Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND)

Other Information and Guidance

Browse here for Government guidance relating to the children we support. Help at Hand service run by The Children’s Commissioner Promoting the education of children with a social worker (publishing.service.gov.uk) National Advocacy Helpline More coming soon!

School moves, transition and Admissions

Children who are looked-after are given first priority for school places and schools are expected to admit them without reference to the oversubscription criteria and without delay. Every Sutton looked-after child has a Virtual School case manager who can assist with school admissions and support their transition. Here is some additional guidance: School admissions information […]

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Please refer to the Local Offer for key information. Other resources/ information: Please refer to our Book a Consultation section if you’d like to book a free, SEND-focused consultation to discuss an individual case. Autism and Social Communication Understanding Neurodiversity: A guide to Specific Learning Difficulties Books for trauma & anxiety needs for children & […]

Suspensions and Exclusions

Please refer to the resources here, aimed at supporting professionals to working together to avoid suspensions and exclusions. If a child with a social worker has a suspension or is permanently excluded, schools must inform the social worker. Please also consider requesting support through the Vulnerable Pupils Panel if a child is at high risk […]

Attendance

Good school attendance is vital and can also act as a protective factor for many of our children and young people, especially those subject to child in need or child protection plans. See below for a list of resources/ guidance and please also refer to our ‘education consultation’ section if you’d like to book a […]

Resources

You Said, We Did

Below is a summary of the work we are undertaking in response to the groups requests and feedback. (UPDATED) You Said: There is an unfairness between what support previously looked after children receive compared to SGO children who have not been in public care. We did: We have extended our offer of support to all […]

Book a consultation

We run free consultations in relation to a Sutton child or young person under the remit of the Virtual School: Child in Need, Child Protection, Child Looked After, Previously Looked After, has/had involvement from a Social Worker, Kinship, or Special Guardianship. Consultations offer professionals a problem-solving space to work towards tangible next steps to support […]

PEP

1. What is a PEP? All children looked-after (CLA) must have a care plan, of which the Personal Education Plan (PEP) is an integral part. The PEP (pre-school, to age 18) should be initiated as part of the care plan. A PEP meeting must take place each term for every Child Looked After. It is an evolving […]

Early years

Sutton Virtual School works closely with schools, nurseries, foster carers and prospective adopters, to promote the education of children in care. We are keen to support you to give lots of opportunities for fun, play-based learning at home, so we hope that you’ll find lots of useful ideas and information here. A study by the […]