Resources and publications for the Virtual School
Resources for foster parents, parents, schools, social workers, children and young people.
Newsletters
Designated Teachers:
- DT Update - Spring 1 January 2026 (pdf format, 670 KB)
- Coram Voice Bright Spots survey - 2024 results (pdf format, 471KB)
For those with parental responsibility:
If you want to access previous versions of either newsletter, contact us.
Online safety guides
Designated teacher training
- PEP meeting guidance (pdf format, 72Kb)
- PEP Toolkit (pdf format, 293Kb)
- Review of what works for DT training (pdf format, 327Kb)
For parents and carers
- Life story work (pdf format, 1.3Mb)
A resource for foster carers, residential social workers, adoptive parents and kinship carers, to support this work. - 30 hours information sheet for social workers and foster parents (pdf format, 553Kb)
- 30 hours application form (docx format, 95Kb)
Supporting your child with reading and spelling
- First 100 high frequency sight words (pdf format, 38Kb)
- Second 100 high frequency sight words (pdf format, 44Kb)
- Helen Arkell paired reading (pdf format, 95Kb)
- Helen Arkell supporting children to read at home (pdf format, 960Kb)
- Helen Arkell supporting children to spell at home (pdf format, 591Kb)
- How to use a spelling window (docx format, 325Kb)
For children and young people
The Who Cares? Trust has published three new factsheets for young people in care and care leavers:
- All about the money - focusing on financial support that care leavers are entitled to or can apply for
- The name game - which introduces children and young people in care to the different professionals who they might meet from Children’s Services
- Pathway to success - which explains what a pathway plan is and how to get the most from one.
- National Care Advisory Service (NCAS) Guide to Employment for care leavers
- EAL at Oxford Spires Academy (pdf format, 32Kb)
For schools and teachers
- Working definition of trauma-informed practice - GOV.UK
- OCC Educational Psychology Service
- Condition-specific videos - This suite of introductory training videos from the National Association for Special Educational Needs was created in 2019 with the aim of providing Early Career Teachers (ECTs)/ Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) with helpful pointers, techniques and advice on inclusive teaching strategies. The videos cover ADHD, Acquired Brain Injury, Autism, Down’s Syndrome, Dyscalculia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Hearing Impairment, Physical Disability, Social, Emotional and Mental Health, Speech, Language and Communication Needs and Visual Impairment.
- Framework for evaluating the effectiveness of the school’s provision (docx format, 59Kb)
- Children We Care For self-evaluation framework guidance (docx format, 43Kb)
- Top tips for outstanding LAC provision (pdf format, 96Kb)
- Attachment difficulties in children and young people - overview (pdf format, 215Kb)
- The adopted child in school (pdf format, 2Mb)
- Introduction to Adverse Childhood Experiences - A 50-min online course funded by the Home Office Early Intervention Fund.
- Inclusion support plan (doc format, 139Kb)
- Inclusion contract - exemplar from Gosford Hill School (docx format, 22Kb)
- Supporting risk assessment (doc format, 114Kb)
- Welcoming adopted children to nursery (pdf format, 20Kb)
- Welcoming adopted children to primary school (pdf format, 20Kb)
- Welcoming adopted children to secondary school (pdf format, 20Kb)
- Working definition of trauma-informed practice - This document seeks to provide a working definition of trauma-informed practice for practitioners working in the health and care sector.
- Welcome to Beacon House -Beacon House is a specialist, innovative and creative therapeutic service for young people, families and adults
Pack to aid schools in identifying and supporting speech, language, and communication needs in vulnerable learners
- 9 reasons to use visuals graphic (pdf format, 1Mb)
- NHS Oxford Health Communication Screening Obs check (docx format, 28Kb)
- NYCC Secondary Pupil Communication Checklist Oxon (docx format, 157Kb)
- Oxfordshire SLCN Guidance for Vulnerable Learners (docx format, 347Kb)
- Oxfordshire SLCN resources for secondary schools (docx format, 348Kb)
- Oxfordshire SLT Service Lesson Observation proforma (docx format, 21Kb)
- Oxfordshire Universal Provision for SLCN (docx format, 21Kb)
- Pathway for Exploring SLCN in Vulnerable Learners (docx format, 418Kb)
- SLCN Training from the Virtual School and Dr Hester Riviere(pptx format, 3.6Mb)
- Supporting Vocabulary Development - Primary (pptx format, 623Kb)
- Supporting Vocabulary Development - Secondary (pptx format, 2Mb)
- The Communication Trust Universally Speaking 5 to 11 years Checklist (pdf format, 209Kb)
- The Communication Trust Universally Speaking 11 to 18 years (pdf format, 1Mb)
Dyslexia
- Neurodiversity Profiler: Early Years/Foundation Stage (ages 4 - 6) (xls format, 212Kb)
- Neurodiversity Profiler: Primary Level (ages 7 - 11) (xls format, 226Kb)
- Neurodiversity Profiler: Secondary Level (ages 12 - 16) (xls format, 92Kb)
- Neurodiversity Profiler - Post 16 Level (xls format, 90Kb)
For Early Years providers
For governors
Contact us to find the governors.
School governors
School governing bodies should receive, as a minimum, an annual report from the school's designated teacher for looked after children, in order to monitor the effectiveness of the role.
Templates for reporting to governors about looked after children by the designated teacher for looked after children can be found below. These documents were updated in May 2016.
- Appendix A Primary (doc format, 97Kb)
- Annual report to school governors (docx format, 158 KB)
- Appendix B KS3 (doc format, 104Kb)
- Appendix C KS4 (doc format, 107Kb)
- Appendix D - Post 16: Proforma for report (docx format, 55Kb)
- Guidance for Governors (pdf format, 213Kb)
- 10 questions to be asked by a governor meeting the Designated Teacher for Looked After Children (pdf format, 104Kb)
- DT guidance - Annexe 1 (pdf format, 161Kb)
- Children in care Governors Guide (pdf format, 3 KB)