LAC - Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council

Our RAISE LAC mentors continue to work directly with our looked after young people aiming to improve their academic achievements. All of our looked after young people in key stages 3 and 4 are assigned to a LAC mentor. The RAISE LAC mentors undertake a range of work including monitoring coursework, developing revision skills/ study skills, monitoring progress and subject specific work [class work and homework]. Mentor support continues to be tailored to meet individual need and in addition to the academic focus the support aims to raise self esteem and assist with personal and emotional development, with mentors actively focusing on future aspirations and advocating on behalf of pupils. Take up of mentoring support continues to be good with 67% of our secondary school aged LAC having voluntarily accessing mentoring support so far this academic year. Mentor support is provided to young people within their education setting or at foster placements and alternative venues if preferred. Although demand for mentoring support has increased we are supporting a larger number of pupils and monitoring them far more effectively. RAISE mentors provide a central point of contact for schools and our young people, leading to improved communication with all involved. Mentoring support is now an integral part of the overall planning in respect of looked after children in Blaenau Gwent. Mentors continue to link with all schools where our children are placed. Effective monitoring of the education progress of our looked after children identifies areas where the young person requires support and allows our RAISE mentors to intervene at the earliest opportunity and ensures that mentoring support is allocated appropriately. The annual evaluation of mentoring support offered has confirmed that the support must continue to be flexible with much emphasis placed upon the personalised approach to learning.Effective sharing of information between mentors and members of staff in schools continues to ensure an appropriate level of understanding is afforded to our looked after young person. Regular face to face and telephone contact between mentors, foster carers and schools ensures that issues are dealt with promptly. Improved communication between placement and school has contributed to a greater understanding of the importance of education within the care setting. Transition planning takes place between key stage 3 and 4 and from key stage 4 onto post 16 education. All our year 11 looked after children are on track to leave school with recognised qualifications at the end of this academic year. RAISE mentors have worked with alternative education providers to ensure access to a diverse curriculum for our LAC not following mainstream GCSE courses. A protocol is due to be launched in July 2011 to support LAC and Care Leavers attending Coleg Gwent.Training continues to be provided and an annual rolling programme of training is now in place. Foster Carers in particular now seem far more aware of the education system as a whole and are now actively promoting educational progress within the home.