Virtual School Training - Print version

Elena Allen – Coventry Virtual School Training Lead and Lead Advisory Teacher

As the Training Lead for Coventry Virtual School, I design and deliver educational training across a range of educational settings and children’s services. I work closely with key stakeholders to develop tailored training that empowers the team around the child to effectively advocate for our young people. My goal is to ensure they receive the highest level of educational support, enabling them to reach their full potential. A key focus of my role is to enhance engagement and deepen understanding across the workforce.

The Virtual School provides training for:

• Designated Teachers and education settings
• Experienced and newly qualified social workers
• Foster carers

Support and training opportunities for designated teachers and education settings

Championing education for children in care – designated teachers training

Coventry Virtual School Designated Teacher training is delivered by a team of education professionals with strong backgrounds as qualified teachers. Their experience spans across primary and secondary education, school leadership in both mainstream and specialist SEMH settings, as well as key roles such as SENCOs and Designated Teachers. This depth of expertise ensures our training is practical, relevant, and rooted in real-world school experience. Our aim is to support schools in fulfilling their statutory duty to promote and support the education of children in care, helping them to achieve positive educational outcomes.

Training is delivered both face to face and as a pre-recorded video, allowing designated teachers the opportunity to access the training as often as needed.

Flourish

In addition to our Designated Teacher training offer, Coventry Virtual School is proud to partner with Flourish Training to provide all of our schools with one fully funded licence, giving them access to a wide range of education-specific training designed to support staff working with vulnerable children and young people.

Each licence grants access to 41 high-quality, online courses through Flourish’s learning platform: Flourish Education Bundle [https://flourish.co.uk/bundles/education/?utm_source=chatgpt.com].

About the training

Flourish offers trauma-informed training developed by subject matter experts in education. Their person-centred, interactive courses are designed to equip school staff with practical tools and strategies to create positive, inclusive learning environments where vulnerable children can feel safe, supported, and ready to thrive.

What’s included

Your licence provides access to 41 courses, including:

• ADHD Awareness
• Adoption, Post-Permanence and the Role of Schools
• Bereavement
• Bullying
• Child-on-Child Abuse
• Child Sexual Exploitation
• Communicating with Children and Young People
• Conduct Disorder
• County Lines
• Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, and Dyscalculia
• Emotion Coaching
• Emotionally Based School Avoidance
• Equality and Diversity – An Introduction
• Female Genital Mutilation – An Introduction
• Fire Prevention and Safety – An Introduction
• Fire Safety Awareness
• First Aid Refresher
• Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
• Food Hygiene – An Introduction
• GDPR – An Introduction
• Harmful Sexual Behaviours
• Health and Safety – An Introduction
• Impulsive Behaviour
• Introduction to Mindfulness
• Introduction to Reflective Practice
• Managing Challenging Behaviour
• Online Safety and Cyberbullying
• Paediatric First Aid Refresher
• Promoting the Achievement of Looked After Children in Education
• Radicalisation
• Safeguarding – An Introduction
• Self-Harming Behaviours
• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
• SEND – Code of Practice
• Suicide Awareness and Prevention
• Supporting Asylum-Seeking and Refugee Children
• Supporting Pupils with Mental Health Difficulties
• Supporting Pupils with Unmet Attachment Needs
• The Role of the Designated Teacher
• Transitions in Education
• Understanding Trauma and Its Impact on Young People

How to register

To create your account or find out more, please get in touch via Contact - Flourish [https://flourish.co.uk/contact/]

Support and training opportunities for social workers

Coventry Virtual School delivers bespoke training to both newly qualified and experienced social workers, designed to deepen their understanding of how to effectively support the education of children in care. The training explores the vital role social workers play in promoting positive educational outcomes, including their responsibilities in contributing to Personal Education Plans (PEPs), supporting school admissions and transfers, and understanding the processes around Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Through this training, we aim to strengthen collaborative working and ensure every child in care receives the educational support they need to thrive.

Social care drop-in development sessions

We’re excited to invite you to our drop-in sessions, which will be held in person.

Come along and connect with colleagues from:

• Admissions
• Specialist Services
• Early Years SEND Team
• Attendance Team

These sessions are a great chance to ask questions, share ideas, and build links with the services that support your work.

Support and training opportunities for foster carers

We want to make sure our foster carers and connected carers feel supported, confident, and connected when it comes to education. Here’s what’s available to you this year:

Advisory teachers at coffee mornings

Advisory teachers are happy to attend foster carer coffee mornings (on request). These sessions are a lovely opportunity to:

• build positive relationships
• learn more about the role of the Virtual School
• ask questions in an informal, supportive space

Please email the Virtual School at virtualschool@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:virtualschool@coventry.gov.uk] if you would like us to attend one of your events.

West Midlands Virtual School training offer

Coventry Virtual School is part of the West Midlands Virtual School training programme, which is open to all foster carers.

• 12 different training courses are available each year
• each course is delivered twice annually in 2-hour sessions
• a flyer with full details will be shared with you by the fostering team

Training topics include:

• attachment, trauma & their impact on education
• supporting reading (Primary & KS3)
• emotion coaching
• understanding the SEND process
• therapeutic play
• Post-16 education options
• supporting sensory needs
• promoting emotional self-regulation
• phonics development

…and much more!

Online training (termly)

Coventry Virtual School Advisory Teachers also deliver online training each term, focused on supporting the education of children in care:

Please email elena.allen@coventy.gov.uk [mailto:elena.allen@coventy.gov.uk] if you would like to attend one of our foster carer education training events.

Special Year 11 Training – Autumn Term

For foster carers with a young person in Year 11, we’re running a dedicated session on: Wednesday 19 November 6pm to 7pm at the Council House – Committee Room 3

• careers advice
• planning next steps after GCSEs

Post-16 PEP training video - external providers

PEP Co-ordinator

As a Post-16 provider educating children in care of Coventry, you will have an account on our EPEP system EGOV. If you do not yet have an account, please contact the virtual school by emailing virtualschool@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:virtualschool@coventry.gov.uk].

To support you in using the system, we have created a short training video that walks through the process of completing a Post-16 PEP on EGov.

If you would like the Virtual School team to visit your setting to deliver an extended face-to-face training session - covering Post-16 PEP completion, the EGov platform, or wider aspects of your role in supporting the education of children in care - please let us know. We will be happy to arrange this at a convenient time.

Thank you for your continued support in helping ensure our young people in care receive high-quality education and consistent PEP planning.