Keeping children safe

Children Looked After

In this section, we will outline the aspects of Sutton Virtual Schools work that supports Children Looked After. We work directly with children looked after, their families, schools and social workers to ensure that they receive the best educational opportunities available.

SGO / adoptive parent training

If you are an SGO or adoptive parent, please watch our training video to illustrate the support you can gain from Sutton Virtual School and other support that is available around education.

Kinship, SGO and Adoption information

Please read the PCLA and Kinship Booklet. We summarise below are some of the key things we think our Kinship, SGO and Adoption families need to know about education to support them in their role: All children who have been in public care in England and Wales and moved to an SGO or Adoption can […]

Welcome to our service

A family enters our service when a child or young person (aged 2 up to 18) comes into the care of London Borough of Sutton. The family will include the child, the carer/s and/or parents and the child’s social worker. When a child or young person comes into care, they are allocated a Child Looked […]

Children new to care

Here is a video for foster carers looking after a young person who is new to care. It explains how Sutton Virtual School will work in partnership with you to support the young person’s education. Please also read our New to care starter pack to accompany the video and explain the support on offer from […]

Children with SEND

Children and young people in care are up to four times more likely to have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) compared to those not in care. Foster carers can learn about the EHCP application process and SEND admissions by watching the videos below. Admissions for children with an EHCP Special educational needs support Your […]

Promoting attendance, engagement & progress

Language That Cares

Language That Cares: Using language and communication that supports our young people and understands their feelings Language is a powerful tool of communication and as professionals, we need to ensure that the language we use is understanding of care-experienced young people, particularly when writing reports like PEPs. Here are some useful suggestions from the TACT […]

Building Trauma Informed Schools Across Sutton

Launched in 2020, the Trauma and Attachment Programme by the Sutton Virtual School has made a real impact for Sutton’s children and young people, providing invaluable support to Sutton schools. The programme provides both “Universal” and “Targeted” support to schools, ensuring that staff are trauma informed and effectively supporting children and young people displaying difficulties […]

Designated Teacher ePEP requirements

Designated Teachers should click on the link https://secure.epeponline.co.uk/login when using ePEP for the first time and click the green button ‘CLICK HERE FOR FIRST TIME REGISTRATION’ to sign in. Designated Teachers must complete Section C, D and E of the ePEP in advance of the meeting to update the educational information related to the young person […]