Children Looked After and Recently Looked After Policy

Date of issue: September 2022

Date of review: September 2023

Ratified by Academy Governing Council on:

The Co-op Academy Oakwood is committed to safeguarding every student. We acknowledge that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and ensure all of our staff are trained to be vigilant and aware of the signs and indicators of abuse and understand and follow safe working practices.

The viewpoints and voice of students is of paramount importance to our Academy and we will always listen to their wishes, thoughts and feelings, as well as identifying and supporting their needs. We will work alongside students to develop trusting, consistent and professional relationships and show we care by advocating the early help processes where possible. We will identify any difficulties or concerns early in order to act preventatively. We will always provide support and advice for families and parents/carers, whilst acting in the best interests of the student at all times and doing what matters most. Safeguarding also includes ensuring we work in an open and honest way, enabling our students to feel safe by providing a secure learning environment, are equally protected regardless of any barriers they may face and are able to grow and develop in the same way as their peers.

Co-op Academy Oakwood safeguards students by:

• Maintaining a secure site and ensuring that all visitors to the Academy are recorded, monitored and clear about how to raise a safeguarding concern should one arise.
• Ensuring that safer recruitment practices are followed to prevent those who pose a risk to children gaining access to our students.
• Filtering and monitoring all internet traffic into the Academy to ensure that students cannot be exposed to harmful material and communication.
• Ensuring that all staff employed by the Academy have received Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance which is recorded in the Single Central Record
• Providing regular training and briefings for all staff in child protection and ensuring that all staff and visitors know who our designated safeguarding officers and designated senior lead are.
• Ensuring that admission and attendance procedures are robust to protect students, ensure that they are safe and prevent students from going missing from education.
• Empowering young people to identify risks both within the Academy and in their community; ensuring that they have the skills and confidence to help and protect themselves and others.
• Making sure that all students understand the importance of reporting concerns about themselves and peers and giving them the confidence to discuss sensitive issues.
• Providing pastoral and inclusion support to ensure that all students have access to guidance and advice, and when needed referrals for additional agency support to meet their needs.
• Sharing information when appropriate with other agencies and services to ensure that students, children and their families have support to meet their needs and prevent students from harm or further harm
• Taking immediate action and contacting the appropriate agencies when we believe that a student is in danger or is at risk of harm.

Co-op Academy Oakwood is committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of all of our pupils. We expect our staff, governors, wider professionals, volunteers and all other stakeholders to share this commitment. All of our policies are underpinned and linked to our safeguarding policy through this commitment.

Education of Children Looked After Policy

Designated Teacher:          Deborah Minnikin

Designated Governor:         

Nationally, Children Looked After significantly underachieve and are at greater risk of exclusion, compared with their peers. Schools have a major part to play in ensuring that Children Looked After are enabled to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy, achieve, make a positive contribution to society and achieve economic well-being.  

Co-op Academy Oakwood believes that in partnership with Leeds City Council we have a special duty to safeguard and promote the education of Children Looked After.  

Who are Children Looked After?   

Under the Children Act 1989, a child is looked after by a local authority if he or she is in their care or provided with accommodation for more than 24 hours by the authority. They fall into four main groups:

• children who are accommodated under a voluntary agreement with their parents (section 20)  
• children who are the subjects of a care order (section 31) or interim care order (section 38)  
• children who are the subjects of emergency orders for their protection (sections 44 and 46)  
• children who are compulsorily accommodated – this includes children remanded to the local authority or subject to a criminal justice supervision order with a residence requirement (section 21).  

The term ‘in care’ refers only to children who are subject to a care order by the courts under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 - they may live with foster carers, in a Children’s home, in a residential school, with relatives or with parents under supervision. Children who are cared for on a voluntary basis are ‘accommodated’ by the local authority under section 20 of the Children Act – they may live in foster care, in a Children’s home or in a residential school. All these groups are said to be ‘Children Looked After’ (CLA). They may be looked after by our local authority or may be in the care of another authority but living in ours.  

CLA reviews, involving the school, will take place up until an adoption order has been granted. However, Pupil Premium Plus funding will continue for CLA until they are 16 years old.  The Designated teacher for Children Looked After will have the oversight of the funding whilst in school. This funding will be used ti enhance and develop the educational provision for pupils who are designated Children Looked After. Funding allocated may also include SEND funding which will be spent in accordance with the SEND policy.

Aims:  

1. To provide a safe and secure environment, where education is valued and there is a belief in the abilities and potential of all children.  

2. To support our Children Looked After and give them access to every opportunity to achieve their potential, enjoy learning and take as full a part as possible in all school activities.  

3. To ensure that school policies and procedures are followed for CLA as for all children.  

4. To work with the Virtual School and ensure that carers and social workers of CLA pupils are kept fully informed of their child’s progress and attainment.  

5. To fulfil our role as corporate parents to promote and support the education of our

Children Looked After, by asking the question, ‘Would this be good enough for my child?’  

Our school’s approach to supporting the educational achievement of Children Looked After is based on the following principles:

• Prioritising education  
• Promoting attendance  
• Targeting support  
• Having high expectations and raising aspiration  
• Promoting inclusion  
• Achieving stability and continuity  
• Early intervention and priority action  
• Listening to children  
• Promoting health and well-being  
• Minimising exclusions and promoting stability  
• Working in partnership with carers, social workers and other professionals  

In order to implement this policy, the school will:

• Nominate a Designated teacher for Children Looked After who will act as their advocate and coordinate support for them.  
• Nominate a school governor to ensure that the needs of Children Looked After in the school are taken into account at a school management level and to support the Designated Teacher.  
• Support the Designated teacher in carrying out their role by making time available and ensuring that they attend training on Children Looked After.  

The role and responsibilities of the designated teacher for Children Looked After  

Designated Teacher (DT)  

The role became statutory in September 2009 under the Children and Young Persons’ Act 2008 (the 2008 Act). The designated teacher must be a qualified teacher. Ideally, they should be a senior member of staff who has enough status and experience to advise and provide training to school staff on issues relating to CLA. They need to be able to influence decisions about the teaching and learning of these children.  

The Designated Teacher’s responsibilities in school:  

• Knowing who all the CLA are in school and ensuring the availability of all relevant details from school record-keeping systems as required.  
• Attending relevant training about CLA and acting as the key liaison professional for other agencies and carers in relation to CLA  
• Promoting a culture of high expectations and aspirations for how CLA should learn.  
• Helping school staff understand the issues that affect the learning of CLA such as differentiated teaching strategies appropriate for individual children and in making full use of assessment for learning (AfL).  
• Making sure that CLA are prioritised in one-to-one tuition arrangements and that carers understand the importance of supporting learning at home.  
• Removing the barriers to learning for CLA.  
• Ensuring any CLA new to the school are welcomed positively and assessed when they start at the school to identify strengths and weaknesses in their learning. This will be used to inform planning and teaching.    
• Developing personalised learning packages for CLA in conjunction with the relevant teaching staff.  
• Ensuring that the CLA in their school have a voice in setting learning targets for themselves.  
• Championing for CLA.  
• Leading on developing and implementing the Personal Educational Plan (PEP) within the school. The social worker is responsible for initiating the PEP process and completing the front page of the PEP form.  
• Monitoring the child’s progress against the targets on the PEP and extending these targets if they have been achieved.  
• Ensuring the child makes a smooth transition to the new school and that the child’s records are transferred without delay.  
• Liaising with the Virtual School in all aspects of the CLA progress and support.  
• Convening urgent multi-agency meetings if a CLA is experiencing difficulties or is at risk of exclusion.  
• Arranging for a mentor or key worker to whom the young person can talk to. Arranging for the CLA to be supported by its peers.  
• Producing at least one annual report* to the governing body which should include: current progress, attendance and exclusions (if any), any concerns regarding behaviour, how the PEP has been implemented and whether the actions put in place are effective in addressing the learning needs of CLA, how the DT works in partnership with the LA, training undertaken for carrying out the role effectively. The report must not mention the children’s names for confidentiality reasons.  
• Promoting good home-school links and the importance of education as a way of improving life chances for CLA.    

For more information please see:  

• The role and responsibilities of the designated teacher for Children Looked After – Statutory guidance for school governing bodies.   http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/01046-2009BKT-EN.PDF  
• Improving the Educational Attainment of Children in Care (Looked after Children) http://publications.everychildmatters.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/DCSF-00523-2009.pdf  
• Improving the attainment of looked after children in primary schools – Guidance for Schools  http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/01047-2009.pdf  
• Improving the attainment of looked after young people in secondary schools – Guidance for Schools  

http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/01048-2009.pdf  

The role and responsibility of the governing body  

• Support the local authority in its statutory duty to promote the educational achievement of Children Looked After.  
• Ensure that the DT is given the appropriate level of support in order to fulfil their role.  
• In partnership with the Headteacher, ensure that, through their training and development, the DT has the opportunity to acquire and keep up-to-date the necessary skills, knowledge and training to understand the response to the specific teaching and learning needs of CLA.  
• Governing bodies and the SLT should make sure that the DT role contributes to the deeper understanding of everyone in the school who is likely to be involved in supporting CLA to achieve.  
• The governing body, in partnership with the head teacher, is responsible for monitoring how well the role is working.  As part of this monitoring an annual report will be received from the DT.  

This policy links with a number of other school policies and it is important that Governors have regard to the needs of Children Looked After when reviewing them:  

• The staff Code of Conduct  
• Behaviour Policy  
• Anti-bullying Policy  
• Home-school Agreement  
• Equal Opportunities Policy  
• Safeguarding Policy  
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Policy  

The school will champion the needs of Children Looked After, raise awareness and challenge negative stereotypes about them, in order to ensure that they achieve to the highest level possible.