Foster carers and children’s home staff
Foster carers and children’s home staff play a vital role in supporting the education of the children they look after. We provide both training on how you can support the educational progress of your child, as well as an app.
The app gives insight into educational issues and factors that may be affecting your child.
You can sign up to access a range of modules including:
- Carers: Introduction - an introduction to the support available from Northamptonshire Virtual School
- guides on curriculum areas in schools
- practical advice about attachment and trauma
- a host of materials covering the additional needs many of our looked-after children have
- topics promoting positive personal development for your child
The app is well worth a look!
Also see the Virtual School’s home page for further details on the education of our looked-after children.
Further help
Your first port of call is the school’s Designated Teacher for looked-after children. Direct contact often resolves small issues before they turn into bigger ones. You can also raise your concern in the PEP where it can be discussed not only with school but also your child’s social worker. If your child’s social worker is concerned too then they can contact the Virtual School for support.
Remember that, as carer, you are the child’s parent in education law. You should feel confident to raise day to day educational issues with the school just as any birth parent should (more serious decisions, like about moving school, require parental responsibility, which carers do not hold).
The child’s PEP is part of their care plan, and the child’s social worker has oversight of access. In most cases social workers should share the PEP with the carer or children’s home staff but you can ask them for a .pdf copy if this has not happened.
Each local authority’s Virtual School makes its own arrangements for how PP+ is spent. Some local authorities top-slice the money but Northamptonshire’s Virtual School devolves the full amount to state funded, DfE registered schools on completion of a PEP that is not inadequate. Full details of our pupil premium procedures.
Last updated 05 October 2026