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.
“That’s why we are calling for the virtual school head teacher role to be extended to work with care leavers up to the age of 25.”
The charities point to the fact that care leavers often find themselves entering further education later in life, so government must provide support beyond the age of 18, if it is committed to improving their education.
Martin Hazlehurst, NCAS national manager, said: “Extending the valuable oversight of virtual school head teachers will show that the government is serious about supporting care leavers.
“We need to do more to recognise that the needs of this vulnerable group of young people do not go away when they turn 18.”
The campaign has been backed by charities including the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), Barnardo’s, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), the Care Leaver’s Association, the Fostering Network and The Adolescent and Children’s Trust (Tact).
The Children and Families Bill received its second reading in parliament on Monday (25 February).
