The Virtual School supports children to do their very best at school by making sure that they all receive suitable education and feel safe to learn.
To refer to Education Support for Looked After Children (ESLAC) please email us at ESLAC.info@northumberland.gov.uk
We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. The Council is registered as a ‘data controller’ under the Data Protection Act (registration no. Z1727733) as we collect, use and hold personal information about you in order to provide public services.
Please click here to see a notice which explains how we use and share your information. Information may be collected via a paper or online form, by telephone, email, CCTV or by a member of our staff, or one of our partners.
Our referral procedure is simple - telephone or email us. We accept referrals from carers, social workers, parents and teachers. We’re happy to talk to young people too.
Email: eslac.info@northumberland.gov.uk
The Virtual School Headteacher is Jane Walker. The Virtual School Deputy Headteacher is Tara Prescott.
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 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:
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:
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:
For further advice or guidance please contact Education Welfare by email: educationwelfare@northumberland.gov.uk
The Engagement Teaching 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 totheir health needs. Access to the teaching service is managed by Education Welfare through the Northumberland Education Engagement Hub.
The council's policy for the education of children with health needs can be viewed or downloaded here.
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