A ’virtual head teacher’ could be introduced to monitor the educational progress of looked-after children.

It is one of the options under consideration, Education Minister Graham Cregeen MHK revealed in response to a Tynwald question from children’s champion Tim Baker this week.

Mr Baker (Ayre and Michael) asked what arrangements were in place for monitoring the attainment of pupils who were in care.

The minister said his department was drawing up a new approach to the education of looked-after children.

That included ’exploring the value of a virtual head teacher and how this could potentially be incorporated into our work’.

All schools already have a designated teacher to oversee provision and monitor the attainment of any looked-after children in the school, while the education improvement service had a responsibility for monitoring the progress of vulnerable pupils, including looked-after children.

But the virtual head teacher - a role created by a number of local authorities in the UK to have someone oversee the requirements of looked-after children in schools - would be different from that.

’This role is more strategic and wider reaching than the individual schools’ designated teacher role and involves looking at and challenging the educational achievement of all looked-after children right across the department,’ he added.

’They look at the progress not only of individual looked-after children, but also the group as a whole and in comparison to the population. They can identify trends, anomalies and action plans to counter against the identified trends.’

Education officials have been working with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Voices in Participation Council - a forum for young people to relate their experiences of being in care - to develop a new ’personal education planning process’ for all looked-after children.

This will be launched soon, with education staff training next year.

Mr Cregeen added: ’My department is currently identifying a set of key performance indicators that can be used to measure and report on the progress and attainment of looked-after children to the safeguarding board on an annual basis.’