people (Colin Mitchell), who is a specialist dedicated to the specific needs of this cohort and supporting them, also an area learning advocate (Julie Potter) with responsibility for the educational progress of this group, enquiries can be made by email to julie.potter@devon.gov.uk or by calling 01392 383000.

Colin Mitchell, as the advocate for UASC within the Virtual School, continues to offer outstanding support to all the current UASC in care but also support to the care leavers.

Support for previously looked after children

Role of the Virtual School

The Virtual School‘s role is to promote the educational achievement of Previously Looked After Children through the provision of advice and information to parents, guardians, schools, Social Care professionals and others.

Eligibility

Previously Looked After Children are those who: are no longer Looked After by a Local Authority in England and Wales (as defined by the Children Act 1989 or Part 6 of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014) because they are the subject of an Adoption, Special Guardianship or Child Arrangements Order; or were adopted from ‘state care’ outside England and Wales. The provision detailed below is open to children from the point at which they become eligible for free early education (which is currently the start of the term following a child’s second birthday) and concludes when they have completed the compulsory years of education (end of Year 11).

Information and advice provided by area learning advocates

The Virtual School provides access to information and advice support through the provision of dedicated Area Learning Advocate time. The Area Learning Advocate offers advice regarding individual cases and enquiries from schools, parents, guardians and other professionals (including Post Adoption Support and Special Guardianship Support colleagues) regarding educational issues affecting previously Looked After children. Enquiries can be made by phone or email to Andrew Squire on andrew.squire@devon.gov.uk / tel: 01392 380918.

Common issues of enquiry include: use of Pupil Premium Plus, EHCP processes, admissions, advice when a child is at risk of exclusion, signposting to available support and other services.

Information and advice through the Virtual School website

The Devon Virtual School website contains information and useful links for school staff, parents, guardians and other professionals regarding Previously Looked After Children. The section for Previously Looked After Children can be accessed here. Information includes a grab pack for schools, information about Pupil Premium Plus and a copy of the Education Plan for Adopted Children (EPAC) and accompanying guidance, which can be used by schools to focus an individual plan and review process for a child. Schools will need to contact Andrew Squire to discuss individual cases and availability on andrew.squire@devon.gov.uk / tel: 01392 380918.

Information and advice: Support for parents and guardians

Video Interaction Guidance (VIG)

A number of individual interventions using VIG have been commissioned from the Educational Psychology Service. VIG uses video to strengthen relationships and support appropriate interactions between children and their carers/parents/guardians. It is particularly suitable for younger children. This is an EP-led intervention and includes several cycles of support and feedback. Further information about the intervention can be found here: Association for Video Interaction Guidance UK

Some feedback comments about the impact of the VIG intervention in Devon:
VIG has enabled…

“better communication, she is more able to walk away”, “knowing how to manage the triggers”, and “VIG has made me more confident in my actions and interactions.”

Support for previously looked after children who are at risk of exclusion or who are finding it difficult to attend school: Case discussion with the VS learning advocate and where appropriate referral to EP-led intervention which could include REDs, reengage, and relational planning support.

EP transition support (particularly for years 6 to 7): Where there are particularly complex needs that would benefit from this support. Referral through the VS learning advocate.

Information, advice and support with school place applications and transfers: Available through the Devon Admissions team – please contact Andrew Squire if you need further information.

Individual information and advice for guardians and adopted parents: Through direct work with an EP to improve relationships and support positive change. Referral through VS Learning Advocate or through EP consultation clinics.

Training workshops – for adoptive parents: Delivered by an educational psychologist, regional meetings covering a range of topics arranged throughout the year. The Post-Adoption Team can be contacted for more details.

Training Workshops – for guardians: Delivered by an educational psychologist, regional meetings covering a range of topics arranged throughout the year. The SGO Team can be contacted for more details.

Learning advocate advice and information sessions: The area learning advocate will attend regional post-adoption and SGO support meetings to give information and advice as requested and to respond to individual issues.

Advice, information and training: In addition to the training outlined above ongoing information advice and training is available to designated teachers through termly Designated Teacher Network meetings, the annual Designated Teacher Conference and the half-termly Virtual School newsletter a limited number of twilight training sessions for school staff are offered (through discussion with the VS learning advocate).

Working across the Local Authority

The Virtual School Team has been represented on a number of groups within the LA to ensure that education has a voice and so that education issues are considered in decision-making. These groups include:

• Devon Education Fund
• Locality Permanence Panels
• Placement Review Panel
• Joint Agency County Panel for joint funding between Health, Education and Social Care
• Corporate Parenting Forum
• Adoption Panel
• DCFP Child Exploitation Group
• Health and Wellbeing Board
• Peninsular Quality Assurance sub-Group
• Step Forward Steering Group
• Farringdon Trust Board
• The Atkinson Centre Governing Body
• Corporate Parenting Health and Wellbeing Group
• Missing Mondays and Vulnerable Children Panel
• Disabled Childrens Panel
• NEET partnership group
• Mockingbird project group

Virtual School newsletters

These are published every half term and can be accessed at Virtual School newsletters.

Quality of provision end of academic year 2021/22 – CiC to Devon for any period of time

Nearly three in four children in care attend mainstream schools (74%), slightly lower than the previous year (78%). The percentage of children in care attending state-funded special schools has risen in the last year (9.4% compared to 7.9% previously). The percentage attending independent special schools has also risen (11.5% compared to 9.7% last year). Attendance at alternative provision has fallen slightly with 2.7% attending compared to 3.5% previously. The chart below provides a breakdown of attendance by establishment type.

81% of children in care were placed in good or better schools, this is higher than the previous year (77%) and Devon’s general school population (78%1).

Progress of pupils in RI schools is carefully monitored by the Virtual School and whilst we aim to only place children in care in good or better schools, we also recognise the importance of stability and would not move a young person from a school that became RI if the young person was making expected progress.

The graphs below and show the percentage of children in care placed in each Ofsted category of provision (where schools have been inspected).

Note: Some children are attending schools that do not have an Ofsted outcome – these are either academy converters not yet inspected since conversion or new schools. These have been excluded from the charts below which are based on schools with an official Ofsted outcome.

The following graphs show the percentage of children attending schools for each Ofsted outcome by school phase.

The percentage of pupils attending ‘good’ or ‘better’ primary schools has risen to 86.7% this year (83.3% in 2020/21). This is not as good as the picture nationally for all pupils in primary schools (89.8%¹).

The percentage of pupils attending ‘good’ or ‘better’ secondary schools has risen this year (69% compared to 62.9% in 2020/21). This is better than the picture for Devon’s general secondary school population (65%) but lower the National picture for secondary schools (82.6%1). This is due to some large secondary schools in Devon currently graded as requiring improvement.

Those attending ‘good’ or ‘better’ special schools has remained stable (91.5% compared to 91.3% previously).

Note: some children attend schools that do not have an Ofsted outcome – these are either academy converters not yet inspected since conversion or new schools. These are excluded from the charts which are based on schools with official Ofsted outcomes.

¹ DfE school inspections and outcomes: management information at 31/05/22

Local Information on primary phase assessments

EYFS	Cohort number	Number achieved	% good level of development
Devon CiC for 12 months or more (OC2 cohort)	10	7	70%
Devon CiC for any period of time	19	12	63%
Any funded CiC attending Devon school	26	12	46%

Key stage 1 reading	Cohort number	Number achieved	% expected standard
Devon CiC for 12 months or more (OC2 cohort)	22	10	45%
Devon CiC for any period of time	30	14	47%
Any funded CiC attending Devon school	36	16	44%

Key stage 1 writing	Cohort number	Number achieved	% expected standard
Devon CiC for 12 months or more (OC2 cohort)	22	7	32%
Devon CiC for any period of time	30	11	37%
Any funded CiC attending Devon school	36	13	36%

Key stage 1 maths	Cohort number	Number achieved	% expected standard
Devon CiC for 12 months or more (OC2 cohort)	22	7	32%
Devon CiC for any period of time	30	12	40%
Any funded CiC attending Devon school	36	15	22%

Key stage 1 reading	Cohort number	Number achieved	% expected standard
Devon CiC for 12 months or more (OC2 cohort)	22	10	45%
Devon CiC for any period of time	30	14	47%
Any funded CiC attending Devon school	36	16	44%

Key stage 2 (teacher assessments) reading	Cohort number	Number achieved	% expected standard
Devon CiC for 12 months or more (OC2 cohort)	25	13	52%
Devon CiC for any period of time	35	17	49%
Any funded CiC attending Devon school	35	14	40%

Key stage 2 (teacher assessments) writing	Cohort number	Number achieved	% expected standard
Devon CiC for 12 months or more (OC2 cohort)	25	10	40%
Devon CiC for any period of time	35	12	34%
Any funded CiC attending Devon school	35	10	29%

Key stage 2 (teacher assessments) maths	Cohort number	Number achieved	% expected standard
Devon CiC for 12 months or more (OC2 cohort)	25	11	44%
Devon CiC for any period of time	35	13	37%
Any funded CiC attending Devon school	35	12	34%

Key stage 2 (teacher assessments) RWM	Cohort number	Number achieved	% expected standard
Devon CiC for 12 months or more (OC2 cohort)	25	8	32%
Devon CiC for any period of time	35	9	26%
Any funded CiC attending Devon school	35	6	17%

Data source: Babcock LDP 16/07/22

* KS2 cohort is based on those who sat KS2 assessments, it excludes pupils at independent schools.

Appendix 1: extended role of the Virtual School Headteacher

The DfE commissioned a ‘Children in Need’ review in 2019 and, as a result of this, it announced an ‘extended role’ for Virtual Schools in 2021, initially for one academic year.

Local authorities were given funding for the extended role of the Virtual School for the academic year 2021/22. This DfE funding has subsequently been further allocated to the academic year 2022/23.

The extended role has been established to support children and young people with a social worker such as those children and young people on Child in Need and Child Protection Plans, in addition to the work of the Virtual School Team who support those who are children in care. We wait to see if this becomes a permanent, statutory duty within the Virtual School remit.

Kate Hingston (EYFS and Primary) and David Wibberley (Secondary and FE) were appointed as Virtual School Extended Role Education Advisors at the end of September 2021.

VS extended role aims as set out by the DfE

• Enhance partnerships between education settings and the Local Authority so agencies can work together; helping to keep children on CIN and CP plans safe.
• Identify the CIN and CP cohort’s needs; make them visible and intervene to overcome barriers to poor educational outcomes; ensuring pupils reach their potential. Promote practice that supports pupil engagement in education.
• Support and advise key professionals to help children on CIN and CP plans make progress, including through increasing their confidence in using evidence-based interventions. Raise aspiration, levelling up attainment, narrowing outcomes gaps.

Kate and David have been working with Social Care and Education colleagues to strategically support the progress of children and young people on CIN and CP plans.

Overview of actions taken

Autumn term 2021

Actions	Outcomes
Attend Relational Policy and Practice Launch and network with other agencies within Devon CC	Informed schools of role and remit
Create Smart Survey for schools and Education settings across Devon – focus on yp on CIN and CP plans (identifying barriers to learning)	Gathered data on 600 students, to identify themes for action
Presented at Designated Teachers’ Conference re. role and remit	Increased contact from DSLs and DDSLs
David & Kate receive training in Relational, attachment-based, trauma-informed practice	Able to offer Relational CPD in school visits
David and Kate join Missing Mondays Panel for yp missing education and Vulnerable Children ME panel each Wednesday	Increased awareness of cross Team issues and offers + individual student actions
Analyse the results of the Smart Survey – 600 yp included: use Power BI Report to prioritise support with specific schools	Schools RAG rated and REDS contacted
Deliver input re. yp with a Social Worker to the Teacher trainees B’Ed course at Plymouth University	Needs of the CIN CP cohort raised
Create and use Student Voice proforma to use with yp in schools and visit schools across the County to meet yp and advise education colleagues on relational next steps	Student Voice x 135 students shared with schools and SW
Create signpost newsletter for VS Extended Role and send to all DSLs, DDSLs in schools, DTs (Designated Teachers), Social Care Managers – approximately 1000 recipients	Cohort needs & best practice plus CPD offers promoted and accessed
Receive training in leading Relational Support Plans	Primary and secondary RSPs implemented
Continue to work in primary and secondary schools and FE colleges with yp and Education colleagues to identify need and advise on relational next steps	Behavioural practice and support modified in view of advice given
Establish South West Virtual School Extended Role collaboration: Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Bristol, Torbay, Plymouth, Cornwall etc (13 colleagues in total) to share best practice.	Inter-agency work, data systems and schools support shared
Establish Bespoke Projects in schools to promote wellbeing, engagement and improve attendance: Secondary – Gardening and Outdoor Education (with equine), Primary – Art and Parental-Engagement	Wellbeing, engagement and attendance promoted
Establish Weekly Data Review (for children and young people on CIN and CP plans) of: Children Missing Education, Suspensions issued, Permanent Exclusions, Electively Home Educated and Annex R: part-time timetables. Contact allocated Social Worker, Schools to inform and offer support and advice.	Schools and SW reply to say that the information was ‘new’ and catalysed actions

Spring and summer terms 2022

Actions	Outcomes
Maintain Weekly Data Review (for children and young people on CIN and CP plans) of: Children Missing Education, Suspensions issued, Permanent Exclusions, Electively Home Educated and Annex R: part-time timetables. Contact allocated Social Worker, Schools to inform and offer support and advice. Look for patterns and request meetings in school with colleagues.	Resulted in two secondaries and AP school identified, as  suspensions increased. Contact made and support offered & taken.
Continue to work in Primary (x 17 schools) & Secondary schools (x 23 schools) & FE Colleges (2) with yp and Education colleagues to identify need and advise on relational next steps	Relational practice supported and specific advice given
Use the Signpost newsletter to share Smart Survey results and NSPCC guidance and other CPD links with Social Care and Education colleagues across Devon	Colleagues state that they receive read and share the newsletter
Establish Bespoke Projects in schools to promote wellbeing, engagement and improve attendance: Secondary – Find my Voice KS2-KS3 Drama and oracy project and Primary – Reading & Literacy and Parental-Engagement Day	Supportive Link made between year 7 and year 6 vulnerable student cohort.
Commission and advertise (through the signpost Newsletter) 600 CPD training sessions with Psychology Associates -for Education and Social Care colleagues across Devon: Speech, Language and Developmental Language Disorder courses, Trauma Informed, anxiety in the classroom, SEMH, Sensory Processing…	All 600 CPD sessions were allocated. Attendance varied according to sessions.
Presented at FE training-day for Designated Teachers	Promoted reflection on best practice for sharing implementation of plans
Team Around the School, Multi-Agency (SEMH Team, Early Help Team, SLCN Team, Inclusion Team, Bridges Team and Virtual School Extended role Secondary Advisor) for a mid-Devon School- Relational Review, SWOT Analysis, SLT shadowing. Followed up by CPD for all staff on INSET Day	Presented to SLT; they agreed to input in Staff INSET Day. Ofsted commented on benefits of the TAS input.
Ongoing Attendance of Children Missing Education Panel and follow up actions to SW and colleagues in schools	VS+ communication across Teams and with schools
Issue second Smart Survey to inform and prioritise actions re schools with yp with particular (RAG rated) need. 500 students included in responses (of approximately 1600)	Identified 3 new schools to visit and support.
Targeted support of yp through providing book tokens, laptops, Wi-Fi dongles to enable remote and blended learning	Students now able to access online learning
Support effective Transitions through contact with SW and Education Providers:   Early Years to Foundation Stage KS2 to KS3 (Primary to Secondary) KS4 to KS5 (Secondary year 11 to FE / sixth form)	Several yp who had not arrived in new setting (KS2-3 and KS4-5) followed up through SW & Education
Liaison with the Participation Team to develop a Nethercott Farm Day for yp on CIN and CP plans in North Devon	Day planned for December 2022: 35 yp
Ongoing chairing of the South-West Virtual School Extended Role collaboration: Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Bristol, Torbay, Plymouth, Cornwall etc (13 colleagues in total) to share best practice.	Ongoing attendance & attendance focus plans shared + best practice
Bespoke support through fitness, Low Impact Cognitive Behavioural Therapy set up at Exeter School and South Devon Secondary School – working with yp who find it very hard to engage with the curriculum.	Reported engagement and positive response shared by DDSLs
Ongoing liaison with Teams eg. CSW to refer yp for #Focus 5 support workers to reduce the risk of NEET (not in education, employment or training), SEMH input	2 young people in toxic situations now at reduced risk of NEET
Team Around the School support for a North Devon Secondary- meeting MAT Inclusion Educational Psychologist, DSL and senior staff to agree Relational next steps alongside Relational colleagues.	Relational Focus, multi-agency input. Parental engagement and Relational Support Plans agreed
Plan and lead an enrichment day for yp from a Mid-Devon Primary School – Exeter Museum, Cathedral etc	Siblings and trusted adult engaged and enjoyed enrichment day with VS+ Advisor
Plan and lead an enrichment day for yp from an East-Devon School – Behind the Scenes at the National Marine Aquarium	Students and trusted adult engaged and enjoyed enrichment day with VS+ Advisor
Present VS+ role and remit at Combined Children’s Services Conference	Increased understanding and communication from colleagues

A snapshot from the spring 2022 smart survey for children and yp on CIN and CP plans

The most significant factor that was identified as acting as a barrier to learning for each child and yp with CIN and CP plans within Devon 2022	Students with this factor as a significant barrier to progress	Percentage of cohort in survey %
Attendance	181	14
Anxiety or Mental Health	163	13
Lack of focus in lessons	150	12
Lack of parental engagement	129	10
Refusal to engage with learning	107	8
Lateness to school	99	8
Confrontational and challenging behaviour	92	7
SEND	91	7
Literacy needs (SLCN)	77	6
Exclusions (Suspensions – formerly ‘FTEs’)	48	5
SEND SEMH	39	3
SEND Communication and Interaction	34	2
SEND Cognition and Learning	30	2
Substance misuse	20	2
Access to IT	9	1

The survey results have been analyzed in order to prioritise schools contacted, support offered and actions taken such as:

• prioritising the CPD to be offered to colleagues
• the focus of the Signpost newsletter
• specific advice given to social workers and DSLs in schools

Some direct responses to the work of Kate and David in their VS extended role

“We have considered how to use the relational support plans and interventions for your CP/CiN children. The use of the Horwood Combe facility would not have evolved without the suport of David and the VS.”

and

“David has been able to identify through meeting with our young people, how well they feel supported in College and by whom. This has allowed us to consider our specific roles in the safeguarding team for September.”

and

“We were able to offer forest school sessions x6 to a child on a CP plan provided and funded by VS. He enjoyed it immensely, he also took a friend with him. The forest school professional was excellent. Communication, advice and details were very well communicated by Kate.”

and

“David has supplied some book tokens which will mean that for some of our young people they will be able to experience choosing, purchasing and owning books of their choice for the first time.”

and

“It was great to hear David talk at the safeguarding forum I was on last week. I just keep saying to people ‘All behaviour is a form of communication!’”

and

“VS – Kate has supported us with a child (on CP) who had several exclusions from school. Kate came to school and discussed the child’s Relational Support Plan. It was good to meet someone face to face who listened and offered valuable support. VS gave us funding to help support the child. They funded Forest School Sessions for half a term. Since VS support, exclusions greatly reduced (none since March) P-T timetable has gone from 1 hour per day to 4.25 hours per day.”

and

“We have changed our pre intervention process nad target paperwork to reflect the samples shown to us by David. These have been very user friendly and easy to implement.”

From September 2022, Kate and David have advertised the provision of a CIN, CP surgery

This is run from County Hall in Exeter to allow Social Care or Education colleagues to meet face-to-face or by phone, email or on Microsoft Teams.

Social work colleagues have made contact to seek advice on more complex cases.

School safeguarding leads have also made contact to seek advice on additional support /interventions available.

Referrals to CSW have been made during the surgery.

Laptops have been provided as a result of requests made.

School visits have been catalysed through contacts made during the surgery.

The Signpost newsletter

Signpost includes a key aspect of what the Virtual School extended role seeks to promote.

It’s all about relationships:

• Every adult who works with children and young people has their own relationships outside work – family, friends, colleagues; these relationships can be challenging; we can all experience ongoing stress, as a result of our own relationships.
• We need to reflect on the help and support we each need, in order to be our best selves with our working relationships with colleagues, young people and their families.
• Do you need to speak to a trusted colleague or line manager so that you can have some appropriate support or supervision or advice? Look after yourself so that you can support colleagues, children and their families more effectively.

Effective relationships need the investment of time:

• Which colleague(s) do you need to meet more frequently so that you can support yp more effectively? When could that happen?
• Which children or yp need a Monday Check In, Wednesday Check-Up and Friday Check-Out conversation each week; to feel safe, truly heard, cared for?
• With whom do you need to discuss this, to make it happen?
• When are you going to do that? Get it in the diary!
• Have any of the more vulnerable children or yp in your setting had a Relational Support Plan created and implemented?
• If so, how have you ensured that the detail of the Relational Support Plan is being followed with all staff who interact with the young person?
• How do you triage decisions about appropriate next steps for a young person in your setting on a day-to-day basis (eg. if they will not / cannot engage with learning for a specific reason) and with longer-term plans for that yp?

Planned actions for the Virtual School extended role 2022/23

To create Guidance Resources for Social Care and Education re. supporting yp on CIN and CP plans.

Continue to support transitions for yp through systematic communication between Social Care and Education.

Work with colleagues to enhance the education aspect of CIN and CP plans.

Work with Beccy Brooks, Virtual School Link Education Welfare Officer to improve attendance of yp on CIN and CP plans: focusing on the students attending below 10% and below 50% initially.

Issue another survey and increase proportion of responses.

Run weekly surgeries for colleagues working with the CIN and CP cohort.

Prioritise 3 Team Around the School support interventions.

Collaborate with Devon LA teams and schools to support outcomes for Devon yp on CIN and CP plans to exceed the outcomes for this cohort when compared to the national averages.

Termly data: attendance, suspensions, CME, EHE, PEX, Annex R to be monitored and acted upon.

Collaborative focus between VS+ and post-16 ALA planned re. reducing NEETs.

NB: The cohort of children and young people on CIN and CP plans is ever-changing; children may move from CIN to early help or to CP or from CP to being taken into care.

• November 2021: Number of yp on CIN and CP plans: 1243
• October 2022: Number of yp on CIN and CP plans: 1632

Percentage change of 31%.

13.10.22 – Devon LA children on CIN and CP plans: Data snapshot

	CIN	CIN with ECHP	% of this cohort with and EHCP	CP	CP with ECHP	% of this cohort with an ECHP	Total: CIN CP
NCY -3,-2,-1	175	1	0.6%	158	–	0%	333
NCY 0 – 6	397	76	19%	256	33	13%	653
NCY 7 – 11	348	97	28%	175	30	7	523
NCY 12 -13	97	24	25%	30	7	23%	127
Total	1028	198	12%	629	70	4%	1657

As a percentage of the total cohort of children on CIN and CP plans on this date:

• EYFS as a % of cohort: 21%
• Primary as a % of cohort: 39.5%
• Secondary 7 -13 as a % of cohort: 39.5%
• KS5 as a % of cohort: 8%
• CIN Primary age as a % of cohort: 24%
• CP Primary age as a % of cohort: 15%
• CIN Secondary age KS4 and 5 as a % of cohort: 27%
• CP Secondary age KS4 and 5 as a % of cohort: 12%