Virtual school head role to be enshrined in law

Legislation on the role is likely to form part of the Children and Families Bill, due to be published in the new year. The move comes as the Department for Education publishes its annual statistics on the educational attainment of looked-after children.

The figures show that less than 15 per cent of children in care achieved five GCSEs grades A* to C, including English and maths this year, compared to 58 per cent of children overall.

Children’s minister Edward Timpson said the appointment of a virtual school head in every local authority would prevent the attainment gap between children in care and their peers from stagnating or widening further.

“I know that a lot of councils go that extra mile to help educate children who are in care, and don’t have the stable family home that is often taken for granted,” he said.

“However, a patchy service still exists and, as their poor educational outcomes show, this isn’t good enough for children in care who deserve better.”

He added that virtual heads can significantly improve the education of children in care, citing the cases of local authorities including Warrington, where 40 per cent of looked-after children achieved five "good" GCSEs, and North Tyneside and Dudley, where 37.5 per cent and 22.2 per cent respectively reached the benchmark.

“Virtual school heads have been in place in many areas of the country where they have been making a positive difference,” he said.

“I want them to have the clout to push harder and help to improve educational attainment for all children in care because there is no doubt that their school years can be their link to a better future. That’s why it is vital that every local authority has a virtual school head.

“This is important work, and will play a significant role building the platform from which children in care can succeed and achieve their goals in decades to come.”

Natasha Finlayson, chief executive of The Who Cares? Trust, said protecting the post of the virtual school head in law would help mitigate against cuts to local services that have been undermining educational support for children in care.

“It’s good news that Edward Timpson has taken this early step to continue the commitment to the education of children in care he showed on the backbenches,” she said. 

“We hope that it signals the beginning of a concerted effort to improve the educational attainment of looked-after children and care leavers. However the necessary system-wide change cannot be achieved by a single post in each local authority. 

“We look forward to working with the minister to ensure that all local authorities, schools and carers work together to narrow the gap between looked-after children and their peers.”

David Simmonds, chair of the Local Government Association’s children and young people board, said councils must be ready to offer children in care whatever support they need, “like mums and dads in the same situation”.

“Despite areas of progress, these figures show that the care system is still struggling to overcome the problems that brought the children into care and enable them to achieve equivalent grades to their peers,” he said.

“Although there are good examples of where even a short period in care helps a child to achieve and go on to college or university, there is still much to do in helping the majority get the grades they need to have a good start in life.”

The Department for Education has meanwhile announced plans to consider introducing a “pupil premium plus” for children in care.

The recommendation was first made in a report by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on looked-after children, which Timpson chaired before being appointed children’s minister.