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AFC - Previously looked-after children
AfC Virtual School

Previously Looked-After Children

Support and advice for previously looked-after children's parents, guardians and schools

Achievement for All resource for DTs

Achievement for All provide a free toolkit for designated teachers which you can access at https://afaeducation.org/free-dt-resources/

Additionally, AfC Virtual School is currently working with nine schools to fund a programme called  Achievement for All, providing coaching for designated teachers to support the emotional wellbeing of children looked after and previously looked-after. The Achieving Wellbeing (CLA) Programme coaches and supports designated teachers in schools and key staff in post-16 settings to promote a  culture where the personalised learning needs of  looked after and care experienced children and young people and their personal, emotional and academic needs are prioritised in order to improve wellbeing and attainment.

The Programme consists of five modules:

"The first module (Emotional Wellbeing and Core Strength) explores the critical relationship between emotional wellbeing and mental health, and the impact these two factors can have on learning and personal development. The Achievement for All concept of core strength is also introduced, how it is central to self-efficacy, resilience and personal effectiveness, and its importance in developing lifelong learning capacity in children and young people.

The second module (Making Sense of Behaviours) gives education professionals a deeper insight into childhood trauma, neglect, attachment issues and the impact these have on the observed behaviours of children and young people.

In the Classroom offers a rich seam of developmental tools, strategies and approaches aimed at transforming the culture and climate of the whole education setting. This is relevant to experienced staff as well as those who are newly qualified. New ways of developing inclusive classroom practice and improving behaviour can be explored, introduced and developed.

A range of Therapeutic Interventions are being assembled for your consideration, including tools to build cognition, mindfulness meditations and other emotional wellbeing and mental health strategies, that can be considered as "next steps" on the achievement through wellbeing journey.

Learning in Family Teams (LiFT) is the module dedicated to looked after and previously looked after children and care leavers and supports Designated Teachers and key staff to improve whole setting understanding, to identify and dismantle barriers to progress and work more effectively with other professionals including Virtual Schools."

A link to this programme is here: https://afaeducation.org/core-programmes/achieving-wellbeing-cla/achieving-wellbeing-cla-programme/ If your school is interested, they could apply to the VS for funding support.

Schools and settings can self-fund on any of Achievement for All's programmes, which are all whole school approaches but can be used to focus on a specific cohort of children -  Emotion Coaching might be of particular interest: https://afaeducation.org/specialist-programmes/emotion-coaching/emotion-coaching/

For more information, contact: Anne Cameron, Programme Manager - Children Looked After