Professional Development opportunities

Designated Teachers and PEP writers

The training events provide you with an opportunity to develop links with the Virtual School and with other Designated Teachers (DT) as we work together to increase the progress Suffolk’s children in care make in school. Even if you currently have no children in care at your school it is important that you stay up to date with processes and expectations should a child join you.

Furthermore, Ofsted is looking quite closely at the relationship schools have with the Virtual School and information gained at network meetings has proven very useful to many schools during inspections. Education outcomes for children in care are a priority for Ofsted in the Eastern Region and inspectors have told us that they will be looking closely at how a school prioritises work with children in care when making inspection judgements.

Our Designated Teacher Network meetings typically take place on a termly basis in each area of the county. The aim of these sessions is to share good practices and updates regarding the education of children in care and to also enable DTs from different schools to establish links and to share experiences that will benefit each other’s work with children in care and children previously looked after.

The network sessions are available to Personal Education Plan (PEP) writers and Governors with Children in Care (CiC) and Previously Looked After Children (PLAC) oversight as well as DTs. 

As part of our rolling programme of virtual Designated Teacher Network Meetings, please see the information below about our upcoming sessions – our aim with these virtual meetings is to check in with you and for us to offer any guidance and support you might require, for our children in care.

Autumn Term 2024

Updates to the Welfare Call ePEP for Suffolk pupils 

In this session we will go through the updates that have been made to our Welfare Call ePEP template to support its completion. 

• Monday 16 September   3.45 – 4.30pm
• Tuesday 17 September   10 – 10.45am 
• Tuesday 17 September   3.45 – 4.30pm

New Designated Teacher training 

This session is for new DTs or those who would like a refresher. In this session will go through key things you need to know about the role of the DT, children in care and how best to support them. It will also cover your remit around previously looked after children and children with a social worker.

• Tuesday 24 September   1.30 – 3.30pm 

Raising attainment via the effective use of pupil premium funding 

Using the data from this year’s attainment across all key stages, we will be exploring how pupil premium funding can be used to support the academic outcomes of children in care. 

• Tuesday 1 October       10 – 10.45am
• Tuesday 1 October       3.45 – 4.30pm 

Using the SDQ score to promote the outcomes of CiC 

This session will illustrate the importance of using the SDQ assessment and each pupil’s score to plan and implement the right provision and support for children in care. 

• Tuesday 15 October    10 – 10.45am
• Tuesday 15 October    3.45 – 4.30pm 

Supporting Year 11 to plan their Post 16 pathway 

The purpose of this session is to provide some support with planning for Post 16 for each child in care. It will cover the Virtual College’s offer for 16-18 year olds to support and promote engagement, and also how schools can help to prepare each young person for the next stage of their education, employment or training. 

• Tuesday 5 November   10 – 10.45am
• Tuesday 5 November    3.45 – 4.30pm 

ePEP check-in 

The purpose of this session is to provide some support with the completion of the ePEP. A best practice approach to how a pupil’s plan can be recorded and evidenced in the document will be the focus. 

• Tuesday 19 November   10 – 10.45am
• Tuesday 19 November    3.45 – 4.30pm 

 Please complete this booking form to reserve a place : Autumn term 2024 Booking form

If you have any queries, please email us at suffolkvirtualschool@suffolk.gov.uk or call on 01473 260818.

Online Training Resources

We offer online training packages, free of charge, to DTs. Access to these can be requested from the Virtual School office or via your Virtual School contact.

Recently, we have provided training via Education DESTY. Please also see the Resources and links page for more information on online training.