Education of looked after children education - LAC(E)

There are about 450 children in care in Sunderland of whom 300 are of school age, although the population fluctuates greatly. About 80% are in foster care and about 20% are in children’s homes.

Children enter care for a number of reasons, generally abuse or neglect, family dysfunction, disability of the child, disability or illness of the parent, absent parents. A small minority are looked after because of socially unacceptable behaviour.

Being in care brings its problems for our children. In addition to the problems and experiences resulting in them becoming ‘looked after’, they often need to get used to changes of carer, of social worker and so on. It is hardly surprising that our children say the one really stable part of their lives is school or college.

Corporate parenting
In the Sunderland City Council all agencies have a responsibility towards our young people in care. We need to work in partnership to ensure that the many needs of looked after children are addressed whether they be housing, employment, education or care.

The Looked After Children Education Service - LAC(E) 

Vision statement 
LAC(E) aims to ensure that children and young people looked after by Sunderland City Council receive the best possible educational provision. The service aims to minimise any disruption to the children's learning and to promote the importance of education in order that these children are enabled to reach their full potential and take their rightful place in society when they leave care.

Dedicated support
LAC(E) consists of a team of three part time Teachers and one part time Administration Officer who work with the Support Services of Sunderland to help children and young people who are in the care of the local authority to get the very best out of their educational experience.

We are part of the Achievement and Participation Team within the Inclusion & Achievement Service.

The service offers:

• Support at meetings, for example Personal Education Plans ( 19kb)
• Liaison with key agencies
• Pre-OfSTED advice to schools
• Multi-agency training on education issues relating to looked after children
• Telephone advice and support to designated teachers, social workers, foster carers and any agencies working with looked after children
• Telephone advice for post-16 students
• Additional tuition in academic subjects appropriate for a pupil of any age. See Tuition Policy ( 37kb).

How you can help your child do their best

There are many ways you can help your child to do their best in school:

• Make sure you contribute to the PEP meeting and help your child meet their targets. See PEP Checklist ( 28kb)
• Keep in touch with the school. If you are caring for younger children the time when you are dropping off and picking up can be a good time to catch up with the teacher. If your child is taxied to school call the school every now and again or use the child’s home/school book.
• Attend school events - parent’s evenings, award ceremonies, school productions. See Parents evening advice leaflet ( 27kb)
• Read with your child: pre-reader ( 19kb), early reading ( 20kb), extending reading ( 20kb), confident reader ( 20kb).
• Support and encourage your child before and around test and exam times. It is important for your child to revise ( 30kb) for their exams.
• You can visit the Parents’Centre website, which has very useful information and support for parents/carers on how to help with your child’s learning.

Life outside school

In Sunderland  the ‘Extended Schools Programme’ has responsibility for providing out of school activities.

An extended school is one that provides a range of services beyond the school day and during holiday times to help meet the needs of its pupils, their families and the wider community (Department for Education and Skills).

For our looked after children the activities available could benefit greatly improving motivation and building self esteem. Every school has its own ‘extended schools coordinator’. Ask about what is available in your child's school.

You can find out more at www.sunderland.gov.uk/extendedschools

Max card ( 836kb)

North East Music Leisure and Arts Culture www.nemlac.co.uk

Encourage your child to take up musical activities ( 28kb) - you can also visit the Music Development Office website for more information.

Max Books: Book bags ( 19kb) and story sacks ( 32kb)

Higher education

In recent years evidence has become compelling that a number of our young people are leaving care without qualifications, some not even having sat public examinations. Those who have remained within the education system have had to deal with numerous obstacles. In Sunderland Choices and the Unlocking Potential (UP) Project have been set up as a means to address some of the imbalance. Click on the links to find out more.

UP Project leaflet ( 441kb)

Useful documents:

Designated Teachers ( 41kb) list of LAC(E) Designated Teachers

Designated Teacher Standards ( 93kb) used to inform policy

Guide to Education Services for carers ( 130kb) and social workers

Personal Education Plan: Summary Notes ( 28kb)

School Policy ( 32kb)

The documents above are in PDF () format, which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Useful internet links:

There are many Internet sites that are fun and helpful. The sites listed below are just a small sample of recommendations. Allow these sites to suggest other similar web addresses or look in children’s educational magazines for suggestions.

BBC Schools revision guide

Channel 4 study skills
Advice from teachers on how to write assignments, get good marks, plus tips on how to revise.

Grid Club
A website for 7-11 year olds with 500 interactive games.

The Who Cares Trust
We are a national charity working to improve public care for around 60,000 children and young people who are separated from their families and living in residential or foster care.

www.schoolsnet.com
Guide to schools - website where you can add your own review of schools, or just find out what other parents think.

www.samlearning.com
Revision on key stages three and four. Education news and the chance to browse more that 20, 000 library books.

www.ukyp.org.uk
Site all about the UK Youth Parliament. Young people have their say.

www.literacytrust.org.uk
Promoting reading

www.mv-online.gov.uk
How to volunteer in your local area

www.brainpop.com/science
Suitable for KS2 pupils
Using the drop down selection box at the top right hand of the screen there is a wide choice of interesting movies about subjects such as gravity and magnetism. Each give a short cartoon explanatory story to help children understand the concepts.

www.ace-ed.org.uk
The Advisory Centre for Education has a free telephone advice centre for parents covering issues such as admissions, exclusions from school, bullying and SEN. Tel: 0808 800 5793 (Monday-Friday 2-5 p.m.)

Parents' Centre
Providing information and support for parents on how to help with your child's learning, including advice on choosing a school and finding childcare.

www.childnet-int.org/netbenefit
Netbenefit is a SEN awareness programme run by the Childnet International Charity designed to help children, parents and teachers get the most out of the Internet and stay safe online.

www.kidshealth.org
Created by doctors is full of information covering children’s health

www.nc.uk.net
A guide to the National Curriculum

www.connexions.gov.uk

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