Virtual School

The latest update from Northumberland's Virtual School Headteacher

Virtual School Headteacher's Annual Report 2023-24

Making a referral into the Virtual School is easy.

To refer a pupil to Education Welfare please complete the form below and return it to educationwelfare@northumberland.gov.uk:

• Education Welfare Pupil referral form

To refer to Education Other than at School (EOTAS) Health Needs for tuition please request a Virtual School Passport from EOTASHealth@northumberland.gov.uk

To refer to Education Support for Looked After Children (ESLAC) please email us at ESLAC.info@northumberland.gov.uk
 

Our Virtual School inspires and motivates children to learn, achieve and celebrate.

Our Virtual School Headteacher is Jane Walker who works with an ESLAC (Education Support for Looked After Children) team to promote the education of cared for and previously cared for children, and children who have or have had a social worker.  We fulfil statutory guidance from the Department for Education, and how well we are doing that is evaluated in the Virtual School Headteacher's annual report.  We also fulfil DfE guidance on promoting the education of children who have and have had a social worker.

The Schools’ Safeguarding team provides services to make sure that children in schools and education settings are safe to learn.

Arrangements for safeguarding children in Northumberland can be found on the Northumberland Children and Adults Safeguarding Partnership webpage.

Education providers are all required to comply with the DfE's statutory guidance for safeguarding children: 
Keeping Children Safe in Education

All Designated Safeguarding Leads in Northumberland have access to the Virtual School's Sharepoint webpage with information about training, resources, advice and guidance.

The Education Welfare Service fulfils the statutory duties of the local authority for safeguarding children in relation to school attendance, elective home education, children missing education, children  children in entertainment employment (and their chaperones)

The Education Welfare Team is responsible for working with schools and education providers to deliver a multi-agency approach to attendance improvement, in accordance with DfE guidance Working Together to Improve School Attendance.  

Northumberland's attendance improvement strategy can be viewed and downloaded here: Improving Attendance to give children the best start in life 2023-2028

Attendance Leads in Northumberland schools have access to advice, guidance and resources on the Virtual School's Sharepoint webpage.

To refer a pupil to Education Welfare please complete the form below and return it to educationwelfare@northumberland.gov.uk:

• EWO referral form

• A guide to non-school attendance and statutory responsibility 2023-24

• 10 things you should know about children in entertainment
• child entertainment, or chaperone -  licence application

Elective Home Education (EHE) is the term used by the DfE to describe a parent's decision to provide education for their children at home instead of sending them to school.

The responsibility for a child’s education rests with their parents. In England, education is compulsory but school is not.  If a child is not educated at school then parents should be providing a suitable full time education at home, and this is referred to as elective home education (or EHE).

For further information and contact details:

• Elective Home Education - guidance for parents, DfE April 2019
• Elective Home Education in Northumberland - guidance for parents and professionals 
• A padlet of resources and information from wellbeing to employment supporting families across Northumberland that choose to educate from home​

If you are considering home educating and would like advice then please contact the Education Welfare team educationwelfare@northumberland.gov.uk

Education Welfare fulfils the local authority's statutory duty to identify, safeguard and re-engage children who are missing education.

The local authority has a duty to identify and engage with pupils who are not receiving their
entitlement to full time education.  These pupils are either at risk of missing out on, or are missing out on, full
time education. 
  
Our arrangements have been developed with Northumberland's safeguarding partnership so that we can identify children in our area who are not on roll at a school and who are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school. The agreed procedures include measures to prevent children at risk of becoming missing from education and fulfils statutory guidance.

The Lead Education Welfare Officer (LEWO), Dawn Westerby,  is the ‘named person’ for Children Missing from Education (CME).

Northumberland's arrangements can be downloaded here:

• Children Missing Education, DfE statutory guidance for local authorities September 2016
• Children Missing from and Missing out on education, Northumberland guidance 

For further advice or guidance please contact Education Welfare by email:  educationwelfare@northumberland.gov.uk 

EOTAS is the name given to education provision which is not at school.

The Education Other Than at School (EOTAS) Health Needs team fulfils part of the local authority’s requirement to provide education for those young people who are of statutory school age but are unable to attend school full time due to a diagnosed health condition or medical need.  To be eligible for EOTAS Health Needs provision in Northumberland a pupil must have a medical assessment from a health professional stating that their health needs prevent them from attending school.

Teaching is provided in our small group venues located around the county and via our online teaching platform. ​

For advice or guidance if a pupil has medical or health needs, please contact EOTAShealth@northumberland.gov.uk