Previous Children in Care and Kinship Care
Previously Children in Care (PCiC) Support
In Gloucestershire, working with our ambassadors, we use the term PCiC (previous children in care) instead of PLAC (previously looked after children)
Previous Children in Care (PCiC), are children and young people who, as stated in the Children Act 1989, have been looked after by a local authority because a court has been granted a care order to place a child in care, or a council's children's services department has cared for the child for more than 24 hours. Previous Children in Care are those who have left local authority care in England and Wales through an adoption, special guardianship or child arrangement order; or were adopted from 'state care' outside England and Wales. Not all children under these legal orders will have previously been in care, and individual circumstances will apply.
In December 2023, the government published ‘Championing Kinship Care’, which includes an expansion to the Virtual School Head's role for children in kinship arrangements. Kinship care is when a child cannot live with their parents and is instead cared for by relatives or family friends. This could include grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, or close family friends, and can include formal and informal arrangements. While kinship care provides stability and familiarity, children in these arrangements may face unique challenges that can affect their education, attendance, and progress.
The Role of the Virtual School for Previous Children in Care and Kinship Care
Educational outcomes for children previously in care and kinship care fall below those who have had no social care involvement. Many children previously in care (PCiC) can struggle to thrive in school due to the impact of their early life experiences known as 'Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES)'.
The role of the Virtual School for previously looked-after children is to promote their educational achievement through the provision of information and advice to their parents/carers, educators and others who the VS may consider necessary.
This may include responding to parent/carer, designated teacher or relevant professionals requests for advice and information, and making general advice and information available to schools to improve awareness of the vulnerability and needs of previously looked-after children.
Following an extension to the role of the Virtual School, this remit will now also include championing the educational progress of all children in kinship care, regardless of whether the child was previously in care, and will allow kinship carers to access advice from the Virtual School on request.
The Virtual School are no longer the corporate parent for previously looked-after children and the role in relation to these children reflects this. Virtual Schools are not expected to monitor the educational progress of individual children or work directly with children and families. The Virtual School do not hold any funding for previously looked after children or children in kinship care.
The Virtual School Education Adviser for children who were previously in care and in kinship care is Sophie Hill and is available for information, advice and signposting.
The Designated Teacher for Previously Children in Care
The Children and Social Work Act 2017 states that governing bodies now have a duty to designate a member of staff to promote the educational achievement of previously children in care, including those adopted from abroad. The designated teacher ensures all staff are aware of the needs of these students and contributes to school-wide policies affecting them, including the use of Pupil Premium and monies. The designated teacher should work closely with parents and guardians to ensure the best outcomes for the child, socially, emotionally and educationally.
The full statutory guidance for designated teachers can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/designated-teacher-for-looked-after-children
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