Written Statement: Supporting the education of care experienced learners

I want all children in Wales to thrive, supported by an education system that has their best interests at heart. 

Care experienced learners can face specific barriers which may impact their ability to thrive in a school environment, such as disruption in their lives outside of school and past traumatic experiences. Recognising the unique experiences and needs of this cohort of learners, the Welsh Government ran a Virtual School Model (VSM) pilot. £1.24 million was provided to local authorities to implement a VSM from 2021-2024. 

The VSM approach supports care experienced learners as if they were in a single school. The virtual school does not exist as a physical institution or building, rather it is a dedicated support network designed to meet the child’s educational and emotional needs, allowing them to thrive in their education setting and achieve their full potential.

Today I am publishing an independent evaluation of the VSM pilot. The report outlines the various ways VSM funding was used to support care experienced children; early impacts of the funding; and a comparison with the approaches taken by local authorities that did not apply for the VSM funding. 

The research identified positive impacts from the VSM pilot such as enhanced integration between teams and services supporting children looked after in local authorities; greater authority associated with the lead role; strengthened strategic collaboration with the pilots who had taken a similar approach; more preventative provision and enhanced levels of data collection. I have visited and heard about the work of virtual schools across Wales and I have seen the value they can provide.

The findings from the VSM evaluation will inform future policy development and strategic direction on the support for care-experienced children within the education system in Wales. The VSM pilot complements other Welsh Government support and resources to enhance educational outcomes for care experienced learners in Wales: 

• Officials have worked with local authorities and Third Sector partners to co-produce a suite of guidance documents intended to help local authorities and schools better understand and respond to the needs of care experienced learners and promote effective practice.
• We are funding Adoption UK Cymru in this financial year to provide training for education practitioners to help them respond effectively to the social and emotional needs of care experienced learners.
• We have commissioned Estyn to undertake a thematic review into the effectiveness of education provision for care experienced learners in 2026. The findings will be used to identify and share effective practice across the sector.
• We are working with the sector to ensure learners benefit from the extra targeted support provided by the Pupil Development Grant for children looked after as well as the School Essentials Grant, available for all children looked after in reception to year 11. 

Care experienced learners are at the heart of this work, with their voices championed by our key partners, including local authorities, Voices from Care and Adoption UK Cymru. 

This work all contributes to my ambition of improving the educational outcomes of our most vulnerable learners. I look forward to continuing to build on this programme of work to make sure care experienced learners have the support they need to achieve their full potential.