Schools have a responsibility to support children and young people in kinship care. Some of the support that schools provided will be directed towards children that have been, or are, in the care of children’s services. If this doesn’t apply in your situation you should still contact the school or educational settings as schools will want to work with carers to ensure that all students are supported and thriving in schools, especially those who may have experienced past trauma or who have special educational needs.

The role of the virtual school is to promote the educational outcomes of those children living in kinship care arrangements, including promoting the attendance, attainment and progress of children in kinship care. This includes:

• Providing advice and guidance to individual kinship carers of children who are subject to special guardianship orders (SGO) or child arrangement orders (CAO) and schools where permission has been given by carers.
• Raising awareness of the needs and disadvantage of children in different types of kinship care arrangements in educational settings.
• Promoting practice that supports attendance and engagement of kinship children in education.
• Promoting practice that improves the educational attainment of children in kinship care.

We welcome direct contact from kinship carers who have children living with them on SGO or CAOs. Please email virtualschool.admin@wokingham.gov.uk where one of the team will get back to you.

1. Do I have to tell the school about our kinship arrangement?

No. You do not have to share information about your kinship arrangement, however, to allow the school to support your child in the best way possible it is advisable to share whatever information you are comfortable with. If you are unsure as to why the school needs this information or who will have access to the information you share, then speak with a member of staff at the school who will be able to answer your questions.

By sharing information about the kinship arrangement, it will allow your child’s school to have a more holistic understanding of their needs and may mean the school can offer specific support and intervention if it is needed.

2. How can schools support children who have experienced trauma or family disruption?

Schools will be able to offer a wide range of support to children, depending on the age of the child and what support they need. Examples of this could include having a named person for regular well-being check ins, access to an ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant); counselling; adjustments to the curriculum or school timetable; PSHE (personal, social and health, education) lessons; using trauma informed practice in classrooms and across the setting or access to specialist services such as alternative provision. This is not an exhaustive list, and each school will have their own approach to supporting children.

Wokingham Virtual School also supports our local education settings by offering training, advice and guidance on a range of subjects to ensure that good practice and collaboration is shared so that as many children as possible benefit no matter what type of family arrangement they are living in.

3. Are there any financial supports available for school-related costs?

If you have financial concerns around supporting your child at school, then it would be advisable to have a conversation with the school in the first instance to see what support they can give you. Many schools have links with local charities or organisation who they can signpost you to if they can’t help directly.

Some children may be eligible for free school meals. Free school meals - who qualifies and how do I apply? | Turn2us.

4. What is Pupil Premium and how should schools use this to support my child?

Pupil Premium is funding from the government to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England.

The funding is allocated to schools based on how many children have:

• Been previously looked after by a local authority
• received free school meals or have received in free school meals in the last six years

It is helpful for the school to know if your child falls into either of these categories as it will allow them to access this additional funding.

Pupil premium funding is not an individual budget for each child, but it should be used by the school to develop high-quality teaching; provide targeted academic support and tackle non-academic barriers to success such as support with attendance and behaviour.

Schools are required to publish their pupil premium strategy on their website to show how they have used this funding to support students in their school.

5. What should I do if the child is struggling academically or socially?

In the first instance contact the school asking to discuss your concerns, this could be with the classroom teacher, designated teacher, pastoral lead, SENCO, designated teacher or designated safeguarding lead depending on your concern. If you don’t know who the best person to speak to is than school staff will be able to pass your query to the most appropriate person.

School staff should listen to your concerns and discuss with you the support they can offer and the timeline for when this will be done by. This might include referrals to other services or input from other members of staff in the school such as the SENCO.

6. What if the child has to move schools due to the kinship arrangement?

Any period of transition can be unsettling for children but there are several things that can be done to support a change of schools in a positive way. If your child is moving key stage e.g. primary to secondary there will be a robust transition programme for all new pupils. If you feel that your child will need additional support with this then contact both settings to ask what extra support they can offer.

Sometimes children will need to move during the school year. Before deciding on a new school for a child you may find it helpful to visit any potential settings you are considering. This will help you get a feel for the school and whether it will be a good fit for your child. If there are specific needs that your child has you can use this opportunity to speak with staff in the new setting to see if they can meet the needs of your child. For example, if your child has a SEN you may want to meet with the SENCO.

Once a new school has been identified and a place offered to your child information between the new and old schools will be shared such as safeguarding files and other key information. Often a representative from the new school will speak or meet with a member of staff from the old school to make sure there is a thorough handover to ensure a smooth transition.

If there are concerns with transition, ask to meet with the new school ahead of a start date so that a transition plan can be made. The new school will have a range of strategies they can use to support the transition such as meeting key members of staff before starting, visiting the school before the start date, identifying a key member of staff to support in the first few days or having a buddy system with other students. This meeting would also be a good opportunity to share with the new school any specific support that you think your child would need to make a successful transition.

7. Can the school help with referrals to other services (e.g., mental health, social care)?

Yes, schools will have contacts with a range of other services in the local area and will be able help with referrals. If you need advice on what these are then speak to your contact within the school

8. How can I build a positive relationship with the school as a kinship carer?

Take an interest in the school life of your child, ask them questions about what they are doing in school and encourage them to talk about their days as well as their feelings about school.

Ask the school to make sure you have access to all the ways in which they communicate with parents, for example the school app, and that you are getting things such as the school newsletter.

Be open and honest in conversations with school – share the positives and the challenges that your child is facing. Schools will find it easier to support you and your family if they understand the context of what is going on with your child.

Keep school updated on any changes or events that might impact your child at school. This will help school be more responsive in their dealings with your child if they know that something may have happened that might affect the emotional wellbeing of your child.