Virtual Sch newsletter Autumn 12_PDF version - Staffordshire ...

So, how did your Looked After students do in their summer
exams and tests? Were they the first results you looked for? Did
you speak to them as soon as possible after you found out –
whether or not they achieved what you’d hoped for?
Based on as yet invalidated data, it looks as though
Staffordshire’s results for all students this summer were the best
ever in almost all respects from the Early Years Foundation
Stage, through Key Stage 2 SATs to GCSEs. For Looked After
children, the numbers in each cohort are too small to make valid
year on year comparisons but the gap between children on free
school meals and those not seems to be narrowing, albeit it only
marginally. However any gap has to be unacceptable hasn’t it?
What you can do is try to ensure that the children you support
make more progress than average.
You may remember me writing that Looked After students are the
most important children in our schools. Not always but often, they
have the poorest prior attainment, the most fragile resilience and
the least confidence. You are the ones who help them to
overcome these barriers to learning and to raise their self-esteem
and aspirations.
But you can’t do it on your own. Everyone at the school has a
part to play, especially individual teachers. The good news is that
the Pupil Premium is being raised again so that we have more
resources to focus on Looked After Children. How are you using
them? Ofsted has recently published a report on the use of the
Pupil Premium in schools (‘The Pupil Premium - how schools are
using the Pupil Premium funding to raise achievement for
disadvantaged pupils.’ Ofsted. Sept. 2012 – copy and summary
available on the Virtual School webpage) and it’s a bit critical. It
suggests too many schools are using the extra funding for
generic, day to day resourcing rather than focusing it on new,
bespoke and targeted support. What about your school?
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Looked After and
Learning Autumn
2012
Finally, can I thank you for any and all
work you do for your Looked After
Children. They are special – and so are
you.
Mike Osborne-Town
County Commissioner for Education
Calling all Designated Teachers for Looked after Children
Register your details with the Virtual School for the academic year
2012 -2013.Send details to:rebecca.chorley@staffordshire.gov.uk
Name:
School:
Email address:
School contact telephone number:
The Virtual School for Looked After Children in Staffordshire
“Virtual school staff give excellent professional support
and guidance to students”
Meet the team...
Hello, I’m Eamonn Fitzpatrick (furthest
back wearing the fluorescent top),
Education
Co-ordinator for Staffordshire Looked
after Children covering the north of the
county (Newcastle & Moorlands) but
also of late most of the schools in north
Stafford and Stone. The picture is of
Virtual School team members experiencing some of the activities that
Standon Bowers provide for our Looked After Children living in
Children’s Units. It is purely coincidental that to the left of centre, the
Headteacher for the Virtual School Christopher Tyler appears to be
collecting photographic evidence of how well his team are meeting
their targets! Which nicely brings me to my role – it’s about supporting
schools in closing the educational attainment gap between Looked
After Children and their peers. My involvement is nearly always PEP
based, referrals coming in from Social Workers or schools but also
from Foster Carers. I’m a stickler for process and like to cut through
the “tangle” to get to the heart of the problem. I like a “solution focused
approach” and I insist that PEP meetings never finish without a review
date being set. “No review date? Bit of a worthless document.” I often
bark!
Besides the “bark,” I’m a happy, positive person. I love working directly
with children (which I don’t get as many opportunities as I used to) and
am a self appointed ambassador for the fantastic work that teachers do
on a daily basis. Outside of work I like to sing (but can’t), to dance
(embarrass my children), to run (not bad at this) and cycle (my dream
is to fly to New York, find the equivalent of Halfords, purchase a bike
and pedal across the continent to the Pacific).
This September saw the publication of some real improvement in the
attainment of our Looked After Children and I know it’s down to the
collective effort of the staff in our schools, social workers, foster carers
and the kids themselves. I’m just happy to play my part in this
corporate but “real” team.
If you need help and support with Staffordshire Looked After Children –
give us a call/leave a message at the District Education Office at
Seabridge on 01782 297524
Eamonn Fitzpatrick
Teacher supporting Staffordshire Looked after Children
Newcastle & Moorlands ….and a bit of Stafford & Stone!
What’s New...
on the Virtual School Web page?
Under ‘Useful links and further reading’ you will find the new, independent cross-party inquiry into the educational attainment
of Looked After Children ‘Education Matters in Care’, HMSO, September 2012. This significant, national development contains
some 90 recommendations (with 10 key ones at the beginning) and a long section devoted to FE/HE as well. A useful summary
and ‘go to’ page directory is also available. Under ‘Pupil Premium’ there is the recent Ofsted investigation into the use of the
Pupil Premium, ‘Pupil Premium, How Schools are using Pupil Premium Funding to Raise Achievement for Vulnerable Pupils’
Ofsted, September 2012. In the same area of our webpage, look out for The Sutton Trust’s 'Toolkit of Strategies to Improve
Learning: Summary for Schools Spending the Pupil Premium.' The Sutton Trust, May 2011. This gives a fascinating overview of
the effectiveness of interventions funded by the Pupil Premium.
Under ‘Governors’ you will find the latest ‘Designated Teacher Annual Governors Report Form’, July 2012. This gives DTs a format
for their annual reports, with a useful summary of action points (with self assessment prioritisation) on page 8.
www.education.staffordshire.gov.uk/lookedafterchildren

As this is my first contribution to the
Virtual School Newsletter, I should
introduce myself, the Strategic Lead for
Looked After Children and Disability here
in Staffordshire; this includes our
fieldwork Social Work teams, residential,
fostering and adoption services.
I like getting my Letterbox parcel because I
look forward to all the books I can read and
things that I can play with.
My favourite book is Where’s Wally but I also
like the sticker albums you get where you can
put stickers of different countries into a map.
I love playing sport, especially football and
swimming and I had a great book from
Letterbox about all the different sports in the
Olympics. I enjoyed watching some of the
Olympics in the summer and I saw a lot of the
sports that were in my book. I also get coins
and calculator charts to help with my Maths
which is really useful.
A View from Families First -
I have been greatly impressed with the
work of the Virtual School over the past
two years and believe that we can justly congratulate ourselves on a
range of positive developments which have begun to improve the
education and learning we provide for our Looked After Children
across the age range, including pre school, FE and HE. Whilst a time
for congratulations, this is not a time for resting on our laurels.
There are many areas that the Virtual School and its partners are
working on to further improve the service our children receive and
the outcomes they achieve. One pressure for all of you who work with
and support our children is the increased numbers of Looked After
Children. This is a national trend and Staffordshire has experienced a
significant increase over the past two years.
Another impetus is that both locally and nationally there is a growing
pressure to speed up the processes that lead to children arriving at a
position of permanency in their living arrangements (which can
include adoption, placement with another family member or return
home). Here in Staffordshire, we are reducing delay and performing
well against national indicators, but again, considerable work is
underway to improve this further.
There is also the pressure of a new inspection regime (including an
integrated inspection of all Looked After Children’s services) which will
be implemented in April 2013. This will follow individual children’s
journeys and ensure their voice is clearly heard and responded to. All
of you engaged with the care and support of our children will be
participants in the child’s journey and are integral to the quality and
shared common focus of that journey. Clarity of purpose and good
open communications between the often wide range of individuals
who can be involved in a Looked After Child’s life is essential to an
effective journey through care. As is listening and enabling the child to
contribute to the planning and decisions that occur in their lives. On
this second point I should mention that our Children’s Voices Project
was recently awarded the ‘Hear By Right’ gold award for their work
engaging Looked After Children and young people in Staffordshire.
Finally, I will just mention the quality assurance role that the School
has developed over recent months in relation to Personal Education
Plans, to which many of you will contribute. The PEP is the key process
through which a Looked After Child’s educational needs are addressed
on a multi agency basis and when effectively used, contributes
significantly to achievement. The QA work undertaken to date will be
analysed and shared with you over the coming months along with
actions and learning. In this way, we can all learn together and work
together, with the overall aim of improving outcomes for our Looked
After Children.
Richard Hancock
Head of Looked After Children and disabilities.
Voice from a Children’s Home
It is important to hear about the roles of other colleagues involved in the
education and care of our Looked After Children. Here, a manager of one
of our Residential Homes introduces his role, their ground breaking ‘social
pedagogy’ model and their links with the Virtual School.
My name is Mark Guest, I am the registered
children’s home manager for Shaping Futures; a
short term residential service that provides care
and support for up to five young people at any
one time. I have worked in similar environments
since 1998 and jumped at the opportunity to
join the team at Staffordshire as I knew they
were known for the quality of its provision and I
welcomed the opportunity to be part of their
social pedagogic journey.
The young people we support are aged between twelve and seventeen and
will stay for approximately twelve weeks. Our objective is to return young
people home or assist them in moving to an appropriate long-term
placement. We recognise the importance of effective partnership working,
perceiving young people, their families and a broad range of professional
services as being key to how we meet our objectives. We pride ourselves on
providing individually based interventions that support positive outcomes
and allow young people to gain new experiences.
The home’s core principles are founded in ‘social pedagogy’ which aim to
provide quality relationships for all our young people, their families and our
stakeholders. The staff team have undertaken a meticulous training
programme to gain a thorough understanding of how to practice and adopt
the philosophy of ‘social pedagogy.’
A key element of working in partnership has been the relationship between
the home and the Virtual School. At least once a week, we meet with our
Education Coordinator Denise Grimshaw, which has proven to be
fundamental in providing a service able to meet young people’s needs. For
some of the young people placed with the service, maintaining or accessing
education resources can have a significant impact, leading to increased stress
and anxiety at an already difficult time. The support and advice provided
through the Virtual School ensures young people’s educational needs are
managed as a priority aspect of their care. The partnership the home has
developed with the Virtual School is completely supportive of young people
accessing education.
The Virtual School has enabled young people to access education services
specific to their needs and support on-going learning.
On admission, the home has a designated member of the home’s staff who
takes responsibility for co-ordinating the young person’s education. This
member of staff contacts the Virtual School to advise of new admittances
with discussion on how the young person’s education will be supported.
It is the home’s philosophy to maintain where possible, the young person’s
current education provision, which can at times involve staff transporting
young people some distance to ensure this happens. Each case would then
be discussed weekly with the Virtual School feeding into placement plan
meetings for the young person. Staff work with the Virtual School to
promote and support stability for young people in education resources. The
Virtual School often accompanies staff to meetings with education provisions
where additional support is needed or complex issues arise.
In this way, a partnership-driven, team approach is developed and
maintained with the overall aim of meeting the key aim – to support the care
of some of our most vulnerable young people.
Anyone interested in finding out more about Shaping Futures
or social pedagogy, can contact Kirsty Simpson or
Mark Guest on 01785 253673, alternatively please email:
kirsty.simpson@staffordshire.gov.uk
mark.guest@staffordshire.gov.uk
The Virtual School for Looked After Children in Staffordshire
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Contact:
4
www.education.staffordshire.gov.uk/lookedafterchildren The web page for Designated Teachers
Christopher Tyler: Headteacher, Virtual Looked After Children
Tel: 01785 854195. Email: christopher.tyler@staffordshire.gov.uk
Eamonn Fitzpatrick and Carole Faribrother: Newcastle and Moorlands District
Telephone: 01782 297524
Denise Grimshaw and Sam Brownless: Lichfield and Cannock District.
Telephone: 01543 512056
Paul Wilkie and Josie Suggate: Burton District. Telephone: 01283 239761
Arlene Gwyther: Stafford District. Telephone: 01785 356972
Meet the Virtual School Governing Body
Every school has a Govering Body and the virtual school for Looked After Children is no exception.
In future editions we will be introducing the members of the Governing Body to you. In this edition we
meet Julia Anderson. Julia is the county manager for Autism Outreach, Educational Psychology
Service and Portage.
Hello Julia,
Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed.
Could you tell me a little about your role within
Staffordshire County Council?
I am the County Manager for three services, the
Educational Psychology Service, Autism Outreach
Team (AOT) and Portage Service.
EPs support children and young people across the
county in a range of ways, for example helping to
find out what they may need to do well in school
and make friends, and helping them to cope with
difficult events, such as bullying.
The AOT helps children and young people with
autism.The Portage team work with very young
children at home with their families.
That’s very interesting…..what was the path that
led you to your current post?
I was born and brought up in Liverpool. I have
always been interested in people and what
makes them tick, so I went to university in
Manchester to get a degree in psychology.
I then qualified as a teacher and taught in
Tamworth and London. Eventually, I came back to
Birmingham and studied for a masters degree,
which meant I could become an educational
psychologist.
Personal Education
Allowance (PEA)Good Practice
PEP UPDATES
I have worked in Staffordshire ever since. I have
worked in every area of the county, it is so big that
there is lots of variety and I have had several
different roles..
Could you outline what sitting on the Governing
Body means to you?
I am really interested in finding out about the
experiences of children and young people, and
using their views to shape what we do. As a
psychologist, it is vital to hear about the things
young people have to cope with. I am frequently
impressed by the resilience and ingenuity they
show. It is also encouraging to see the
commitment of the other people on the Governing
Body and their willingness to overcome obstacles.
Why is it important that the Governing Body is in
place? It is very important that we listen to the
views of children and young people who are or
have been in care. It is also vital that we keep
looking at what we are doing and trying to make it
better. The Governing Body has a responsibility to
make sure that we are doing things as well as we
can in Staffordshire, that we are using the most up
to date research and working with the right
people.
Is there a particular piece of work which you are
particularly proud of or you feel you’d like to
mention? EPs work in all schools, so I feel my role
The Virtual School has placed a ‘good practice’ example
of a PEA (Personal Education Allowance) application
and the PEP (Personal Education Plan) to which it
relates, on The Virtual School web page in order to
support Social Workers to make PEA applications and
to keep Designated Teachers and Foster Carers
informed too. We are currently in the process of putting
together some further ‘good practice’ information with
regard to making PEA applications; which will also be
available on the Virtual School web page shortly.
www.education.staffordshire.gov.uk
PEP UPDATES
The Virtual School for Looked After Children in Staffordshire
with the Governing
Body is that of EP for
the Virtual School,
even though it doesn’t actually exist as bricks and
mortar. My team have offered training for staff and
carers on attachment, how to make everyone feel
as if they belong, and I think this is really
important.
What’s the best thing about your work
supporting the Governing Body of The Virtual
School? Meeting and hearing about very
successful young people who have experienced
the care system in Staffordshire and then come
back to make it better for others.
In your spare time do you have any hobbies or
interests you’d like to share with our readership?
I like to read and I make miniature teddy bears!!
Do you have any pets?
We have two very cunning cats, called Smudge and
Misty, who have complete control of the
household, including the kids.
Which is your favourite television soap or TV
programme? I love scary American programmes
like True Blood and Dexter.
When you last went on holiday – where did you
go? We went to Turkey last year and liked it so
much we are going again this year.
Foster Child
Friends and family are different
Other people bully me for who I am
Sisters are kind and help me through care
Talking to people when you need help
Error for when you make a mistake
Reading a book in English
Care is hard
Help when you need it
I feel sad for being in care
Love is all I get from family and foster family
Don’t know where I’m going so I
ask someone ‘What’s going on?’
By Charlotte Wood
Poem
Corner