Croydon Virtual School

Information, resources and guidance for parents and carers, educational settings and any other agencies.

The Virtual School has a duty to promote the educational achievement of Previously Cared for Children. These are children subject to an Adoption Order, Special Custodianship Order, or other Child Arrangement Order - who have not returned to live with their birth parents.

The Virtual School upholds this duty by providing advice and information to:

• any person that has parental responsibility for the child
• providers of funded early years education, Designated Teachers for previously looked-after children in maintained schools and academies
• any other person we consider appropriate for promoting the educational achievement of relevant children

For more information, refer to the Department for Education guidance: Promoting the education of looked-after and previously looked-after children.

Pupil Premium Plus (PPG+) Funding for Previously cared for children and young people

PPG+ is a specific part of the overall Pupil Premium Grant, which is extra government funding for publicly funded schools in England to support disadvantaged pupils. 

PPG+ supports care experienced and previously cared for children and young people. The school census is mandatory and used to calculate PPG and PPG+ amounts for institutions or local authorities.

Funding for cared for children goes to the local authority's Virtual School Head. For previously cared for children and young people, the relevant school census (for example, October for most mainstream schools) determines funding.

For further details on PPG+ funding for previously cared for children, please refer to page 14 of the Pupil Premium guidance.

The designated teacher for previously cared for children

The Children and Social Work Act 2017 states that governing bodies have a duty to designate a suitable member of staff to promote the educational achievement of previously cared for children, including those adopted from abroad.

The designated teacher ensures all staff are aware of the needs of these students and contributes to school-wide policies affecting them, including the use of Pupil Premium and other sources of funding.

The designated teacher should work closely with parents and guardians to ensure the best outcomes for the child, socially, emotionally and educationally.

View the full statutory guidance for designated teachers.

If you are the parent or carer of a previously cared for child and you have concerns about your child’s education or wellbeing at school, you should contact the school and request a meeting with your child’s teacher or tutor, the school’s Designated Teacher or the Special Education Needs and Disabilities Coordinator. You might also wish to invite your child’s Head of Year if your child attends a secondary setting.

Admissions

Care experienced children are among the most vulnerable children in society and it is of paramount importance that a school place is found that is in the best interests of the child as quickly as possible. Admission authorities must give highest priority to children we care for and previously cared for children.

The admission requirements for previously cared for children are set out in the school admissions code. This code applies to applies to maintained schools and academies, including free schools. Visit our school admissions page for further information.

Guidance for for admission authorities and local authorities can be found in the Department of Education's admissions priority for children adopted from state care outside of England.