Championing education for children in care
Warwickshire’s new ‘virtual’ school head has met foster carers from across the county to discuss raising educational attainment for children in care.
Warwickshire County Council is one of only 11 authorities to take part in a national pilot scheme so that children in care have their very own ‘virtual’ school head to support their education.
Warwickshire’s virtual headteacher, Anne Hawker, addressed more than a hundred people including foster carers, councillors and representatives from fostering and education services at the ‘Promoting the Attainment & Learning of Children in Care’ conference.
Anne Hawker took up her post in January and has been acting as an education champion to ensure that looked after children in Warwickshire get the support they need to achieve their maximum potential at their individual schools. With more than 30 years experience in education, Anne has held a number of senior roles and was previously the deputy head of a large secondary school in Cornwall.
It is recognised nationally that children in care can suffer disruption in their education through no fault of their own as they often endure very difficult circumstances. As a result, there is a significant gap between the achievement of children in care and their school peers which Warwickshire County Council is keen to close.
The event was organised by the County Council to coincide with the close of ‘Foster Care Fortnight’, a national initiative which ran from 12-25 May. Warwickshire has a positive history of foster caring and currently provides homes for around 480 children and young people.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Portfolio holder for Children Schools and Families at Warwickshire County Council, said: “Although the school may be virtual, there is nothing virtual about the work that we are doing to give looked after children even better opportunities to succeed.
“I am delighted that Anne is building on the highly-rated support we already give to children in care. It is important to have someone at a senior level championing the cause of looked after children and providing them with consistent support in their education, while they continue to benefit from life at their ‘real’ school.”