Knowledgeable but not specialist: Virtual School Heads’ experiences of supporting autistic children in care

Pickles, Jennifer; Parsons, Sarah; Kovshoff, Hanna

doi:10.1080/03054985.2022.2039609

Cited by 2 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…In alignment with the findings of Pickles et al (2023) and Gilligan (2001), the building of positive relationships with CEC was also recognised as crucial for supporting the children's resilience. Levels of individual contact with CEC varied, ranging from regular mentoring sessions, or delivering interventions, to more informal contact, but all DTs perceived the CEC in their school to value this contact.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

“…The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions. How to cite this article: De La Fosse, L., Parsons, S., & Kovshoff, H. (2023). 'They are always in the top of our mind': Designated Teachers' views on supporting care experienced children in England.…”

Section: Data Availability Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…DTs should also work closely with external stakeholders and agencies, including social workers, VSHs, foster carers, birth parents if appropriate and Governing Bodies, and be the central point of contact for CEC within the school (DfE, 2018b). This liaison role becomes especially important when children are placed out of area i.e., they may attend a school or have a care placement in a different LA than the one who took them into care (Pickles et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, despite the importance of these statutory roles and the persistently poor experiences and outcomes reported for CEC, there is very little published research in this area. A few studies have focused on VSHs (Drew & Banerjee, 2019; Pickles et al, 2022; Sebba & Berridge, 2019), highlighting their important facilitative role in promoting inter‐agency working to support LAC. However, there is limited published research exploring DTs' roles and responsibilities, with most in the form of unpublished theses (Boesley, 2021; Goodall, 2014; Higgs, 2006; Simpson, 2012; Waterman, 2020; Woodland, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, there is limited published research exploring DTs' roles and responsibilities, with most in the form of unpublished theses (Boesley, 2021; Goodall, 2014; Higgs, 2006; Simpson, 2012; Waterman, 2020; Woodland, 2010). Pickles et al (2022) concluded that it would be helpful for future research to explore a wider range of voices and experiences beyond VSHs, including those of DTs. Consequently, this study sought to contribute to this important, emerging evidence base by exploring DTs' views and experiences of their role.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘They are always in the top of our mind’: Designated Teachers' views on supporting care experienced children in England

2023

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Care experienced children are at substantial risk for poor educational outcomes, so it is vital to understand where the challenges and opportunities may lie in providing improved support for them. Designated Teachers have statutory responsibilities within maintained schools in England to promote the educational achievement of care experienced children, but very little research has examined their views and experiences. Following purposive sampling, in‐depth, online, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with five Designated Teachers during the COVID‐19 pandemic to explore their experiences of the facilitators and barriers to supporting care experienced children. Four themes were developed through reflexive thematic analysis. Designated Teachers enacted change through both systemic working, and the provision of targeted support to address individual child needs. Various facilitators and barriers to role fulfilment were identified, including multi‐agency working and the impact of competing roles and responsibilities. Implications for professionals are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: Data Availability Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

‘They are always in the top of our mind’: Designated Teachers' views on supporting care experienced children in England

2023

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Virtual schools for care‐experienced learners in Scotland: Reflections on an emerging concept in a new context

McIver,

Bettencourt

2024

British Educational Res J

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The ‘virtual school’ is an approach to supporting care‐experienced children and young people in education. The Virtual School Head (VSH) has been a statutory role within the education landscape in England since 2014. In Scotland, where the education, social care and legal systems are distinct from those in England, there has been a recent increase in the number of local authorities utilising this concept. This research aimed to explore the role and remit of Virtual School Head Teachers (VSHTs) in Scotland, and to identify similarities and differences with those of VSHs in England, to uncover learning about the emergence of this concept and role in a new context. We conducted semi‐structured interviews with relevant post‐holders in Scotland, using key concepts from the published literature on virtual schools in England, and analysed these qualitatively to identify themes. We discuss some of the similarities and differences we identified, noting that while the purpose of the role, and the means by which it functions, were largely common to both countries, there were also nuanced differences. Key similarities included the importance of positioning within the local authority, and the development of relationships with social work. Differences were largely underpinned by the educational and legal contexts in which the post‐holders operated, and included control of budgets and specificity of remit. This research contributes to our understanding of the role of the VSHT in Scotland, and identifies some emerging features as the virtual school concept is translated to a new context.

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Knowledgeable but not specialist: Virtual School Heads’ experiences of supporting autistic children in care

Cited by 2 publications

References 29 publications

‘They are always in the top of our mind’: Designated Teachers' views on supporting care experienced children in England

‘They are always in the top of our mind’: Designated Teachers' views on supporting care experienced children in England

Virtual schools for care‐experienced learners in Scotland: Reflections on an emerging concept in a new context

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