Choosing a school or other education setting

Looked after and previously looked after children start with the disadvantage of their pre-care experiences. They also often have special educational needs.

When a child becomes looked-after, his or her local authority will arrange a suitable care placement.

The child’s allocated social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to the child’s education, whatever the child’s age, and this should involve the Virtual School.

Stability and continuity in education is important at all stages, but particularly so at key stage 4.

If it is not possible to maintain the child’s existing education placement, the child’s new education placement should be arranged in consultation with the Virtual School at the same time as the care placement.

Ofsted gradings

• OFSTED now replaces single-word judgments with detailed report cards, featuring a new 5-point grading scale: exceptional, strong, expected, needs attention, urgent improvement for specific areas like curriculum, attendance, and inclusion, aiming to provide clearer, fairer, and more nuanced feedback for parents and schools.
• Schools considered exceptional, strong, and expected, should be prioritised when seeking a place for looked-after children in need of a new school.
• Ensure the report cards are read as a school may ‘need attention’ overall in their inspection grade but some of the areas for example, personal development and wellbeing may be ‘expected’. The person with PR will then be able to make an informed decision.
• When consideration is given to schools judged ‘needs attention’ or 'urgent improvement’, Virtual School, carers and social workers should have evidence that the school is providing high-quality support to its vulnerable pupils.
• When consideration is given to schools judged ‘requiring improvement’, Virtual School headteachers (VSHs), carers and social workers should have evidence that the school can provide the best outcomes for the child.
• Unless there are exceptional evidence-based reasons, looked-after children should never be placed in a school graded low by OFSTED.

Our advice

The choice of the education setting should be based on what any good parent would want for their child.

Your child’s wishes and feelings should be taken into account, and the suitability of the education setting tested by arranging an informal visit with your child.

When looking at schools it is important to explore whether the school has a good pastoral team to support the child. This may include offering therapeutic support or 1:1 mentoring.

Consider the school site, classroom layout and smaller break out spaces if required.

Many children in care have had adverse childhood experiences, so it is important to consider whether the school selected:

• is attachment aware
• has an understanding of trauma-informed practice

Travelling to school

It is important to consider how the child will travel to and from the school applied for, taking distance into consideration and if this is feasible for carers to manage effectively.

SEND

If your child has special educational needs or a disability (SEND), consider whether your chosen schools are suitable for their specific needs.

For more information, visit our School admissions - SEND section.

Page last updated: 3 February 2026