study

Overview

Section 20 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 places a duty on governing bodies to appoint a member of staff to be the Designated Teacher as having the responsibility to promote the educational achievement of Children in Care (CiC) (also known as Children Looked After (CLA)), including those aged between 16 and 18 who are registered pupils at the school, and to ensure that the Designated Teacher undertakes appropriate training (section 20:2). The 2017 Children and Social Work Act extends this duty to children previously looked after. Furthermore, the Children and Families Act 2014 requires councils in England to appoint a Virtual School Head to discharge the local authority’s duty to promote the educational achievement of children in care (CiC).

This module has been developed in collaboration with the Suffolk Virtual School (VS) and Suffolk's Psychology and Therapeutic Services (P&TS) and would be appropriate for Designated Teachers and others working more broadly with children in care/looked after children. The module provides an opportunity to develop a critical, theoretical understanding of person-centred educational provisions for children in care (CiC) and previously looked after children (pLAC). Rethinking education practices within classrooms, it promotes powerful change by breaking with individualistic approaches in education and addresses issues of learning as participation, diversity and inclusion, inter-professional working, and the effects these have on educational achievement. Additionally, this module is underpinned by the UNCRC’s premise that children have a right to participation in matters that concern them and considers how educational provisions can be centred around children’s preferences.