This report seeks approval for Wirral Virtual School to carry out a mini competition with supply or tuition agencies. These agencies would need to demonstrate how they could provide school staff (eg, teachers/TAs), face to face or online tutors, and mentors for Wirral Looked After Children. This support is needed on an often urgent but generally temporary basis. Wirral Virtual School aims to offer short term support to individual looked after children to allow them to have better educational outcomes. This support has been made even more necessary following the pandemic and the impact it has had, with children displaying heightened anxiety and challenging behaviours which schools struggle to cope with and manage.

Wirral Virtual School is a statutory local authority service with the responsibility of supporting and improving the education and outcomes of Looked After Children and Young Care Leavers. There are currently 780 children in the care of Wirral Local Authority. Wirral Virtual School promotes their educational achievement in Wirral and also nationwide due to some looked after children being placed out of borough. Their primary role is to ensure looked after children are in education, supported in education and make academic progress and achieve good outcomes. The team consists of highly experienced staff many of whom were senior leaders in mainstream/specialist education across all key stages.

The report supports the Implementation of the Wirral Plan 2021 - 26, specifically the Brighter Futures theme.

This matter affects all wards and is a key decision