Child and family support

Virtual School Newsletter: Summer Term 2023

Virtual School Website

Just a reminder that all our Protocols, Guidance, Forms, ePEP information and plenty of other useful resources can be found on the Virtual School Website.   See Information for Schools, Settings and Governors There is also a section for Adopted Children & those under Special Guardianship Orders.

Dates for your Diary

Designated Teacher’s Conference 2023 – Keep Me In Mind

Fri 6 October 2023 @ Sandy Park, Exeter

Keynote speaker: Mary-Anne Hodd

All children need to feel welcomed, safe and known in their school. Children in Care need this even more, as often school is their only comfort in life.

How can we ensure our schools help every child thrive and want to attend every day?  Our Children in Care need to be involved in learning, so they can be ready to achieve the best possible outcomes and be ready to lead a full, independent adult life.

Price: £65 per person (to include refreshments and lunch)

Book your place on our DT Conference

PLEASE NOTE: you need to be logged in to your Devon Education Services account to book.  If you don’t have an account please register

For any registration/log in queries please contact the DES Training/Conference Team on 01392 287224

Designated Teacher Network Meetings:

  • 13 November 2023 from 2.00-3.30pm via Teams (focus to be confirmed)
  • 22 January 2024 from 2.00-3.30pm via Teams (focus to be confirmed)
  • 14 March 2024 from 2.00-3.30pm via Teams (focus to be confirmed)
  • 20 May 2024 from 2.00-3.30pm via Teams (focus to be confirmed)
  • 18 July 2024 from 2.00-3.30pm via Teams (focus to be confirmed)

Hold these dates in your diary and Outlook calendar invites will be emailed to all DTs nearer the dates, if you don’t receive the invite please request from kate.clarke@devon.gov.uk

New DT Refresher Training

We are aware that Designated Teachers change and move on and to help with this the Virtual school and Educational Psychology Service are running a training/information session aimed at new DT`s or those who would like a refresher about the role.  The virtual training sessions will be held termly to cover new people taking up the role as the school year unfolds and to give a choice of dates.  Each session will be the same so you would only need to attend one.  Structure of the training:

  • 1 hour to understand trauma, attachment and why a CiC may need something additional from a school setting;
  • 1 hour looking at ‘What it means to be a DT and the statutory duties it entails’.

Dates:

  • 18 September 2023 from 2.00 – 4.15pm via Teams
  • 31 January 2024 from 2.00 – 4.15pm via Teams
  • 8 July 2024 from 2.00 – 4.15pm via Teams
  • 16 September 2024 from 2.00 – 4.15pm via Teams

To attend the New DT Refresher Training please request the calendar invite/Teams joining instructions from  kate.clarke@devon.gov.uk

Any Changes to Designated Teachers/Contact Info?

If you have a change of staff please email educate.virtualschool-mailbox@devon.gov.uk to inform us of your new Designated Teacher’s name and email address  – so we can ensure that our emails are sent to the correct person and that your new DT is set up on the ePEP system.

Many thanks.

Building Relationships that make a Difference: Developing Relational Support Plans

This one-day *free* course explores the theories which underpin our understanding of effective relationships and their role in   learning, development and wellbeing as well as developing the skills and practical strategies that underpin the relational and ABM approach.

The course includes:

  • why relationships are key to teaching and learning
  • the role of the adult as a source of safety, security, regulation and belonging
  • the impact of anxious relationships on thoughts, feelings and behaviour and what we can do to help
  • using relational support plans to develop universal to targeted support

The course is aimed at Senior Leaders, DTs, SENCos and teachers in school who have responsibility for co-ordinating relational support and who may be facilitating relational support plan meetings.

Training dates:

  • 20   September 2023
  • 6   December 2023
  • 19   March 2024

BOOK YOUR *FREE* PLACE

EP Service – New Consultation & Support Service for Children in Care (funded by the Virtual School)

From June 2023 the Virtual School Team are funding a new Consultation & Support Service (run by the Educational Psychology Service) aimed at supporting schools to include all care-experienced children.

The purpose of the service is to ensure timely identification of need and early intervention to support Children in Care.

This new offer extends to:

  • All Children in Care in Devon schools (regardless of their address or the Local Authority they are in Care to);
  • Post-16 young people; and
  • Children who are under Special Guardianship Orders but who were not previously Looked After.

Children who are in Care to Devon but placed outside of the County should, in the first instance, contact their local EP Service for support.

Each school will have one or two named Educational Psychologists (EPs) who will work with the school and will be their first point of contact when there are concerns regarding Children in Care or care-experienced children.

The EP will initially discuss concerns with either the SENCo or Designated Teacher and together establish what support is needed.  In some cases, an initial telephone discussion may be sufficient to answer the school’s concerns.  If a consultation or casework relating to an individual child is needed the school will be asked to complete a referral form and gain consent for EP involvement in the usual way.

Possible support may include:

  • Signposting to centrally-held courses and/or other appropriate support and materials available;
  • Attending a PEP meeting, EPAC or Planning for Success Meeting;
  • Facilitation of meetings such as a Relational Support Plan, Co-Regulation Plan, Circle of Adults or Person-Centred Planning meetings;
  • Training/workshops for staff on understanding and meeting the needs of CiC and PLAC;
  • Supervision/coaching for adults working closely with CiC and PLAC, either individually or within a group;
  • A general, rather than child-specific, ‘plan-do-review’ consultation cycle focusing on the needs of the care-experienced children in the setting. This might involve identifying themes relating to need and provision required and may address systemic issues, eg. support for transition;
  • Support for an individual child:
    • A ‘plan-do-review’ consultation cycle
    • Casework following an ‘assess-plan-do-review’ cycle.

In some cases, EPs may suggest that several schools join together to access training, workshops or supervision.

We ask that the following children are prioritised and that DTs consider EP involvement in the following cases:

  • When children are new into Care;
  • When children are at risk of suspension or exclusion;
  • At times of transition (new to the school, placement change, transition between year groups and key stages, particularly secondary school transition);
  • When children are showing the early signs of emotionally-based school non attendance;
  • When there are concerns relating to mental health and wellbeing;
  • When children are failing to make expected progress.

To enquire about this offer please contact your patch EP (see list below) or call the EP Service central number 01392 287233

Our Plan for PEP Meetings 2023/24

Thank you for all your work with the completion of PEPs this term we really appreciate your support with this.

Plan for Autumn Term 2023: Face-to-face PEP meetings will be held for Years 1, 2, 8, 9 and13.

  • As we move into the Autumn Term we are still planning that every Child in Care who attends a school within Devon, Torbay and Plymouth will have at least one face-to-face PEP meeting per year, with their other PEP meetings taking place via Teams (all calendar invites for face-to-face PEP meetings will still have a Teams back-up included).
  • Please encourage the young person to attend their PEP meeting (or part of it), especially the face-to-face meetings – as we’re noticing that hardly any of them attend.
  • PEP meetings for those Children in Care to Devon placed in other Local Authorities will still be held virtually, via Teams.
  • As we have been travelling to meetings again this means that the Virtual School cannot attend all PEPs as we will prioritise the face-to-face meetings, where a member of the Virtual School cannot attend, the meeting should still go ahead with yourselves, the Social Worker and carers.
  • In preparation for the PEP meeting please contact the carer to check-in with them, ensure they are clear it is a face-to-face or Teams meeting and that they have the relevant information to join.
  • If there are PEP meetings you feel you really want a member of the Virtual School to attend then let us know and we will try our best to attend.
  • Lastly, can we just remind you to click the button within ePEP to confirm the meeting has taken place as many are still forgetting to do this.

Future PEP Schedule 2023/24

  • Autumn Term 2023: Face-to-face PEP Meetings for Years 1, 2,  8, 9 and 13
  • Spring Term 2024: Face-to-face PEP Meetings for Years 6, 7, 11, Reception and Early Years
  • Summer Term 2024: Face-to-face PEP Meetings for Years 10, 3, 4, 5 and 12

Online PACE Training (Wed 27 September 2023)

TouchBase are delighted to offer one day, online PACE training on Wednesday 27 September 2023

The training is an introduction to PACE & focuses on helping education professionals to develop an attitude of PACE, as part of their practice. It covers the following elements:

  1. Why children who have experienced developmental trauma, behave in the ways they do.
  2. The impact of developmental trauma that leads to children needing a different parenting/teaching approach, involving PACE alongside behavioural support. This includes the impact of relational trauma on brain development.
  3. Exploring each part of PACE in turn – Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and E  Looking at what each one is (and what it is not) and developing PACE as a way of being able to build relationship security, rather than as a technique to modify behaviour.
  4. Exploring the caring capacities education staff need to help traumatised children to thrive & settle to learn – reflective capacity, mind-mindedness, good self -regulation abilities & ability to notice defensive responding and to move back into open and engaged states.
  5. How to use this connection alongside behavioural support & deliver discipline with empathy.
  6. The importance of self-care for professionals and understanding the concept of blocked care.

Cost: £120 per person

Limited places, register now https://forms.office.com/e/DmscLWxZJJ

or contact cat@touchbase.org.uk for more information.

*FREE* Trees for Schools and Communities

*Applications for November delivery are expected to close in August or sooner* depending on stock availability

The Woodland Trust want to make sure everybody in the UK has the chance to plant a tree. So we’re giving away hundreds of thousands of trees to schools and communities. Together, we’ll get millions more trees in the ground.  Find out more and apply

Lastly, many thanks for all your support and work with our Children in Care this term and we hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable Summer break.

We are working throughout the summer so please do not hesitate to get in touch.


Top
×

beta.devon.gov.uk

Welcome to beta.devon, a development environment for all of our web sites and an example of how our information and services are presented.

PLEASE BE AWARE - this is a test website. It may contain inaccuracies or be misleading. www.devon.gov.uk remains the official website for county council information and services.

Your suggestions will help us make this site better, so if you have any comments please leave us feedback.

Thanks, I've read the warning

N.B. This site uses 'cookies' and Google Analytics. Closing this page sets a cookie so you don't see it again. There's more information on cookies at AboutCookies.org.?

Beta

Translate

More about translations

Devon County Council
Devon County Council, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, Devon EX2 4QD
Our contact numbers