Review of the work of the mentors funded through the pupil premium for children in care and attached to the virtual school
Swindon has a ‘Virtual School’ (LACES) for children in care aged 0 – 19. The role of Virtual School Head (VSH) - with responsibility for discharging the existing duty on local authorities to promote the educational achievement of their looked after children, wherever they are placed - has become a statutory post for all Local Authorities as part of the current Children’s Bill. In the recent thematic inspection of virtual schools, Ofsted praised virtual schools for providing very effective support that not only made a difference to children’s educational progress but also enhanced the stability of their placements and had a positive impact on their emotional health. As Corporate Parents there is an expectation that we will collectively continue to champion and promote the education of children in care.
Since September 2011, the pupil premium for secondary aged children in care in Swindon has been top sliced to fund 2 mentors attached to the virtual school. The service has been offered for £38,900 p.a. to date. Since 2011 contributions have been top sliced thus…
Sept 11 - March 12 £22,692 Surplus to schools £0
April 12 – March 13 £38,900 Surplus to schools £100 per child in care
April 13 – March 14 £38,900 Surplus to schools £400 per child in care TBC
(This is separate to the dedicated schools grant and is paid to the Borough for distribution to schools educating Swindon’s children in care both in and out of the local authority.)
N.B. If a school does not have any Swindon children in care, it wouldn’t contribute to the cost of the mentor roles. Other local authorities who place children in care in Swindon schools will continue to pay the pupil premium for their children direct to the school as per their own policies.
The pupil premium for children in care was first paid in 2011 at the rate of £488 per child who had been in care for at least 6 months. This has steadily risen and the Government has recently indicated that it is likely to be £1900 per pupil for 2014-15 and payable from day 1 of the child becoming looked after.
In the recent All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) inquiry entitled ‘Education Matters in Care’ chaired by Edward Timpson MP one of the 10 key recommendations was that virtual school heads should control the pupil premium. ‘the pupil premium and pupil premium + should be allocated to the virtual school head to ensure the money is spent smartly and in a coordinated way. The VSH would be in a strong position to distribute the pupil premium in accordance with the PEP process.’ The inquiry also recommends that ‘Learning mentors should form part of the virtual school model at every stage of the child’s education and development.’ The inquiry’s recommendations are still being implemented by the government.
Schools should be able to show how the pupil premium has been spent on each child in care and the impact of the intervention. This information is requested as part of the PEP review process. The pupil premium must be available, proportionately, to follow the child should they move school during the financial year.
The primary role of the mentors is to work, as required with any looked after child in years 7 – 11. The pupils supported have all required assistance to access the curriculum due to their behavioural or emotional difficulties which prevented them from engaging in learning and led to fixed term exclusions and in 11 of the cases the threat of permanent exclusion.
All mainstream Secondary Schools in Swindon have received some support if they have Swindon children in care. St Lukes and Crowdys Hill have also been supported. This has included
Ø Addressing specific disruptive behaviour/disengagement with personalised strategies in 1:1 sessions
Ø 1:1 sessions with pupils to address identified social and emotional issues e.g. friendship problems
Ø Staff training and problem solving sessions with teachers of a particular pupil or relating to a particular issue
Ø setting up suitable and consistent individual reward / sanction systems for pupils
Ø Independent (of the school) mentoring.
Ø Monitoring meetings with key adults
Ø Monitoring meetings with pupils
Ø Liaison with foster carers and social workers
Ø Provision of resources for pupil use eg calm boxes
All intervention has been set up initially through each school’s designated teacher for children in care. Referrals to the mentors usually arise from the statutory Personal Education Plan (PEP) meeting held a minimum of every 6 months and overseen by the designated teacher in the school or key adult for the pupil. The virtual school (LACES) is also pro-active in identifying pupils who are also at risk of fixed term or permanent exclusion. A rapid response is also offered – where capacity allows – in case of emergency for existing and new referrals.
Since September 2011, a running total of 43 pupils have been supported out of an average of 70 children in care attending Swindon schools. This represents 61%. (N.B. Uplands pupils have not been included in this total) A total of 3698 hours of direct work have been undertaken by the mentors.
Referrals relate to 3 broad areas of support with a number of pupils having multiple reasons for referral. These are disruptive behaviour, poor social interaction/vulnerability and support through periods of transition. Each category has the potential to prevent the child from engaging with learning and can often be related back to a level of attachment difficulty. These referrals include 11 pupils who were at risk of permanent exclusion and had received fixed term exclusions. The group of 43 pupils lost a total of 136 days to fixed term exclusions prior to receiving this support. Exclusions dropped by over 63% to 50 days from the date of their involvement with the mentors. The number of exclusions for assaults on staff and/or pupils has also dropped, from 44 to 16 - a drop of 64%, within the same group.
1. Pupils displaying disruptive behaviour, refusal to comply
Their actions were disrupting the learning of their peers and preventing their own access to the curriculum, resulting in time spent in isolation or on fixed term exclusions.
Two of the group are relatively new referrals and therefore a work in progress, however of the remainder – all are now engaging with learning – either in their original school or having been supported through a managed move into a new school. Monitoring visits are offered to maintain the progress made but tail off as necessary.
2. Pupils with poor social interaction skills, heightened anxiety around school, vulnerability, low self-esteem or relationship problems
This group includes pupils who find it hard to settle to learn due to poor interactions with their peers leading to incidents in school particularly in unstructured time which spill over into the classroom.
3. Support through a major transition e.g. KS2 into KS3
This group includes pupils with potential issues falling in 1 or 2 above but who also have to undergo a major transition into secondary school or college. The mentors work with these pupils for 3 months (on average) either side of the transition, only withdrawing when the pupil is settled and confident in their new setting. Although attendance levels for children in care in Swindon are generally high, this group has performed particularly well. All pupils were and have remained successfully integrated into their new schools with attendance at over 98%. Follow up support is offered and varies from not being needed to an hour once a term.
Feedback is requested from all parties involved. Schools, foster carers, social workers and the pupils themselves are all overwhelmingly positive with quotes such as…
‘J*** has had excellent support and his behaviour has improved’
‘C**** made E****’s transition to KS3 a fantastic experience’
‘Since spending time with C****, she has built up his personal confidence. S*** seems a lot happier in school which, in turn impacts on his home life. The bullying situation he was experiencing at school appears resolved. C****’s input has been invaluable to all of us’
The pupils tell us that they value the fact that the mentors are not attached to their school. They feel that they can be honest in their sessions. This last quote also underlines the impact that the support can have on maintaining the stability of the foster placement alongside school which is vital for sustained progress.
Caroline Allinson
Head of Education for children in care
October 2013