Corporate Parenting Strategy 2025 to 2030

Ensuring our care experienced children and young people are in good education, employment, apprenticeships and training will always be a priority for us. We want all care experienced children and young people to have every opportunity to reach their learning potential, to develop confidence and skills for their future and to have opportunities to transition into meaningful work. We recognise that there are many different learning pathways, and we will work in partnership with a range of education and training providers to make sure our children and young people are in the setting that’s right for them and where they are most likely to succeed. This includes making the necessary adaptions for our young people with special education needs or disabilities, to ensure they also have an equal chance to succeed. Meaningful opportunities mitigate against the disadvantages that care experienced young people can face in adulthood.

Our care experienced children and young people often have additional barriers to education, employment and training, such as poor mental health, neuro-diverse conditions, substance misuse, caring responsibilities/parenting or restrictions because of their immigration status. We are committed to creating opportunities for all our children and young people and will always maintain high aspirations for them.

• Personal Education Plan (PEP) reviews illustrate that the virtual school is well informed about children's academic progress and their wider development.
• Young people understand the purpose of the PEP and positively contribute with their voice clearly heard and recorded.
• Appropriate and realistic targets are set, discussed, and reviewed so the children and young people feel they are achieving their goals.
• The process allows the adults working with the children and young people to have a clear overview of their education and targets.

It is also important that we encourage our children and young people to explore interests and hobbies as these are a great way to improve their mental wellbeing and experience something they enjoy.

• Continue to work closely with our Virtual School, which ensures monitoring, support and advice for children and young people throughout the year. The Virtual School will support care experienced children and young people with their education including addressing poor attendance, supporting those awaiting a school place and those with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) to ensure that best provision is made and planned for.
• Continue to strengthen the careers offer to all care-experienced children, young people and young adults from year 7 by tracking any activities through the school and virtual school.
• Ensure all children and young people achieve their full academic potential and make the most of their talents, whilst targeting support to those from Black, Asian, and other ethnic backgrounds to meet any specific additional educational needs, such as help learning English for unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
• Review correlations between race and educational attainment and employment, ensuring our approaches address disproportionality in attainment.
• Identify any Special Education Needs (SEN) and meet these needs through an Education Health Care Plan or other SEN support - helping our young people overcome barriers to education attainment.
• Strengthen the early identification and support for neurodivergent children and children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities including speech and language difficulties.
• Continue as corporate parents to commit to providing opportunities for education training and employment via the Council and our partners.
• Continue the commitment to ensuring that care experienced children and young people attend Good or Outstanding schools and colleges.
• Ensure high quality tuition to all children in care – funded through pupil premium plus (government ringfenced grant for Virtual school Heads).
• Guarantee that every young person has access to digital devices, study resources, tuition and a Personal Education Plan.
• Promote children and young people having support from a Designated Teacher at their school.
• Build capacity and skills in schools to understand and support our children’s social, emotional and mental health needs in the context of their care and education.
• Continue to develop schools and colleges awareness of attachment and trauma via the Virtual School to ensure a better understanding of our children and young peoples lived experience and reduce the risk of discrimination.
• Have a good understanding of our vulnerable children, including those not in education and/or placed in unregistered provisions.
• Ensure our care experienced young people have a Pathway Plan that is coproduced, has clear information about what support is available once they leave care, go to university or undertake vocational training and apprenticeships.
• Support care experienced young people to aim for university and sustain the level of resilience needed to complete the courses.
• Improve access to appropriate work experience and job opportunities.
• Ensure that children and young people, including our UASC, are ready to engage in learning. Providing emotional support and additional tutoring where this is required.
• Improve the academic offer and pastoral care to our UASC.
• Use the Education, Employment, Training (EET) panel to monitor and target support to young people and to proactively try to overcome additional barriers.

• Percentage of children in Education, Employment and Training (EET).
• Percentage of children in care and care leavers attending schools rated “good” or “outstanding” by Ofsted.
• Percentage of children in care who achieve 4 plus in English & Maths
• Increased rates of participation in further and higher education.
• Increased percentage of care experienced young people accessing apprenticeship schemes in Buckinghamshire.
• Exclusion rates decrease; attendance and attainment rates increase.