Under proposed legislation in the government’s Children and Families Bill, all local authorities will be required to appoint a virtual school head teacher to oversee the education of children in care.
The proposed duty will provide support to young people up to the age of 18, but The Who Cares? Trust and the National Care Advisory Service at Catch 22 (NCAS) have launched a campaign calling on government to extend this to the age of 25.
Natasha Finlayson, chief executive of The Who Cares? Trust, said the government’s commitment to improve the educational attainment of looked-after children is welcome.
“Virtual school heads have been shown to have a positive effect on the attainment of young people in care, but we’d like to see this go further,” she said. “Life isn’t straightforward for children in care. They often come to education later than their peers, and they continue to need support when they leave care.
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