Virtual school supports children in care to exam success

We know that children and young people who are in the care of local authorities often face additional disruption to their learning, which is why our Hertfordshire Virtual School champions the needs of the 1,100 children and young people in our care.

The Hertfordshire Virtual School employs a range of advisers, support workers and professional partners who work with children and young people, schools and other education settings, Social Care teams, carers and adopters, ensuring that young people get the best possible education and a chance to realise their potential.

Over the last seven years, the Hertfordshire Virtual School has seen improvements in outcomes in English and Maths GCSE’s through offering dedicated education support to individuals and to schools via education advisers. For children and young people, this support includes:

• Support with studies
• Educational resources including IT equipment
• Access to Education Support Workers to help overcome barriers to learning
• Out of school hours activities
• Study skills and booster classes
• Recognition of achievement – HERTS Awards
• Advice and guidance on future pathways
• Work experience opportunities

Ethan, who is about to receive his GCSE results this year, explains how the Virtual School has helped him to achieve his goal: “I want to go to sixth form and from there I want to go to university. I think my goal is to land a career as a vet and I feel that with that kind of goal the Virtual School has helped me every step of the way. You know, they’ve provided me with support towards all those individual goals, and they have also provided tuition and facilities to help me improve my learning and I can safely say that I don’t think that I would have got this far without them.”

Cllr Mark Mills-Bishop, Deputy Executive Member for Education, Libraries and Lifelong Learning, said: “We are so proud of our Hertfordshire Virtual School which provides the expertise, support and passion to help our young people in care. We want all young people in Hertfordshire to be able to reach their potential, and the virtual school plays an important role in helping young people who have faced additional difficulties and disruption to their schooling to get the best possible education.” 

For more information about the Hertfordshire Virtual School, visit: www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/virtualschools

For support around exam results, visit: Hertfordshire County Council | Getting your exam results? Hertfordshire County Council is here to help!