Report for Conservative Leadership Group On: 8Th January 2001

Agenda Item No.

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL 4 CHILDREN SERVICES AND CORPORATE PARENTING PANEL

Wednesday 10 November 2010 at 10.00am

THE EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT OF CHILDREN LOOKED AFTER AND CARE LEAVERS 2009/10

Report of the Director of Children, Schools and Families

Author: Felicity Evans, Head of Achievement for children looked after Tel: 01992 555926

Executive Member:- Jane Pitman – Lead Member, Children’s Services

1. Purpose of report

To report on the educational achievement of children looked after (CLA) and care leavers 2009/10.

2. Summary

2.1 The report provides a summary of the educational achievement of CLA and care leavers in 2009/10 at Foundation Stage, Key Stages 1-4, and in post-16 education. There was an encouraging improvement in both attainment and school attendance in comparison with 2008/09.

2.2 The report also provides details of the Virtual School for CLA in Hertfordshire and plans for its future development to support further improvement in the educational achievement of CLA.

3. Recommendations

3.1 The panel is asked to note the report and comment on the action proposed to support further improvement in the educational achievement of CLA.

4. Background

4.1 Positive educational achievement gives CLA choices about their future adult and working life. It improves the prospects for their employment, financial independence, personal and family life and health and well being. Research shows that their range of ability is similar to all children and that they have the potential to reach much higher standards than they routinely achieve at present.

1 4.2 Nationally schools and local authorities have made progress in raising the achievement of children looked after since 2005. However, the gap between CLA and their peers has grown both nationally and in Hertfordshire as the educational achievement of children and young people as a whole has improved.

4.3 Achieving accelerated and significant progress for CLA is a key priority in the Hertfordshire Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) and requires sustained and strategic support from both educational and social care professionals as well as schools. It is a key aspect of corporate parenting.

4.4 Building on the work of the Education Support Service for CLA, a Virtual School for Hertfordshire CLA was established in May 2010, with the lead responsibility through the Standards and School Effectiveness portfolio in CSF. The Virtual School services three distinct groups of young people: children in care to Hertfordshire educated at Hertfordshire schools or settings, children looked after by Hertfordshire educated outside of the authority and children looked after by other local authorities who are educated in Hertfordshire schools.

4.5 The Virtual School in Hertfordshire is developing the strategy to raise attainment using all the resources available to schools from the Standards and School Effectiveness. The Virtual School retains operational and strategic links with the social care teams and management from the Children and Families portfolio and has the following priorities:  A commitment to empowering schools, social workers and carers to make education a priority for children looked after.  A focus on the ‘Closing the Gap’ agenda.  An effective leadership and governance structure that ensures all the services of CSF work together to improve the educational achievement of children and young people looked after.  The strengthening of management information systems to inform effective self evaluation and improvement planning. This will provide a detailed understanding of school age Hertfordshire children looked after, wherever they are placed and include children of other local authorities placed in Hertfordshire.  Challenge and support for key deliverers – education providers and alternative providers.  Responding effectively to the views and feedback from children and young people.

4.6 The Virtual School for all children in the care of Hertfordshire County Council is not a teaching institution. The Virtual School is a coordinated system of support for CLA designed to improve their educational achievements. It brings together the information about these children and young people as if they were in a single school so that their progress can be closely tracked and support and intervention can be targeted in a more effectively. It facilitates the swift and effective transfer of data to and from schools. This is particularly important

2 given that children often come into the care system at short notice and are not always in stable placements which can mean they move placement more frequently and they may also move school.

4.7 The Virtual School does not replace the good work of schools in this area. It brings together LA staff and resources into a co-ordinated team across education and social care so that their work can be planned to have maximum impact and increase support for, and contact with, schools. The Virtual School also looks at cohort performance and trends strategically, targets additional actions and resources more effectively and works in a more informed way with schools, designated teachers and social workers.

4.8 A new Education Lead for the Virtual School took up post in September 2010. This post is funded by the Schools Forum to work directly with schools and designated teachers to improve outcomes for children.

4.9 A Virtual School Governing body has been appointed and provides the leadership of the ‘school’ with support and challenge. The membership of the Governing Body is drawn from senior officers in CSF, Headteachers from schools and the Fostering Forum.

4.10 Three Virtual School Improvement Partners (SIPs Primary, Secondary and Special) have been appointed from September 2010 and a SIP programme has been developed for the year to support and challenge the work of the Virtual School and to strengthen accountability for the improvement in outcomes for children in the care system by CSF.

4.11 The Virtual School has commissioned a rebuild of the Virtual School database that will streamline data links from ICS, SIMs, the SEN database and IES (when it is operational). The Personal Education Plan has also been re-designed and will be linked to the new database to enable the effective collection of cohort data from the documents (FFT, end of key stage, current working level, end of year report) more easily, and increase the ability to intervene early for students who are not on track . 5. The Educational Achievement of Children Looked After in Hertfordshire Performance 2009/10

5.1 The educational performance and attendance of children looked after is reported annually to DfE. For the first time this year the outcomes for all children looked after will automatically be drawn from the national pupil database. The cohort used for this data collection will be those children who have been in the care system one full year as at 31st March 2010. The move to incorporate performance into the national pupil database will detail the links between school type, placement history, personal characteristics and outcomes and will more effectively track and match the outcomes for this group to their peers. As this is the first time this system is to be used, published results for all local

3 authorities are not expected until later this year. For the purposes of this report, therefore, and to give a clearer picture of the impact of intervention used for children in their end of key stage tests, the data provided in this report is for those children looked after in year 11 during the full academic year 2009/10.All tables regarding end of key stage performance of children looked after and the comparison with all children are in Appendix 1.

5.2 It should be noted that there is movement in and out of care within early year groups, (due to adoption), and in later year groups (due to special guardianship orders). These fluctuations in the cohort affect the year to year comparability of the cohort data. This is also affected by the wide variation in ability range for each year group with a disproportionate number of SEN pupils

Foundation Stage

5.3 The foundation stage cohort included 30 children in 2009/10. In 2010 the number reaching threshold was 36%(9) from a low baseline on entry.

Key stage 1:  19 Children in cohort  14 (74%) children achieved level 2 or above in reading  12 (63%) children achieved level 2 or above in writing  14 (74%) children achieved level 2 or above in maths

5.4 This group of children is small and most of the direct work with them is through:  the PEP planning process for individual children,  additional support to children placed for adoption,  training for Early Years providers.

The training and development for the workforce concentrates on reading skills and carers’ support for the learning process and work in school. The outcome for this cohort represents a slight decline in performance across reading, writing and maths at level 2 or above compared with 2009.

5.5 A DVD and leaflet ‘Working with children looked after and adopted children – the early years’ has been produced and distributed to all early years providers in the county.

Key stage 2:

National Indicator 99: The number of looked after children who have been in care for at least one year who were in year 6 (Key stage 2) and who achieved at least level 4 in English, 2009/10 provisional return: 27 children (48%)

4 National Indicator 100: The number of looked after children who have been in care for at least one year who were in year 6 (Key stage 2) and who achieved at least level 4 in mathematics, 2009/10 provisional return: 19 children (46%)  There were 56 young people in the cohort  37% of the cohort has a statement of special educational need.  17 students (30%) achieved national average (level 4) in all three (English, maths and science) tests  No children were absent during the test  Boys and girls achieved similar results in English but in mathematics boys outperformed girls

5.6 A series of Family Learning sessions are planned for the spring term to brief carers on how best to support their children’s learning in the home. They will also be encouraged to develop out of school learning opportunities that will complement work in school (e.g.; gallery and theatre visits). The Family Learning sessions will be linked to the 1:1 tuition (Making Good Progress) for this age group.

5.7 Children looked after were prioritised in the roll out of the Making Good Progress One to One tuition strategy in Hertfordshire schools (2009/10). 3% of all places for children were allocated to this group which is twice the national average. Reciprocal arrangements exist with other local authorities to ensure that children placed out of county receive this intervention. Headteachers have been asked to prioritise this vulnerable group of learners when making their initial selection of pupils. In 20010/11 there will be an increased number of places available, 200 for Key stage 2 and 180 school places in Key stage 3.

5.8 At key stage two between 75%-88% of CLA (tutored in English, reading or writing) progressed from level 2 to level4 compared to 60 – 78% of all children.

5.9 At key stage 3 in English 60% of CLA achieved at least one sublevel of progress compared to 64% children not in care and 18% achieved one or more level of progress compared to 16% not in care. At key stage 3 in Mathematics 71% of CLA achieved at least one sublevel of progress compared to 64% of children not in care and 18% achieved one or more level of progress compared to 65% of children not in care.

5.10 All children looked after made progress as a result of the intervention. The impact is assessed both in terms of outcome at the end of the key stage and progress made between the key stages.

5.11 As some schools did not administer the end of key stage tests the data for this group of children is incomplete. In those cases, where possible teacher assessment grades have been included as the end of key stage outcome.

5.12 A year 6 ‘resilience’ project lasting 12 weeks was held in the spring term to prepare vulnerable children for secondary transfer. The Penn

5 Resilience Curriculum has been adapted for use with this age group and for this purpose. The Virtual School have two staff members trained in this work who lead the delivery of the project. The course was evaluated by the Resilience Programme manager for Hertfordshire

5.13 In 2009/10 the Playing for Success intervention for a target group of children in year 6 led to accelerated progress for 30% of the cohort (17 children in Hitchin and Watford). In addition to SAT booster classes and Playing for Success courses for KS2, two secondary transition projects (East with LearnIT at Hitchin and West with the Watford Learning Centre) were undertaken during the summer term and summer holidays in 2009, with additional events in the autumn term to track the pupils into year 7 of their new school for the academic year 10/11.

5.14 For 2010/11 55% pupils are on track to achieve level 4 in English and 55% are on track to achieve level 4 in mathematics with 45% on track to achieve level 4 in both.

Key stage 4:

5.15 Between 2007 and 2009 there were fluctuating outcomes in improvement for children looked after in key stage 4. Typically the cohort is around 100 students, with the percentage of CLA with SEN being between 25 and 30% compared to the national average of 3% for all children.

5.16 In September 2009 only 9 out of 125 students were predicted to achieve 5 A*-C GCSE level. The FFT data indicated that this was not a sufficiently challenging target so the 2009-10 performance indicator set for Y11 was 14% 5 A*-C including Mathematics and English. The actual result for all CLA in year 11 who took GCSEs in summer 2010 was 15%. This improvement is attributed to the refocusing on achievement by the virtual school: challenging and supporting mainstream schools and designated teachers, student progress meetings with the advisory teacher and, in particular, focused one to one tuition and the Aim Higher intervention.

5.17 Due to the low predicted levels of attainment for 5A*-C grades in the 2009-10 cohort it was decided to implement one to one tuition strategically to support students in year 11 who may be in danger of underperformance by achieving only 4 A*-C grades. Great care was taken to identify the most appropriate students for this intervention. Key evidence was triangulated to identify which students had potential to perform better. Analysis of 1:1 tuition shows that 20 out of 23 students who achieved 5A*-C GCSE received 1:1 tuition. 40% of students receiving 1:1 tuition achieved 5 A*-C including English and mathematics. Analysis also shows that many individual students showed significant improvement in the subjects in which they received tuition.

6 5.18 A full case study of this work may be found in Appendix 2. This case study is being presented at the DfE by Sue Hackman (Chief Adviser on Standards) as an example of best practice in 1:1 tuition.

5.19 The performance indicator for 2010-11 is 20% 5A*-C including Mathematics and English. Current data analysis for Y11 shows 5 (4%) students on track for 5 A*-Cs with Maths and English and 37 (32%) students at C/D borderline.

5.20 The results for Y11 students in 2009/10 shows improvement when compared with 2008/09.

2008/9 2008/9 2009/10 2009/10 Cohort 97 100% 124 100% (provisional figure) 5 GCSE A* 9 9% 23 18.6% -C 5 GCSE A* - 7 7% 18 14.5% C incl English and Maths

5.21 OC2 indicator: The number of looked after children who were in care for at least one year who were in year 11 and achieved the equivalent of at least 5 A*-C GCSEs or GNVQ equivalent: provisional outcome 18.6%

. 24.8% of children (31 children) with a statement for SEN in the year 11 group o 2% disapplied from GCSEs due to SLD/ASD o 2% with MLD o 20% with BESD . 66% (82 children) sat and achieved at least 1 GCSE pass. . The gender split for the cohort was 67%-33% male-female, but girls out performed boys particularly at the higher level (12 of the 23 children who attained 5 A*-C were female). This reflects county data but is more pronounced for the CLA.

5.22 The number of children with special educational need is high in this age group indicating an increased level of complex need that has an impact on outcomes at GCSE and the teaching and learning necessary for achievement.

5.23 The number of young people leaving Key stage 4 with no qualifications was 15 this year rising from 11 last year.

5.24 The residential revision course for year 11 students ‘Aim Higher’ has been enhanced to provide a project with three elements that brings together C/D borderline students over their year 11. The course is

7 evaluated each year for impact on outcome both in the GCSE courses and in participation in further and higher education. There is a high correlation between those care leavers at university and previous participants on the revision course.

6. Post 16 Education

6.1 The percentage of care leavers in education, employment or training has shown an upward trend since 2007 and since 2008 is increasingly above national, regional and statistical neighbours. Much of this is due to the quality of support to education, training and employment for children and young people from pre-school to 24.

6.2 Hertfordshire has one of the highest percentage in England of care leavers attending university for the last four years. Currently 44 care leavers are supported at university.

6.3 We have this year introduced a specific member of staff to support young people at University. This innovative role is co-funded with the Independence Support Service and will be initially for a two year pilot.

6.4 The county council is now offering work experience, apprenticeships and employment to care leavers and other vulnerable young people. District councils will also take a part in this scheme and there will be an expectation that HCC contractors also participate. Three young people are in placement.

6.5 The Millers Tea Room in Hatfield operated throughout the summer of 2010. It is open during the summer holidays providing a variety of employment opportunities in the kitchen and in serving customers for care leavers.

6.6 The plan to develop this work will ensure earlier intervention at year 10 and 11 to identify possible NEET and work more with the wider Youth Connexions Service and train them using iLearn.

8 Care Leavers in Education, Employment and Training

80.0% 75.3%

69.2% 68.9% 70.0% 65.4%

59.8% 60.0%

0.0% 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

7. Access to Education

7.1 For CLA attending Hertfordshire schools, there has been an upward trend in attendance from 2006-2009.

7.2 The persistent absence for Hertfordshire secondary age CLA has reduced from 2006-2009 by 5.6%. Additionally the gap between the CLA figure and the overall county figure has reduced from 6.11% to 2.66%. From 2011, the persistent absence measure will be used for children looked after both in and out of county.

7.3 In 2009/10 there were two permanent exclusions for children looked after following three years in which there were none. The advisory teachers work with LA integration managers and schools to arrange managed moves to prevent a break in schooling. The Education Support Centres (PRUs) also intervene to support young people who are in crisis. Fixed term exclusions have reduced in 2009/10 from 101 to 76 in line with the overall reduction in the county.

7.4 For 2008 and 2009 there were no primary age CLA with persistent absence.

9 Percentage of Children Looked After not attending school for 25 days or more for any reason (OC2) 20.0% 18.5% 18.0% 16.4% 16.0% 15.0% 14.9%

14.0% 13.0% 13.0% 12.7%

0.0% 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 (estimate - provisional data)

7.5 ‘Welfare Call’ is still employed to provide information on the daily attendance of all CLA wherever they are in school. SIMs data is to be trialled as a cost saving alternative throughout 2010.

7.6 Attendance of CLA is closely monitored with child level data on attendance sent to social workers and team managers for action and discussion in 1:1 meetings each month. Social care professionals investigate the reason why children and young people have more than 10 days absence from school as part of their statutory visit.

7.7 To improve the outcome in this work we will continue to work with social care, carers and the integration team to reduce time lost through persistent absence and fixed term exclusions in secondary schools.

7.8 The new post of advisory teacher for residential services has a performance indicator to reduce attendance of high risk students. The virtual school will also collaborate further with ESTMA (Education Support Team for Medical Absence) and implement the new PEP procedures to monitor attendance in a more comprehensive way.

8. Strategy for improvement

8.1 As part of the development of the Virtual School a comprehensive Self Evaluation Form has been introduced in order to strengthen focus on impact and planning for improvement with a detailed ‘Raising Achievement Plan’ that sits alongside the Virtual School business plan

10 to map the actions needed to implement and develop this work. Progress in implementing the plan is monitored by the governing body.

8.2 The Personal Education Plan has been comprehensively re-written and is to be trialled in the autumn term to ensure that the plan meets the requirement to help schools track progress for students and to intervene when they are not on track. The second annual conference for Designated Teachers will provide an opportunity to consult with 130 teachers on the new plan which is to be launched in January 2011.

8.3 The iLearn module has been extensively re-written to provide a generic module for all professionals to provide the knowledge base to improve outcomes for children. iLearn is now a comprehensive core module of information for designated teachers, social workers, school governors, carers and early years practitioners. In the summer term over 100 social workers were trained using the module by Virtual School staff and designated teachers. Evaluations for this work rated the training as 99% good or excellent for effectiveness. (see Appendix 3).

8.4 All child focused interventions (HERTS Awards, girls groups, music and art projects etc) are to be maintained to provide the stability of the cohort. Recently commissioned research on how stability of children (placement, school and key worker) affects educational attainment indicated that continuity of staff and events are key in providing children and young people with security, motivation and self- esteem.

8.5 An area on the Hertfordshire Grid for Learning has been developed to improve the CPD for all designated teachers and to make information on CLA more accessible. Plans are in place to develop a ‘Learning Platform’ for the Virtual School that will be a resource for all designated teachers to use and exchange information and data.

9 Financial Implications

9.1 All development for the Virtual School has been made within current financial limits and there are therefore no additional financial implications for consideration

10. Conclusion

10.1 The performance and attendance in school of children and young people in our care has improved in several measures this year, particularly for achievement in key stage 4. There are rigorous plans for further progress in 2010/11 and the support from colleagues in Standards and School Effectiveness has enabled the Virtual School to work more effectively with schools and designated teachers. As part of the comprehensive work plan children and young people have been consulted on the development of the Virtual School and a questionnaire asking for their views is to be sent to them during October 2010. This

11 information will be taken account of by the Virtual School Governing body as part of the review and approval of the Self Evaluation Form and the Raising Achievement Plan.

10.2 The quality of the data now available to the Virtual School has underpinned the rapid progress made. The more comprehensive picture emerging facilitates a more in depth analysis on progress between key stages and the impact of intervention. This will be reflected in future reports to Members.

Background Papers

The White Paper: Care Matters – Time for Change, June 2007

Statutory Designated Teachers Guidance – Statutory Guidance 2009

Improving the attainment of looked after children in Primary/Secondary schools – Guidance for schools. DCSF/School Standards. 2009

The effect of change on the attainment of children in care and care leavers in Hertfordshire. B Fletcher 2010

If you would like to know more information about the matters contained in this report, please contact Felicity Evans, Head of Achievement for children looked after on 01992 555926 (Comnet 55926)

12 Appendix 1 Key Stage 4 Results – all Hertfordshire children and CLA

Key Stage 4 5+ A*-C 80 73.7 70 70.6 64.6 66.9 60

50 Herts 40 CLA

20 18 10 11 9 7 9 0 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

13 Key Stage 1 Results

Key Stage 1 - Reading

90 89.0 87.8 87.2 87.4 89.0 80 74 74 70 60 59 61 Herts 50 47 48 CLA 40 30 20 10 0 2004/05 2005/06 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 2009/10

Key Stage 1 - Writing

100 94.9 90 86.1 84.3 84.6 86.0 80 79 70 63 60 Herts 50 52 45 48 CLA 40 30 32 20 10 0 2004/05 2005/06 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 2009/10

Key Stage 1 - Maths

100 90 92.6 92.0 91.7 91.7 92.0 84 80 74 70 60 59 55 57 Herts 50 44 CLA 40 30 20 10 0 2004/05 2005/06 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 2009/10

14 Key Stage 2 Results

Key Stage 2 - English

100 90 83.6 84.2 84.6 85.0 85.0 80 Herts CLA 70 60 56 55 50 48 47 48 43 40 30 20 10 0 2004/05 2005/06 2006/7 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

Key Stage 2 - Maths

100 90 80 80.0 81.1 81.4 82.2 82.0 Herts CLA 70 60 50 50 46 48 45 46 40 37 30 20 10 0 2004/05 2005/06 2006/7 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

Key Stage 2 - Science

100 90 89.9 90.7 90.7 90.7 91.0 80 Herts CLA 70 71 72 63 60 60 56 50 43 40 30 20 10 0 2004/05 2005/06 2006/7 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

15 KS1 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 2009/10 Size of cohort 29 23 19 19* (100%) (100%) (83%) (100%) Total achieved at level 2 14 14 14 14 or above in reading (48%) (61%) (74%) (74%) Total achieved at level 2 15 11 15 12 or above in writing (52%) (48%) (79%) (63%) Total achieved at level 2 17 13 16 14 or above in the (59%) (57%) (84%) (74%) mathematics *Data based on OC2 cohort

KS2 2006/7 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 Size of cohort 55 54 47 56* (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) Total who achieved at least 30 23 22 27 level 4 in the English test (55%) (43%) (47%) (48%) Total who achieved at least 28 20 21 26 level 4 in the Maths test (50%) (37%) (45%) (46%) *Data based on OC2 cohort

KS4 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 Size of cohort 81 96 97 124 * (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) Number of total KS4 cohort 48 57 71 82 that sat at least 1 GCSE or (59%) (59%) (73%) (66%) GNVQ Number of total KS4 cohort 48 57 71 82 that achieved at least 1 (59%) (59%) (73%) (66%) GCSE A*-G or GNVQ Number of total KS4 cohort 33 36 38 52 that achieved at least 5 (41%) (38%) (39%) (42%) GCSEs A*-G or GNVQ Number of total KS4 cohort 9 7 9 23 that achieved at least 5 (11%) (7%) (9%) (18%) GCSEs A*-C Number of total KS4 cohort - - 7 18 that achieved at least 5 (7%) (14%) GCSEs A*-C or Equivalent incl English & Maths *Data based on OC2 cohort

16 Appendix 2

One-to-one Tuition Effective Practice Case Study

Local Authority: Hertfordshire

School name: Hertfordshire Virtual School for Children Looked After

Case study title: The effective use of one-to-one tuition to raise attainment for children in care in Year 11

Context Brief overview of LA/school tuition context e,g. size / organisation of tuition leadership

There are 1171 children looked after in Hertfordshire, 738 of school age and 125 in Year 11 2009-10. As part of the process of supporting the achievement agenda the Local Authority launched the Virtual School for Children Looked After in May 2010, with the school being sited within Standards and School Effectiveness. Between 2007 and 2009 there was no discernable trend of improvement for children looked after and there have been fluctuating outcomes for this year group over the past four years. Typically the cohort is around 100 students, with the percentage of CLA with SEN being between 25 and 30%. It should be noted that the number of children in care has risen significantly in the Key Stage 4 age group.

2006/7 2006/7 2007/8 2007/8 2008/9 2008/9 Cohort 81 100% 89 100% 97 100% 5 GCSE A* 9 11% 7 7% 9 9% -C 5 GCSE A* - N/A N/A 7 7% C incl English and Maths

In September 2009 only 9/125 students were predicted as secure 5 A*-C GCSE level. As part of a strategy to improve the attainment of children looked after a close examination of the FFT indicated that this figure should be higher.

Focus: identified aspect of practice What is the specific aspect of practice? What was the rationale / purpose for its development? What needed to be achieved?

Following the success of the Making Good Progress one-to-one tuition pilot with CLA at KS2, it was decided to replicate this model for young people in Year 11. Due to the low predicted levels of attainment for 5A*-C grades in the 2009-10 cohort, it was decided to implement one to one tuition strategically to support students in Year 11 who may be in danger of underperformance by achieving only 4 A*-C grades. Great care was taken to identify the most appropriate students for this intervention. Key evidence was triangulated to identify which students had potential to perform better. The evidence used included;  current attainment data from the PEP,  end of Year 10 reports,

17  the detailed use of FFT data live,  teacher assessment.

Links to LA self evaluation criteria Include specific criteria / examples CYPP links Priority 2: Children and young people achieve their full potential whilst in and moving on from care (LA self evaluation judgement: on course)  Agencies work effectively together so that children looked after achieve their full potential through the development of the virtual school  Increase the proportion of children looked after engaged in study support and out of school hours learning Priority 7: Vulnerable children and young people achieve as well as others (LA self evaluation judgement: on course)  Develop the Virtual School for children looked after to develop their progress and improve achievement

One to One tuition Evaluative Framework The LA has produced its own evaluation framework to support the implementation of one to one tuition.

Self Evaluation In 2009 the Hertfordshire score at KS4 remained static with the achievement gap too wide.

Following a performance clinic in March 2009 significant steps were taken to narrow this gap, particularly in relation to improvements in the work of designated teachers and in the format and quality of PEPs.

Hertfordshire has now placed the achievement of children looked after within Standards and School Effectiveness. A virtual school has been put in place with clear strategies to drive standards and improve achievement.

Activity Description of practice: processes and materials (append examples where appropriate) Resources required including time

1. The LA MGP consultant and the Head of Achievement for CLA worked together to plan the structure of the project. Initial pupils were selected from the data. It was decided that the same criteria and model would be adopted as for the MGP work. i.e. 10 hours of face to face contact, with an allocation of time for planning and preparation. Due to the nature of the increased liaison required, the planning and preparation element of the programme was increased from 2 to 3 hours. To ensure consistency tutors already trained through the Hertfordshire Making Good Progress scheme were approached if they would be willing to tutor Key Stage 4 students.

2. The cohort was divided into groups to ensure that tuition supported a range of needs. This included focusing on students who had potential to gain 5 A*-C, or 5 A*-G, or to support individual students who had significant gaps in their learning

18 due to unstable education placements in the past.

3. One coordinator was appointed to oversee the project, who had a clear understanding of the care system and issues effecting Children Looked After.

4. The coordinator asked each student if they were prepared to commit to tuition and explained all that was involved prior to a decision being made. The student was sent a personalised letter and only when the student accepted their place, was information sent to Headteachers, Designated Teachers, Social Workers and carers.

5. A flexible approach to communicating with students needed to be applied. The coordinator offered to either visit each student in their home or at their school to provide any further information and to address any concerns. In some cases, the coordinator attended PEP meetings or care reviews and ensured that everybody was informed of the pupil’s commitment to tuition.

6. The reasons for providing one-to-one tuition were detailed in the student’s Personal Education Plan.

7. Tracking progress was imperative and we recorded each student’s predicted GCSE grades, before their first tuition session took place. We then monitored attendance and maintained on-going communication with tutors, who supplied monthly reports that detailed attendance, the content of each tuition session and the progress made.

8. A quality assurance procedure was established. The interim Education Lead for the Virtual School was assigned to carry out the QA work, including visiting schools and meeting with the Heads, Designated Teachers, tutors and students. The monitoring procedures that are set out in the Making Good Progress Toolkit were adopted including the quality assurance checklist.

Impact/ Outcomes What has been the impact to date? The original 9 predicted students who had been offered tuition in subjects they felt were their most vulnerable in terms of 5A*-C all achieved their goals. A further 12 C/D borderline students achieved 5A*-C grades, contrary to their prediction. (2 students 5A*- C equivalent qualifications) The LA has noted that the attendance by students to the sessions was good.

2008/9 2008/9 2009/10 2009/10 Cohort 97 100% 124 100% (provisional figure) 5 GCSE A* 9 9% 23 18.6% -C 5 GCSE A* - 7 7% 18 14.5% C incl English and Maths Next steps

19 Are there further developments planned/ needed? Is practice still in the process of refinement? Lessons learned?  The tuition will begin earlier in the academic year, with plans to introduce a similar project for Year 10 students in 2011  The intervention will be available for a greater number of borderline students, both in and out of county placements. (Using tuition agencies and advice from other Virtual Heads in other LAs)

3-5 key features that make the practice effective (like the ‘top tips’ from earlier school case studies) e.g. maximises cross phase working; clearly focused on targeted use of vulnerable group data; grew from school based requests  One coordinator with a clear understanding of the care system and issues effecting Children Looked After.

 Personalisation for each student through individual visit and letter and on-going communication.

 Ensure clear, effective communication with carer, designated teacher and social worker.

 Careful matching of tutor to tutee.

 Comprehensive feedback from tutors.

Key words Which may help the browser decide whether to read the full case study Children Looked After/Looked After Children/Children in care Year 11 Tuition Personalisation 5A*-C Achievement

Contact details For further information / detail (please indicate if agrees to these details being published and being directly contacted by LAs / schools) Felicity Evans Head of Achievement for Children Looked After [email protected] Belinda Hamblin Support Learning Project Manager [email protected] Marcus Cooper Lead Consultant for Making Good Progress [email protected]

20 Appendix 3 Course Evaluations

Title: Online learning for Social Workers

Collation of the entire week’s data.

Total number of attendants: 104

Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor Percentages of Ratings Questions / Ratings Excellent & Good

The extent to which the course objectives were 41 48 4 0 96% met. The trainer’s knowledge and presentation skills. 67 26 3 0 97%

Effectiveness of training 44 47 1 0 99% methods used.

The quality of the training 55 34 2 0 98% materials.

Total Ratings 207 155 10 0 97% Out of 372.

21 The Education of Children Looked After Online Learning for Social Workers 21st – 25th June 2010

Course Evaluation

100 80 60 Poor Percentage 40 Satisfactory Good 20 Excellent t )

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W n u d n n n u i e e e e u s S o n u u u o s s s s J r 2 e J J J C r r r C 2 u R u u u ( ( o o o o C C C C Online Learning Courses