Fewer than five children in care have attended fee-paying schools over the past five years, according to the Children’s Minister – who insisted there is no blanket policy preventing looked-after children from accessing independent education.
Constable Richard Vibert said children in care were considered for school places through the same admissions process as all other children, with additional consideration given to their individual needs and the government’s responsibilities as their corporate parent.
The minister was responding to questions from the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel about how decisions are made when foster children change schools, whether foster carers and children have a meaningful say in the process, and whether looked-after children can attend fee-paying schools.
Mr Vibert acknowledged that “isolated issues” had been brought to his attention, but said these were “not common, and certainly not indicative of a thematic regarding foster carers experiencing difficulties in respect of school transfers for children in care”.
He added: “As far as I am aware, the child’s best interests are always held central to all decision making for children in our care.”
However, Mr Vibert admitted that fee-paying schools “do not form part of the standard placement options” available through Jersey’s admissions process. However, he stressed this was not because of a blanket restriction on children in care.
Instead, decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, taking account of each child’s individual circumstances, educational needs and best interests.
Records showed that fewer than five children in care had attended fee-paying schools in the last five years, although Mr Vibert said no further detail could be provided because of the risk of identifying those children or their families.
He added that those placements had not been approved or rejected by the department, but appeared to have been pre-existing or privately arranged by parents or family members before the children entered care.
Mr Vibert explained that no single professional could decide to move a child in care to another school.
Any proposed change must be agreed by both the child’s social worker and the Virtual School Head, whose role is to safeguard the educational interests of children in care and ensure any move is supported by evidence that it is in the child’s best interests.
The minister said a wide range of factors could be considered before a placement decision was made, including the child’s educational progress, emotional wellbeing, friendships, any special educational needs, placement stability, school capacity and the wishes of the child, parents and carers.
Decisions, he said, were made collaboratively to secure the most appropriate educational provision.
Mr Vibert also outlined the role of the Personal Education Plan (PEP), which is reviewed three times a year for every child in care.
While the document is not used to make school placement decisions, it records the views of the child and foster carers and provides evidence to help professionals decide whether a school is meeting a child’s needs.
Foster carers and children are encouraged to attend PEP meetings and express their views, which are formally recorded.
