Governors' Responsibilties for Cared for Children

New - Cheshire East Corporate Parenting Guide (PDF, 141KB), available to download.

From 1st September 2009 the Governing Bodies of all maintained schools have been required to appoint a designated teacher to promote the educational achievement of cared for children who are on the school roll.

As part of the arrangements for monitoring the effectiveness of the the Designated Teacher Governing Bodies should, as a minimum, receive an annual report from the designated teacher. This should cover:

any workload issues arising as a result of the number of cared for children on roll at the school and the number of Local Authorities which are involved;
levels of progress made by cared for children who are currently or have been on roll within the past twelve months in relation to all children in the school (ie educational, social and emotional progress);
whether the pattern of attendance and exclusions for cared for children is different to that of all children;
any process or planning issues arising from personal education plans (PEPs);
whether any are identified as gifted and talented and how those needs are being met;
whether any have special educational needs (SEN) and whether those needs are being me through statements or School Action or School Action Plus;
how the teaching and learning needs of cared for children are reflected in school development plans and are being met in relation to interventions and resources;
training provided for the designated teacher in order to impart knowledge and understanding about the education and well-being of cared for children to colleagues;
work with virtual school heads or their equivalents in Local Authorities;
the impact of any of the school’s policies, for example on charging for educational visits and extended school activities, on cared for children.

To protect a child’s need for confidentiality, it is important to ensure that the report does not mention individual children by name.

In addition to considering and acting on an annual report, school Governing Bodies should make sure that there are arrangements in place to keep themselves informed about provision for, and attainment of, cared for children on the school’s roll on a more regular basis

Further Guidance

Cheshire East's Guidance on the Role of the Designated Teacher (PDF, 93KB) can be downloaded here.

The full statutory guidance can be downloaded by following the link to the Teachernet website.

It is recommended that your Governing Body has a governor with particular responsibilities for cared for children. A role description for the Cared for Children Governor (PDF, 36KB) is available here.