The Virtual School Kent Advisory Team (VSKAT) advises families, schools and the wider professional networks working with the cohorts known as 'previously looked after children', 'children with a social worker' and 'children living in kinship arrangements'.
For more information please visit our What we do webpage
Who are Previously looked after children?
Previously looked after children are those children who have left the care of a local authority under an Adoption, Special Guardianship or Child Arrangements Order. The VSKAT is a source of advice and information to help parents and carers of previously looked after children, at education settings within Kent, advocate for them as effectively as possible.
I am Adopted (youtube.com) is a poem written by a Kent child explaining what it is like to be adopted.
For more information please visit our Previously looked after children webpages
Who are Children with a social worker ?
Any child or young person who is (or has been in the past 6 years) under a Child in Need or Child Protection Plan for safeguarding and welfare reasons, falls within the Children with a social worker cohort. It is the VSKAT’s responsibility to strategically champion the educational attendance, attainment and progress of this cohort children and young people.
For more information please visit our Ever 6 Children with a Social Worker webpages
Who are Children living in kinship care ?
If you are raising a child whose birth parent is someone from your family or one of your friends, this is often known as kinship care. You are a family and friends’ carer if you are a grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister of family friend looking after a child who can’t be cared for by their birth parents.
A kinship carer provides a stable home life where they can grow and develop in a safe, positive environment. They often get to stay in their existing family network, which helps maintain their sense of identify and family relationships.
Here is a short video from the Kinship Charity which explains the importance of kinship carers. Something to be proud of - a film by Kinship (youtube.com)
Whilst it is the Virtual School’s role to strategically champion the needs of children living in formal kinship care arrangements (i.e. those with a Special Guardianship or Child Arrangements Order) the work that they do with other teams and services and education settings across Kent will also positively impact the support and understanding around all children living within ‘informal’ kinship arrangements.
For those families with formal kinship arrangements, VSK can advice carers directly and schools (with carer’s consent).
For more information please visit our Children living in Kinship Care arrangements webpages.
Quick Guide to VSKAT
The Virtual School Kent Advisory Team champions the needs of these three cohorts of children – previously looked after children, children with a social worker and those living in kinship care arrangements. The level of advice they can offer, depends on which cohort the young person is in.