Children with a social worker

Following the extension to Local Authority duties in September 2021, the Virtual School has a role in championing the educational attendance, attainment, and progress of children with a social worker.

To support this, we have two CP/CIN Education Advisors who advocate and model a strengths-based approach to supporting children and promoting their educational outcomes. We aim to create a culture of high aspirations across both education and social care that helps to ensure that children with a social worker make educational progress and reach their potential.

As part of our work with all children with a social worker, our objectives are to:

• Enhance partnerships between education settings and the local authority so agencies can work together in a child focused manner.
• Identify the needs of the cohort and address barriers to poor educational outcomes to ensure pupils make educational progress, helping to narrow the attainment gap.
• Offer advice and support to key professionals such as Social Workers, Designated Safeguarding Leads, Designated Teachers, and school leaders to help children make progress, including through increasing their confidence in using evidence-based interventions.
• Promote practice that supports children’s engagement in education, recognising the crucial importance of good school attendance.
• Establish strong relationships with education settings and social care to raise awareness and expertise of schools to meet the needs of children with a social worker and of social workers to advocate effectively for children in all educational settings.

What does this include?

• Using data and analysis to understand and monitor needs including making links to local strategic priorities including attendance, suspension and permanent exclusion rates.
• Sharing knowledge and expertise to strengthen how education settings and social care understand the impact of adversity on learning and educational outcomes of children.
• Promoting professional practice which: champions high levels of support alongside high standards for children with a social worker, recognises how stability and consistency in relationships can help children to overcome barriers to learning and encourages effective information sharing between professionals so that anyone supporting children and families understands their context.

Further information

Promoting the education of children with a social worker