Education support for children in kinship care arrangements

School admissions and support for children previously in care

Children previously in care have top priority in school admissions and should be placed in good or outstanding schools.

All maintained schools and academies must appoint a designated teacher, who has a leadership role in promoting the educational achievement of every child previously in care on the school’s roll. This includes making sure that all staff have high expectations of their learning and understand the importance of involving the child’s parents or guardians in decisions affecting their child’s education.

Children previously in care and those in formal kinship care arrangements are also eligible to be secured a school place through Fair Access Protocols. This is the mechanism which ensures that unplaced and vulnerable children who are having difficulty securing school places in-year are allocated one promptly.

The school admissions code ensures that children being raised by kinship carers under a special guardianship order or child arrangements order, who struggle to get a school place during the year, will be supported in finding one.

In addition, pupil premium for permanently placed children (also known as pupil premium plus) was introduced in 2014. Pupil premium plus is awarded in recognition that many adopted and permanently placed children need extra support in school because of the circumstances that led to them being placed into care and later being adopted or placed with special guardians or child arrangement order carers.

Pupil premium plus funding

Children previously in care attract Pupil Premium Plus funding, which is provided to help improve their education outcomes and close the attainment gap between them and their peers. 

It is paid to and managed by the school, with allocations based on the number of children previously in care recorded in the school’s October school census return to the Department for Education. 

Virtual schools

Virtual schools are required to promote the education of children with a Social Worker and children in kindship care arrangements. To support the educational achievement of children who left local authority care through special guardianship, child arrangements or adoption order, the virtual school now holds a statutory duty to provide information and advice to parents, kinship carers, and educators. Learn more about virtual schools.