What is a Designated Teacher?
Every school has a Designated Teacher has a duty to promote the education of your child. You might be concerned about learning, or how your child is getting on with their friends. Whatever your concern, the Designated Teacher is there to communicate with you and plan what needs to happen. You should feel fully involved in decisions that affect your child's education. If you want to learn more about Designated Teachers, please have a look at the following government guidance: The designated teacher for looked after and previously looked-after children (Statutory guidance on their roles and responsibilities) February 2018
What support can I expect from school?
You should be able to meet with specific members of staff within a school to discuss any concerns or support you feel your child may need. The first port of call would usually be your child's class teacher (primary) or form tutor (secondary). The more information you can provide about your concerns the better! You should expect good liaison between yourself and a Designated Teacher and feel comfortable to be able to ask for help if needed. Each school will have different support systems and interventions, but all should be able to offer advice/suggestions to help support your child if needed.
Does my child need a Personal Education Plan?
It is considered good practice to have a Personal Education Plan (PEP) to support your child's progress in school but it is not a legal requirement in the same way as for children who are still in care. A PEP allows you, the school and other relevant professionals to meet together and review your child's progress. The meetings should include your child's views to make sure the plan reflects their hopes and wishes. These plans also provide opportunities to evaluate and assess the need for pastoral support and an opportunity to discuss how Pupil Premium is being used. It is important to note that some Virtual Schools have developed a bespoke PEP document, so it may have a slightly different name in your area.
What adults are there in school which might help me?
All schools are set up slightly differently. Here is a list of staff who may be able to help you:
DT - The Designated Teacher is responsible for promoting the wellbeing and education of your child.
CLASS TEACHER - This member of staff is responsible for teaching your child. In Primary schools, this is usually just one teacher to each class. In secondary schools, the number of teachers increases as your child will have different teachers for different subjects studied.
TUTOR - This member of staff will see your child daily for registration in secondary schools. They will have a good overview of how your child is coping in school.
TA/LSA - Teaching Assistants / Learning Support Assistants provide extra support in lessons alongside teachers. Some are designated to specific pupils with additional needs, but others are School Support 10 placed in classes to support the group.
HEAD OF YEAR - This member of staff is responsible for the whole year group. Although they may not know your child personally, they can direct you to the correct member of staff if needed or meet with you about any concerns you may have.
DSL - Designated Safeguarding Leads are responsible for safeguarding within the school.
PASTORAL TEAM - this is a team of people who aim to provide the wrap around care for pupils. They can help with emotional wellbeing, friendship issues, identity, confidence, self-esteem issues and much more.
SENCO - Special Educational Needs Coordinator - this member of staff can help you if you are worried your child may need more support with their learning.
ELSA - Emotional Literacy Support Assistants work with pupils in the school to specifically support emotional wellbeing and development. Not all schools will have an ELSA. Learning or Inclusion Mentors - these can be the key adult for your child and a link person for you, making sure the support agreed is provided to your child.
There may be times where your child may need additional support with services who work alongside schools, and the school can make a referral for these services such as an Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapist, Local Authority attendance and inclusion services, etc.
My child is struggling at school. What should I do?
If your child is struggling at school (or at any point in their education), please talk with staff at school about this. There should be lots of opportunities to support your child with their education and it will be helpful to ask for a meeting to discuss your concerns. Please see the list of staff who you can approach for a meeting in the section on School Support above.
The school has suggested my child should be on a reduced timetable. What does this mean and what do I need to know?
A reduced or part-time timetable means that a child attends school for part of each day or part of the week. Legally all children are entitled to a full-time education, so a reduced or part-time timetable should only be considered in exceptional situations. A part-time timetable should always be created with your agreement, be time limited and clearly show how the timetable will support your child back to full-time education. Any risks to a child being out of school should also be considered. Exceptional situations could include a plan to help a child back in to school after a period of absence, because they have been unwell, for example. It might also be helpful for a child to be on a reduced timetable temporarily as part of a pastoral support plan if they are struggling in school. Remember that you can seek information and advice from your virtual school, before agreeing to a reduced or part-time timetable, to help you to think through whether this is the best approach for your child. 11
I'm worried my child may be suspended or excluded from school. What do I need to know?
If you are concerned your child may be suspended or permanently excluded from school, the first step is to talk to the school about your concerns. It is usually best to talk first with the member of staff who you normally link with, or talk with the Head, Deputy Head, Head of Year, SENCO or Designated Teacher.
You can ask them for a meeting with key staff to discuss the situation. This meeting could again be a review of the Personal Education Plan (see page 8 above). It is important that the Designated Teacher is aware of your concerns, as they are responsible in school for promoting the educational achievement of your child. You can ask for them to be made aware of the situation if they are not already involved.
Ideally, you will be able to work with the school to understand what the difficulties are and to make a plan of action together to respond to them. You might agree with the school that there is a need
for better understanding of what is causing the difficulties for your child and what will best support them. There are a range of different 'assessments' that might help with this.
The members of staff responsible for 'inclusion' (that is - making sure all children whatever their challenges can do well in school) will be able to advise on which assessment will be most helpful (see also Additional Needs below) and what support it identifies that can be included in the plan of action.
Together with key staff you can agree a plan to support your child to avoid suspension or permanent exclusion. However, if your child is suspended or permanently excluded there are rules/laws that must be followed by the school and by you.
Remember that you can contact us at the Virtual School either if you are concerned about the risk of suspension/exclusion or if one has actually happened. We can offer you information and advice.
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