The REACH Team (Raising Education Attainment for Children in Care) was formed with the responsibility for supporting children and young people in care, their carers and schools, working with Family Services staff, education staff and foster carers, to ensure the child or young person reaches their full potential.
The aims of the Reach Team are to:
- Co-ordinate services and develop ways to improve education and outcomes for children and young people in care within the Wakefield District
- Liaise with a range of professionals involved with the child or young person in care, including, schools, foster carers, social workers and the children or young people themselves to ensure appropriate education is established
- Encourage young people to strive for nationally recognised qualifications
- Collect and analyse achievement and attendance data to monitor children and young people's progress and report to reviews and planning meetings
- Celebrate and reward educational successes
- Provide educational resources including nursery, starting school and transition to high school equipment bags and revision material for KS2 and KS3 SATs and GCSE's
- Offer direct educational support in or out of class working in partnership with schools
- Provide educational resources for carers
The aim of the team is to work proactively to ensure children in care have the same entitlement afforded to them as other children. The Council is required to meet targets set by DCSF to raise the educational attainment of children in care.
What else do we do?
We help children and young people in care:
- to attend school
- with their education, in and out of school
- with any emotional support they may need.
We organise and facilitate:
- after school activity clubs
- alternative provision offering accreditation - eg Arts Award, Asdan
- opportunities for children and young people to attend Playing for Success study centres
- a supportive transition group for year 6 and 7
- an Aim Higher group
- adventurous residential weekends
- activity days
- a regular newsletter
We offer support and training to:
- Foster carers
- Social Workers
- Residential Unit staff
- Designated teachers
- Newly qualified teachers
- School Governors
- Learning Mentors
