The achievements of young people who have experience of care have been celebrated at a local awards ceremony last week, (Friday 9 February).
The award ceremony, held by the Virtual School - which provides extra-curricular support for young people with experience of care – honoured the achievements of 140 of its pupils.
Although the Virtual School does not exist as a physical building, it provides a range of educational support for care-experienced young people, including study support sessions, opportunities for out of school learning, wellbeing support, back to school advice and training for teachers and institutions.
To recognise the achievement of young people, there were three awards categories, including Progress and Development, Academic Excellence and Enrichment awards.
The awards were judged by David Cregan (Executive Head Teacher of the Virtual School for CIOC (Children in our care), Helen Murphy (Deputy Headteacher at the Corporate School) along with special guest, Jaz Ampaw-Farr (Motivational speaker, TV presenter, comedian and long-term supporter of the Virtual School).
Lutfur Rahman, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said:
“The Virtual School is an integral support system for care experienced young people in our borough.
“It is vital that young people with caring responsibilities are able to receive the support and advice they need to achieve their educational goals.”
Cllr Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning, said:
“I was delighted to hear that the Virtual School held an Awards Ceremony to celebrate so many young people achieving their educational goals.
“It is important that we continue to celebrate and reward these achievements to ensure that care experienced young people’s efforts are recognised."
Posted on Wednesday 14th February 2024