The name of the young person has been changed to maintain confidentiality.
The Virtual School reflects the aims and principles of the ‘Oldham Inclusion Strategy – Education’.
The only thing we’ve changed is the name.
Aisha is a post-16 student who became disengaged from education and was not attending. Oldham’s Virtual School were brought in to help her.
She has attachment issues, inconsistent family contact and has had 13 foster and residential placement moves in two years.
Aisha was initially assessed because of child protection concerns, and was accommodated under section 20.
What the service has done for Aisha
As part of a multi-agency approach, the Virtual School was able to cater for her needs when a mainstream environment could not. A number of provision options were tried without success. During this time staff built a relationship with Aisha and encouraged her engagement.
They identified that her difficulties with peer relationships required an environment where she could develop her interpersonal skills. Individual tuition and other options were tested but were not successful.
Staff identified Aisha’s interests and ensured her opinions were heard and listened to. They supported her application to a specialist music provision course.
What has changed in their lives?
Aisha now attends her music provision course regularly. This has led to a college course in Introduction to Music Course with functional skills in maths and English.
Aisha now attends and engages with alternative provision - building up strong and positive relationships with key adults at a college. This has supported her transition to a mainstream college course.
This stability in education has led to Aisha developing positively in other aspects of his life.
Next steps
Aisha is now moving to a semi-independent unit in Manchester. This is following a settled period of six months in a solo provision where she has made positive progress with her independence.