MS, Cabinet Secretary for
Education: I want all children in Wales to thrive, supported by
an education system that has their best interests at heart.
Care experienced learners can face specific barriers which may
impact their ability to thrive in a school environment, such as
disruption in their lives outside of school and past traumatic
experiences. Recognising the unique experiences and needs of this
cohort of learners, the Welsh Government ran a Virtual School
Model (VSM) pilot. £1.24 million was provided to local
authorities to implement a VSM from 2021-2024.
The VSM approach supports care experienced learners as if they
were in a single school. The virtual school does not exist as a
physical institution or building, rather it is a dedicated
support network designed to meet the child's educational and
emotional needs, allowing them to thrive in their education
setting and achieve their full potential.
Today I am publishing an independent evaluation of
the VSM pilot. The report outlines the various ways VSM
funding was used to support care experienced children; early
impacts of the funding; and a comparison with the approaches
taken by local authorities that did not apply for the VSM
funding.
The research identified positive impacts from the VSM pilot such
as enhanced integration between teams and services supporting
children looked after in local authorities; greater authority
associated with the lead role; strengthened strategic
collaboration with the pilots who had taken a similar approach;
more preventative provision and enhanced levels of data
collection. I have visited and heard about the work of virtual
schools across Wales and I have seen the value they can provide.
The findings from the VSM evaluation will inform future policy
development and strategic direction on the support for
care-experienced children within the education system in Wales.
The VSM pilot complements other Welsh Government support and
resources to enhance educational outcomes for care experienced
learners in Wales:
- Officials have worked with local authorities and Third Sector
partners to co-produce a suite of guidance documents intended to
help local authorities and schools better understand and respond
to the needs of care experienced learners and promote effective
practice.
- We are funding Adoption UK Cymru in this financial year to
provide training for education practitioners to help them respond
effectively to the social and emotional needs of care experienced
learners.
- We have commissioned Estyn to undertake a thematic review
into the effectiveness of education provision for care
experienced learners in 2026. The findings will be used to
identify and share effective practice across the sector.
- We are working with the sector to ensure learners benefit
from the extra targeted support provided by the Pupil Development
Grant for children looked after as well as the School Essentials
Grant, available for all children looked after in reception to
year 11.
Care experienced learners are at the heart of this work, with
their voices championed by our key partners, including local
authorities, Voices from Care and Adoption UK Cymru.
This work all contributes to my ambition of improving the
educational outcomes of our most vulnerable learners. I look
forward to continuing to build on this programme of work to make
sure care experienced learners have the support they need to
achieve their full potential.
