What is the Virtual School?

Norfolk Virtual School is part of the Opportunity and Wellbeing Service, operating within Norfolk Children's Services. We are dedicated to supporting the education of children and young people in care, previously in care, under a kinship order and those with a social worker from early years through to the end of Year 13, as well as offering guidance to care leavers and those who support them.

Our role and what we do

Our team of experienced advisers works closely with:

• Children and young people
• Schools and educational settings
• Social care teams and carers

Video overview of the Virtual School

Norfolk In Care Council asked for a short video giving information about the Virtual School. We worked with a young person who edited the script, composed and performed the music, provided the voiceover and was involved in every stage of the production. Watch the video overview of the Virtual School.

The role of the Virtual School Head

The Virtual School Head for Norfolk is Keeley White. This is a statutory role under the Children and Families Act 2014, with responsibility for ensuring that the right arrangements are in place to support and improve the educational experiences of children in care—both within Norfolk and those placed outside the county.

The work of the Virtual School is also shaped by the Ofsted inspection framework, which sets clear expectations for how local authorities support children in care. These expectations guide our planning, priorities, and the way we deliver our services.

Statutory responsibilities

As part of our statutory duties, Norfolk Virtual School is committed to ensuring that children in care receive the support they need to succeed in education. Our key responsibilities include:

• Monitor attendance and Progress
• We track attendance, progress, and attainment for all Norfolk children in care to ensure they are on the right path and receiving the support they need.
• Managing Pupil Premium Plus Funding
• We oversee DfE Pupil Premium Plus Grant Funding ensuring it is used effectively to improve educational outcomes for children in care.
• Ensuring High Quality Personal Education Plans (PEPs)
• Every child in care must have a high quality, effective Personal Education Plan (PEP), we ensure these plans are well-targeted and that Pupil Premium funding is clearly linked to the child's educational goals.

• Overseeing School Admissions
  We work to ensure that children in care are placed in schools that best meet their individual needs. We also help minimise disruption caused by changes in care placements or school moves.

• Providing Challenge and Accountability
  We hold schools, services, and professionals to account where necessary, ensuring that the needs of children in care remain a priority.

• Reporting on Educational Outcomes
  We regularly report on the attainment and progress of looked after children through Norfolk's corporate parenting structure, helping to inform strategic planning and decision-making.

• Championing the Voice of the Child
  We promote the importance of listening to children and young people, ensuring their views and experiences are reflected in decisions about their education.

Children with a social worker - Virtual School Head role extension

Promoting the education of children with a social worker

The Department for Education announced in June 2021 how local authorities should extend the current responsibilities for the Virtual School Head to include becoming a strategic lead for promoting the education of children with a social worker. This is a cohort that has been identified as a group of children who face significant barriers to education as a result of experiences of adversity and trauma, most commonly abuse and neglect. This is in addition to the existing statutory duties for looked after and previously looked after children.

Which children are included within the guidance?

Children with a social worker refers to:

• Children who have been assessed as being in need under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 and currently have a social worker.
• Children who have been assessed as being in need under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 and have previously had a social worker.
• It covers all children who were assessed as needing a social worker at any time due to safeguarding and/or welfare reasons, which includes those subject to a Child in Need plan or a Child Protection plan.

The age range covered is from 0 - 18 years of age in all education settings.

While the Virtual School will not be working directly with individuals and families, we will be using our network within Norfolk to map provision and identify how we can contribute and build upon current support. We will be exploring opportunities to use our current knowledge to reduce the barriers to education for this cohort through sharing of best practice. We will be working with our partners both regionally with other Virtual Schools and nationally with the information provided by NAVSH (National Association of Virtual School Heads) to inform our planning.

We will continue to work collaboratively with our colleagues in the local authority, education leaders and beyond to promote the educational outcomes for children with a social worker and supporting our children within Norfolk to flourish.

Extended duties for children in Kinship care arrangements

Following the publication of Championing kinship care: the national kinship care strategy (publishing.service.gov.uk) the role of the Virtual School Head has been extended to include children in Kinship care arrangements. From September 2024, the Virtual School Head strategic role will include:

a) Raising the visibility of the distinct needs of children in different types of kinship care arrangements and the disadvantage that they can experience.

b) Promoting practice that supports attendance and engagement in education.

c) Promoting practice that improves children in kinship care's outcomes to narrow the attainment gap, so that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Furthermore, the new duties extend Virtual School Heads' provision of advice and information, on request, to all kinship carers with Special Guardianship and Child Arrangements Orders as part of their non-statutory role.

The DfE have provided the definition of kinship care as 'any situation in which a child is being raised in the care of a friend of family member who is not their parent. The arrangement may be temporary or longer term.' Children included in the new strategic duties may have on of the following types of kinship care arrangement, however this list is not exhaustive:

• Informal kinship care arrangement
• A private fostering arrangement
• Where a 'lives with' Child Arrangements Order has been granted in favour of someone who is a friend or family member but is not the child's parent
• Where a Special Guardianship Order has been granted appointing a friend or family member as the child's special guardian
• Where a child is a 'looked after child' and each of the following apply:
•                 - the child is being cared for by a friend or family member who is not their parent, and
•                 - the friend of family member is approved as a local authority foster carer on either a temporary basis or following full assessment.
• Where an Adoption Order has been granted in respect of the child and, prior to making the order, the adopter was a friend or family member.

Following consultations with kinship carers, schools, professionals and other key partners, the kinship offer is now finalised and is available to view in related downloads section

For further information on how we are responding to the new duties for children in kinship care arrangements, please contact the Virtual School

Services offered by the Virtual School 

Statutory guidance for local authorities sets our new duties in respect of children previously in care. This to promote their educational achievement by providing information and advice.  

Statutory guidance for designated teachers sets out the responsibilities for designated teachers in respect of children previously in care.

For more information see our page on Support for children previously in care.

We offer information, advice and training to schools, early years settings and Post 16 providers as well as families and professionals supporting previously in care children and young people.  For more information on our offer of support please see our page on Our offer to schools and teachers.