School Age

Termly Rewards

The Virtual School provides a termly reward scheme that provides all Nottingham City children in care with the opportunity to be rewarded for educational and personal achievements. Students are nominated by Virtual School staff and can receive a £10 voucher, certificate and congratulations letter. 

Education Psychology Service

There are many reasons why it might be necessary for an Educational Psychologist (EP) to become involved with supporting a child/young person in care or the team around them. EPs support settings to educate, nurture and provide an inclusive learning environment for all young people but particularly those with high levels of additional needs or who may be additionally vulnerable.

More information about the Educational Psychology Service

How can this intervention be accessed?

If you feel that you would like an EP to see a Nottingham City child in care, you should contact a member of the Nottingham City Virtual School Team.

It is likely that you will have already put various strategies in place to support the young person and that additional support has been offered by the setting’s SENCO and Designated Teacher (DT) for looked after children. The need for EP involvement will have been discussed with members of the setting team and may have been discussed at a PEP (Personal Education Plan) meeting or another type of education meeting. It may be that the school’s own EP will work with the young person but if this is not possible, the EP commissioned by the Virtual School may become involved.

It could be the Social Worker, DT, SENCO or member of the school management team who contacts the Virtual School. The Virtual School will be pleased to discuss the situation with you and gather the initial information before contacting the EP Service. It is of benefit for the EP Service to become involved at an early stage so making a referral does not always mean that concerns have become serious.

Below are the key areas in which EP support is offered, along with some of the training, assessment and intervention opportunities:

Social Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health

• Attachment Training
• ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) Training
• Emotion Coaching Training
• Restorative Approach Training
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Based Intervention

• Circle of Adults/Friends
• Functional Behaviour Analysis
• Theraplay Principles-Based Training

Communication and Learning

• Lego-Based Therapy Training
• Paired Reading Training
• Precision Teaching Training
• Working Memory Training
• Language Assessment
• Numeracy Assessment
• Sensory Assessment
• Standardised Cognitive Assessment

Planning, Problem Solving and Systematic Development

• Consultation
• Force Field Analysis
• Solution Circles
• MAP (Making Action Plans)
• PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope)

Other Areas of Work

• Psychology with the Early Years: Early Years Assessment
• Psychology with 16-25 Year Olds
• Risk Analysis

Blue Cabin Arts Award

For the past two years we have worked with Blue Cabin to support young people to achieve their Arts Award. This has involved a supportive workshop with exceptional artists who have developed the young peoples' understanding of the arts. We are excited to be offering this again to young people aged 10-11. 

Children's Society Mentoring

We have commissioned the Children's Society to deliver high quality, targeted mentoring for young people. This is focused on building their ability to engage in education through one to one connection with a youth mentor. 

Virtual Schools Leaflet 2025