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CPD/Short Course

Championing Children with Care Experience - The Designated Teacher Award

Backpack with school supplies
Course details table
Duration: Seven-week block
Location: Online
Cost: £763

APPLY FOR THIS COURSE

Overview

Section 20 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 places a duty on governing bodies to appoint a member of staff to be the Designated Teacher as having the responsibility to promote the educational achievement of Children in Care (CiC) (also known as Children Looked After (CLA)), including those aged between 16 and 18 who are registered pupils at the school, and to ensure that the Designated Teacher undertakes appropriate training (section 20:2). The 2017 Children and Social Work Act extends this duty to children previously looked after. Furthermore, the Children and Families Act 2014 requires councils in England to appoint a Virtual School Head to discharge the local authority’s duty to promote the educational achievement of children in care (CiC).

This module has been developed in collaboration with the Suffolk Virtual School (VS) and Suffolk's Psychology and Therapeutic Services (P&TS) and would be appropriate for Designated Teachers and others working more broadly with children in care/looked after children. The module provides an opportunity to develop a critical, theoretical understanding of person-centred educational provisions for children in care (CiC) and previously looked after children (pLAC). Rethinking education practices within classrooms, it promotes powerful change by breaking with individualistic approaches in education and addresses issues of learning as participation, diversity and inclusion, inter-professional working, and the effects these have on educational achievement. Additionally, this module is underpinned by the UNCRC’s premise that children have a right to participation in matters that concern them and considers how educational provisions can be centred around children’s preferences.

Module Aims

As this module gives scope for practitioners to reflect on their own practice, you are expected to have recently been in practice, currently practitioners or to have access to practice. The module offers an opportunity to identify some of the basic concepts and theories to shape teaching and learning in classrooms to the unique needs of students. You will be encouraged to use elements of these theories to reflect on your own practice and to challenge your current understandings.

Unit 1: Children with care experience
Legal and moral context, the role of the Designated Teacher as a key champion in advocating for children with care experience
 
Unit 2: Attachment awareness
Current thinking around attachment: theory, frameworks, what attachment difficulties look like and how you can offer support
 
Unit 3: Trauma-informed practice
Being trauma-informed, current theories and models, emotional reactivity and sleep, and various relational approaches
 
Unit 4: Person-centred planning
Informed by disability rights, seeking to craft a vision for a person’s life as part of their local community

  • Are you a teacher or headteacher who are looking to champion children in care in your setting?
  • Are you a carer, support worker, and other professional working with children in care?
  • Do you yourself have care experience and wish to learn more about the care system in the UK?
  • Do you have previous study in childhood and are passionate about advocating for underserved groups?

If you are interested in this short course and have questions about if this course is right for you, please get in touch!

BA (Hons) 2:2 or higher OR relevant experience supported by personal statement or other sample of writing

STEP 1

Register your interest

Your employer can do this on your behalf, this is especially useful if a group of participants will be 
applying for the course from one workplace. However, the next steps need to be completed 
individually by the participants.

STEP 2

Complete the Direct Application form

You will need to select "Create a new user"

Ensure you complete all sections with your information. At the end, please ensure you "Submit" and not just save your application.

Course details section
  • Course applied to – ‘PG Individually Negotiated Modules (shorter year) – Non health’
  • Location – University of Suffolk (Ipswich Hub) – please select this option even though it is an online course
  • Entry date – ‘September start’ for taking the module in Block 2 in November OR ‘January 
    start’ for taking the module in Block 4 in April.
  • Status - Ready to Start

 

ACCEPTING THE OFFER

After filling in the application form, your application will be processed by the Admissions team 
(admissions@uos.ac.uk). In due course (allow at least a 3-5 working days), you will receive an email 
confirming your application and issuing you with an ‘Offer’ to accept your place in the course. You 
will have to log in and ‘Accept’ the offer.

The Admissions team may ask you to add more details into your application if anything was missing 
beforehand. This might be information about your funding, e.g., who is paying the invoice, etc.

This module is part of the MA Education degree.

For more information on the module please contact CPD enquire