Croydon Virtual School

Our aim to better the educational and employment outcomes, as well as the life chances, of each and every child who passes through or stays in the care of us.

Children with a social worker

What we do

We have a duty to promote the education of children subject to a child in need plan or a child protection plan aged from 0 years old to 18 years old in educational settings. Our duty also extends to children who have previously had a social worker. This includes children who are disabled and have, or have had, an allocated social worker.

View GOV.UK's guidance on the virtual school's extended duty to promote the education of children with a social worker

The UK Government’s Children in Need review (2019) identified for the first time that 1.6 million children - the equivalent to 1 in 10 children or three children in every classroom - needed a social worker.

Children with a social worker are around three times more likely to be persistently absent from school and between two to four times more likely to be permanently excluded from school than their peers.

The Children in Need review found that children with a social worker do worse than their peers at every stage of their education and poor outcomes persist, even after social worker involvement ends. Experiences of adversity and trauma can create barriers to education that affect attendance, learning, behaviour and wellbeing. However, with the right support in place, children can overcome these barriers to reach their potential.

At the Virtual School, we are not expected to monitor individual children and their progress as we do with children in care.

It is our role to:    

  • promote practice that supports children’s engagement in education, recognising that attending an education setting can be an important factor in helping to keep children safe from harm
  • level up children’s outcomes and narrow the attainment gap so every child can reach their potential
  • identify the needs of the cohort and address barriers to poor educational outcomes and ensure pupils make educational progress
  • offer advice and support to key professionals to help children make progress, including increasing their confidence, through evidence-based interventions

For further information and queries, please email emma.blackman@croydon.gov.uk

The support we provide

Children with a social worker have access to the following support:

ARENA training for designated teachers

The Arena free online training platform is for professionals supporting Croydon cared for children and children with a social worker. This is a great opportunity to learn skills and share good practice, knowledge and resources with other professionals working in a similar role. 

Some of the topics we have covered include: 

  • ePEP training
  • developing robust education
  • mental health
  • supporting attendance
  • trauma-informed practice
  • emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA)
  • attendance through a trauma-informed lens.

To book a place on our next training event, please email us for further information

Education advice sessions for children with a social worker

We offer education advice sessions for social care practitioners and school staff supporting statutory school age children subject to a child in need plan or a child protection plan in educational settings. 

Download and complete this referral form (DOC, 33KB) and email the form to emma.blackman@croydon.gov.uk

Locality SEND support documents to download

Model policy for Schools

Download the Children with a Social Worker (CWSW) model policy for schools

National Tutoring Programme funding

Information for state-funded schools and independent special schools on funding allocations, how to use the funding and how to report on tutoring.

Visit the GOV.UK guidance on National Tutoring Programme funding 

Reach2Teach Action for Inclusion tool 

As part of our pledge to promote the education of children with a social worker (CWSW), Croydon schools have the opportunity to utilise the Reach2Teach Action for Inclusion Tool (AfIT).

Reach2Teach AFIT gives schools access to ways of reflecting on what challenging behaviour might be communicating about a pupil’s learning and relational needs, and offers a huge range of helpful strategies to support them to settle to learn, thus helping prevent exclusions.  

AFIT also helps staff to evidence what they’ve been doing which has helped make a difference, and to communicate with the other adults in the team around the child, all safely within GDPR and consistent with OFSTED requirements. 

Download the Reach2Teach Action for Inclusion tool explainer