Virtual School Head and Private Tutoring Pilots
Gateshead is one of only 11 authorities nationally to have successfully bid to participate in the DCSF funded virtual school head pilot. It is also one of only four authorities nationally to be included in the accompanying private tutoring scheme funded by HSBC.
The aim of the pilots is to test out proposals included in the Government Green Paper Care Matters: Transforming the Lives of Children and Young People in Care.
Virtual School Head
The virtual school head will be tasked with driving up standards in the education of children in care.
The role of the virtual school head will be to work directly with all Gateshead schools that have pupils in care and those out of borough schools with pupils who are looked after by Gateshead Council. The role will involve working with a range of professionals including school improvement partners, head teachers, designated teachers, social workers and performance monitoring staff.
Private Tutoring
The virtual school head will also oversee the private tutoring pilot. This will enable pupils in care aged 5 – 16 + to be able to access private tutoring.
Tuition may be offered to a child in care for a variety of reasons, which may include those who:
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have fallen or are likely to fall behind in English and mathematics in relation to what they should be achieving for their age;
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are not progressing in their learning;
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are having difficulties with a particular topic within a subject;
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are potential high achievers (e.g. potential to achieve A* in a subject at GCSE or equivalent);
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have a particular gift or talent for a curriculum subject area.
Find out more about the pilots by clicking on the following links: