Andrew Cook HMI, Regional Director East of England was guest speaker at the second Aspire to Achieve for Children in Care conference, held in Colchester on 19 January 2016. About 200 Essex schools were represented at the conference organised by the Essex Virtual School.

1. Aspire to Achieve for
Children in Care
Conference
Essex LA 19 January 2016
Andrew Cook - Regional Director, East of England

3. The school inspectorate Ofsted has put an increasing emphasis on how well children
from disadvantaged background do at school, with looked after children under
particular scrutiny.
Last year, only 8pc of children in care in Norfolk gained at least five GCSEs at A*-C,
including English and maths. The figures for 2015 show this has risen to 26pc - 10
percentage points above the national average.
There was also a significant increase in the proportion of children in care making the
expected progress in English and maths, with both figures above the national average.

4. Essex
2015 KS2 outcomes for children in care:
These improved substantially in reading = 75% (up
from 60% in 2014), writing = 65% (up from 56% in
2014) and mathematics = 67% (up from 54% in
2014). The proportion of LAC who achieved at least
a Level 4 in all three was 53%.
2015 KS4 outcomes for children in care:
The proportion of children in care who achieved at
least five good GCSE’s including English and
mathematics rose from 8.5% last year to 19.4% this
year (provision data). This shows substantial
improvement on last year’s results but remains some
distance from the national rate for all pupils.

5. Issues
 Educational outcomes for children in care
are well below that of their peers and are
particularly poor at Key Stage 4.
 Children in care are over-represented in
PRUs.
 Exclusions and attendance data for
children in care highlights concerns.
 Care leavers over-represented in NEET
figures.
 Limited information on progress at Key
Stage 5.
 Few care leavers go to university.

6.  There is evidence that children’s
educational achievement improves the
longer they are in care.

7. Ofsted SIF inspection
Corporate parenting lacks rigour and ambition.
Leaders are not sufficiently proactive in enabling
looked after children to shape services and
influence their decisions. Although looked after
children attend good schools, their achievements
are not consistently strong. The virtual school
lacks sufficient capacity to monitor and improve
education outcomes for looked after children,
including those in post-16 education. Personal
education plans lack effective targets and use of
the pupil premium is not well monitored. Initial
health assessments are not completed promptly
and there is insufficient focus on children’s
mental health and wellbeing.
Peterborough City Council Inspection of services for children in need of help and
protection, children looked after and care leavers: 13 April 2015 – 8 May 2015

8. What is more important?
8

9. What impacts on achievement?
9

10. Improving outcomes: musts
 Every child in care is unique.
 Each child in care has unique
individual needs which are
constantly changing.
 Communication and effective
partnership working between all
agencies is crucial.

11. Improving outcomes: musts
 A clear message at a strategic
level (LA).
 Attendance at a good or better
school for children in care.
 Partnerships with designated
teachers.
 A virtual school that supports
and challenges school leaders –
joint accountability.

12. The school inspection handbook
 how effectively leaders monitor the
progress of groups of pupils to
ensure that none falls behind and
underachieve, and how effectively
governors hold them to account
for this (p38)
 how well leaders and governors
engage with parents, carers and
other stakeholders and agencies to
support all pupils (p39)

13. A school culture
that promotes
achievement for
children in care

14. The school inspection handbook
Quality of teaching, learning and
assessment
teachers and other staff have
consistently high expectations of what
each pupil can achieve, including most able
and disadvantaged pupils (p44)
assessment information is gathered from
looking at what pupils already know,
understand and can do, and is informed by
their parents/previous providers as
appropriate in the early years (p45)

15. PEPS

16. Ofsted SIF inspection
The head of the virtual school provides extensive training and support
to designated teachers and head teachers to support them in their work
with children looked after. She monitors and tracks the educational
achievement and progress of children looked after at all stages
thoroughly.
The virtual school has accurate data, and effective tracking
mechanisms for the numbers of children looked after in alternative and
part-time education and those who are missing school. Staff work
diligently to place children looked after in appropriate and good settings,
and take swift and appropriate action to ensure that this happens.
Hertfordshire County Council Inspection of services for children in need of help and protection, children looked after and
care leavers : 14 September 2015 – 8 October 2015

17. Other challenges
 Early Years
 Post-16 – partnership with
the care leaving services
 Children in care placed out
of area and those from other
LAs placed in area

18. What is Ofsted’s role?

19. 1. Children receive the same support from their carers as
they would from a good parent.
2. All looked after children attend good schools where they
make good progress.
3. Pupils make good progress from their different starting
points – focus on the most vulnerable.
4. Pupils in alternative provision access 25 hours per week
of good-quality education.
5. High quality education and training opportunities are
available for all Post 16 students.
6. Staff in children’s homes positively address challenges
and barriers to educational progress and achievement.
Ofsted’s expectations

20. 1. Inspection.
2. Challenging and holding LA’s to
account.
3. Inspecting Virtual schools?
4. Improvement work.
5. Engaging with a range of stake
holders e.g. DfE.
Ofsted’s role

21. East of England
Priorities 2016/17

22. 2. Improving outcomes for disadvantaged children and
learners:
Our focus on LAC and FSM eligible pupils must now extend to thinking
about Children in Need (CiN) and the growing number of vulnerable
unaccompanied young adults that are entering the region.
2016/17

24.  The quality of the relationship children and young
people in care establish with an adult in school is
critical to their success.
 The quality of the friendships they make with
other children are very important.
 They do not always feel that they have any control
over the decisions made about their future.
 They have a lot of ‘plans’ written about them
which they do not understand.
What we learnt from

25. https://twitter.com/AndrewCookHMI