County council leaders have praised virtual schools as ‘education’s hidden asset’ but called on the Government to provide the overstretched services with additional resources.
Virtual schools were set up in 2014 as teams based in councils tasked with supporting the education of children in care. In recent years, they have expanded to look after all young people with a social worker.
A new report by the County Councils Network (CCN) has found that these services are seen by those working in education as a valuable asset to both councils and schools.
Funded by the enhanced Pupil Premium +, virtual schools play a strong role in championing the education of children in care and improving outcomes, according to the report.
However, CCN also found that since the purview of the service has expanded to cover all young people with a social worker, local authorities have come up against staffing and resource challenges.
One virtual school said it had formerly had twelve members of staff for 900 pupils and now has oversight of an additional 4,000 young people, but with no means to increase staffing.
CCN’s report called on the Government to launch a review into virtual schools to assess what they require to effectively work with larger numbers of children.
Cllr Liz Brighouse, education spokesperson for the CCN, said: ‘Virtual schools are one of the most successful educational policies introduced over the last decade, and today’s report sets out how they have effectively championed the education of children in care, and most importantly, improved their attainment.
‘The Government has recognised the positive impact of virtual schools and has recently expanded their remit to include all young people with a social worker. However, we don’t want these valuable services to become a victim of their own success and this is why today’s report calls for a review into virtual schools to assess how they can be properly resourced to effectively champion this new cohort of young people, alongside their traditional role in supporting children in care.’
