Shropshire Virtual School Support for Kinship Carers

From September 2024 Virtual Schools have new non-statutory extended duties to develop their strategic leadership role in promoting the educational outcomes for children in Kinship Care arrangements.

Virtual Schools will be asked to:

• Raise awareness of and promote the educational achievement, progress and attendance for this group of children, including advising schools on how to avoid exclusion for example
• Provide advice and information to Kinship Carers who support their children under a Special Guardianship Order or Child Arrangements Order, regardless of whether the child was Looked-After by the Local Authority. (Virtual Schools are not expected to provide advice where there is an informal kinship arrangement i.e. the carer does not have parental responsibility for the child, see Informal arrangements - Kinship - The kinship care charity
• Answer queries from schools/settings where permission has been given

The reason for Virtual Schools having this extended duty is because research indicates that the outcomes for children who grow up in kinship care have overall better outcomes than those that grow up in ‘non-parental care’, but that their outcomes can fall below those children who have a social worker. This information is taken from the GOV.UK website.

Here is a link to the new guidance - Promoting the education of children with a social worker and children in kinship care arrangements: virtual school head role extension.

For further information about support and advice available from the Kinship Care charity please see Kinship - The kinship care charity and Kinship Compass | Independent information hub for kinship carers.