Wandsworth's Virtual School

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Wandsworth's Virtual School has responsibility for promoting the education of looked after children, previously looked after children, and care leavers.

The Virtual School Headteacher also has strategic leadership responsibility for championing the educational attendance, attainment, and progress of all children with a social worker and those in kinship care.

About the Virtual School

Every council or local authority is required by law to have a Virtual School Head who is the lead officer for ensuring that pupils with a social worker or those who have had one within six years, are supported to realise their academic potential and beyond.

The Virtual School is not an actual school and does not provide learning. Children and young people attend their own nurseries, children's centres, schools, colleges, or universities. The institutions they are enrolled in are responsible for their learning.

In Wandsworth, we are proud of the service we provide and the many achievements of our children and young people.

Groups served by the Virtual School

The groups of children we serve include:

  • Looked after children (ages 3 to 18 years)
  • Care leavers (ages 18 to 25 years)
  • Previously looked after children
  • Children with a social worker (children in need) and children who have had a social worker within the last six years
  • Children in kinship care

These children and young people can have significant barriers to achieving their true potential in education, employment, and training. Our role is to work alongside the network to enable children and young people to make accelerated progress and realise their dreams and beyond.

Experiences can vary from enduring trauma and abuse to spending time out of school. While the core purpose of the Virtual School is the same for each of these groups, the different statutory and non-statutory duties of the Virtual School mean the way we carry out these functions can be different for each group.

Looked after children

The Virtual School Headteacher is lead officer with statutory responsibility for promoting the education of Wandsworth looked after children (ages 3 to 18 years), including those living in a different borough.  As corporate parents, we are required to ensure that top priority is given to creating a culture of high educational aspirations and that Wandsworth strives for accelerated progress for looked after children.

Wandsworth Virtual School focuses on building positive relationships with professionals, children and young people to effect change. We use our knowledge and expertise to bring services and professionals together, to better understand the challenges children and young people face.

Through early identification of need and timely support, we are able put in place support and interventions children and young people need to improve their educational outcomes and life chances

We achieve this by ensuring that:

  • The educational achievement of Wandsworth looked after children remains a top priority
  • Every child has a dedicated advisory teacher with responsibility for leading on the education plan alongside the social worker
  • Data is used to track, support and target children to strengthen educational outcomes
  • Every child has an up to date, robust attainment focused Personal Education Plan (PEP) completed each term led by the Virtual School
  • Multi-professionals such as designated teachers, social workers, and carers benefit from a range of training opportunities to help better equip them with skills and knowledge to promote education outcomes, e.g. attachment and trauma informed practice
  • The Virtual School Headteacher is able to influence and shape local and national policy

Care Leavers

In Wandsworth, the Virtual School Headteacher has non-statutory responsibility for leading on the education, training, and employment outcomes for care leavers (ages 18 to 25 years).

We achieve this by ensuring that:

  • There are three dedicated education, employment and training officers with responsibility for providing targeted support for a ‘class’ of care leavers, of which two-thirds will be not in employment, education or training (NEET)
  • Advice and guidance is available for all Future First staff (Leaving Care team) in relation to all care leavers
  • Partnership opportunities with employers, training, and job provides are developed and delivered to young people
  • Education, employment, and training data is tracked to inform targeting of support for care leavers

Children with a social worker

The Virtual School Headteacher is the lead strategic officer in Wandsworth with responsibility for promoting the education of all children with a social worker (ages 0 to 18 years), and those who have had a social worker within six years.

The term 'children with a social worker' relates specifically to those children subject to a Child in Need or Child Protection Plan.

In Wandsworth, we are ambitious and have decided to track and support all children with a Wandsworth social worker, irrespective of where they live or attend school.

We achieve this by ensuring that:

  • We highlight the disadvantages faced by children with a social worker to strengthen the partnerships we have with schools
  • Training is provided to multi-professionals helping them better understand how to promote education outcomes
  • Targets are set to ensure that the attendance and education of these children are a key priority and that we maintain high aspirations for all children and young people
  • We promote practice that recognises that school and college can be an important factor in helping children keep safe from harm
  • We are levelling up children’s outcomes and narrowing the attainment gap so every child can reach their potential

Previously looked after children

The Virtual School Headteacher has a statutory responsibility to promote the education of previously looked after children (ages 3 to 18 years) subject to an adoption, special guardianship, or Child Arrangement Order.

The DfE requires Virtual Schools to provide advice and guidance only to families, education provisions, and social care professionals. 

Children in kinship care

The Virtual School Headteacher has strategic responsibility to promote the education of children in kinship care. These are children where an adult has decided to care for them when they are not able to live with their parents.

Many children in kinship care already come under the range of groups the Virtual School Headteacher has responsibility for. The DfE has brought these children into greater visibility and has asked the Virtual School Head to champion their education outcomes. 

The team

Contact

For further information or discussion, contact Virtual School Headteacher Nova Levine or Senior Business Support Officer Alison Allen.

Up to Looked after children

Updated: 06/02/2025