Luton's virtual school is a service provided by dedicated professionals within the People directorate, whose work is to promote and coordinate educational support for looked after children and care leavers.
It is not a physical school but it brings together educational information about each young person as if they were in a single school so that:
The team works with the other professionals to ensure that young people in care to Luton have the opportunities to reach their potential within their place of learning. These include:
education settings
social workers
carers
other professionals
The personal education plan (PEP) helps to focus everyone involved to provide support for the young person and to identify any gaps which need attention.
Open the tabs below to find out about each role in the team.
The Department for Education has issued statutory guidance for local authorities about promoting the education of looked after children and previously looked after children.
It's issued under section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970, which means we must be follow it, unless there are exceptional circumstances that justify departing from it.
