About the Virtual School

Jacqui Bunker-Dare is Central Bedfordshire’s Virtual School Head Teacher. The Virtual School Head is a post established by the government to promote the education of all children looked after by us. It places responsibility on the Virtual School Head to improve standards and build understanding of the barriers to education faced by these children and young people.

Virtual School’s role for children in care (CiC) is to:

• promote high aspiration and raise achievement through challenge, support and targeted intervention
• ensure children have access to high quality learning
• track and monitor attendance and educational progress
• work closely with all those involved in the care and education of looked after children, providing training and support to help understand the issues and challenges they face
• ensure the co-production of termly Personal Education Plans (PEPs) for every child in care
• manage Pupil Premium Plus funding to ensure any interventions are evidence-based and in the best interests of the child in care

Virtual School’s role for children previously in care (CPiC) is to:

• promote educational achievement through the provision of information and advice
• respond to parental/educational settings request for advice
• promote good practice on identifying and meeting the needs of children previously in care and guidance on effective use of Pupil Premium Plus.

Virtual School’s role for children with a social worker (CWSW) is to:

• champion their educational attendance, attainment and progress
• make visible the disadvantages that these children can experience
• promote practice that supports their engagement in education
• offer advice and support to key professionals such as social workers, DSLs, Designated Teachers (DTs) and school leaders to help children progress

Virtual School’s role for children in kinship care is to:

• raise awareness of the needs and disadvantage of children in different types of kinship care arrangements
• promote practice that supports attendance and engagement of kinship children in education
• promote practice that improves their educational attainment
• provide advice and information on request to all kinship carers