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In England, 'Virtual Schools' oversee and support the educational progress of children in care. This paper reports on the analysis of 16 interviews with Virtual School headteachers that were part of two mixed methods research projects on the educational progress of children in care. These interviews explored their role; the types of support they offer young people in care; what they see as the key factors about a young person's individual characteristics and care experiences that influence their educational outcomes; how schools support young people in care; and the influence of the foster carer/residential staff on the educational outcomes of these children. The interviews were analysed using NVivo and emerging themes were identified informed by the literature on the education of children in care. The paper draws out the main findings which explore the status and role of Virtual Schools in England, their functions, strategies, and what they see as their contribution to improving the educational outcomes of children in care.

Youth mentoring is used with young people to help improve their health, wellbeing, and educational attainment. Despite the growing interest in mentoring programmes among policy makers and practitioners the evidence-base is weak, with no randomised controlled trial (RCT) yet undertaken in the UK. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a definitive RCT of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Breakthrough Mentoring, a council-supported programme that provides formal, one-to-one mentoring through paid, adult mentors. 31 secondary school students, judged by school staff to be at risk of exclusion, were approached and 21 (eight girls, 13 boys) were recruited to the study. Participants were aged 12–16 years (mean 14·1) and randomised to receive weekly 2 hour mentoring sessions for one academic year (n=11, intervention) or care as usual (ten, control). Participants were asked to complete self-reported questionnaires, including the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire, which were analysed descriptively. Qualitative interviews were conducted with participants and with parents, schools staff, mentors, and commissioners as part of the process evaluation. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN97394558. Follow-up at 6 and 12 months was 100%, and 86% (n=18) at 18 months. Participants were happy to complete the questionnaires and were accepting of the study design. Control participants reported wanting a mentor and some were mildly upset at not achieving this. Intervention participants indicated that having a mentor, unconnected to school, helped them talk about and deal with difficult feelings. Some reported negative experiences of the way that the mentoring relationship ended. The process evaluation showed that the study design and intervention were acceptable to parents, mentors, schools, and commissioners. The recruitment, randomisation, and retention of students at risk of exclusion from school to an RCT for 6, 12, and 18 months' follow-up is feasible and acceptable. Before a definitive trial can be considered, further research is required to characterise youth mentoring in the UK and to investigate how to best measure its effectiveness. This is a summary of independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research School for Public Health Research.

By age 16 the attainment of most children in or on the edge of out of home care has fallen well behind the average for their age. This paper uses the English National Pupil Database to examine how much of this falling behind occurs before the age of seven, and how any subsequent decline relates to time in care as against time outside it. We compare the previous progress of three groups of 16-year-olds: 5175 looked after by the state (CLA), 17,392 in need but not in care (CIN), and 22,567 children matched with the CLA or CIN on initial attainment, special educational needs, and eligibility for free school meals. We found that the attainment of the CIN and those CLA not yet in care was around one standard deviation below the cohort average at age seven. It then fell relative to their peers while their rate of unauthorised absences and exclusions grew. Removal from home to care appeared to halt or greatly reduce this decline but did not, on average, reverse it. We conclude that educational interventions for CLA should also include CIN, start before seven, target both school and family, and exploit the educational opportunity which care provides.

Educational achievements for children in care are significantly poorer than for the general school population. This book explores why this is and how to enable children in care to succeed in the classroom. It evaluates the educational experience and performance of a sample of 'difficult' adolescents living in foster families, residential children's homes and residential special schools for pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD). The book addresses factors such as the failure to prioritise education for children in care, placement instability and disrupted schooling. It investigates care environments, policy changes and young people's background experiences - as well as the costs of services - in order to gauge the effectiveness of targeted initiatives. The authors adopt a multidisciplinary approach to suggest how best to support children in care in educational settings. This book will be essential reading for professionals supporting children in care, including social workers, directors of children's services, policy makers, school leaders, teachers and managers in the public, voluntary and private sectors. It is also highly relevant for social work and education lecturers, researchers and students.

Children Behaving Badly? is the first publication to directly address the complexity of peer violence from a range of disciplines and perspectives. Provides important insights into theoretical understanding of the issue and produces significant and far reaching implications for policy and practice developments Based on up-to-date research evidence and includes some unpublished findings from recognized experts in multidisciplinary fields Challenges many populist and damaging representations of youth violence and the associated narratives of modern youth as essentially 'evil'

Aortic dissection occurring in the infrarenal abdominal aorta is uncommon. We present the case of a patient presenting with an enlarging abdominal aortic aneurysm and concurrent dissection (with associated radiological imaging) and briefly discuss the literature relating to this phenomenon.

This article reflects on the relationship between child welfare research and policy development in England, particularly the evaluation of pilot initiatives. The illustration selected concerns the education of looked after children ('children in care') and the evaluation of a pilot initiative concerning the Virtual School Head—a senior council employee responsible for overseeing the education of all local looked after children. Child welfare research in England takes insufficient account of the wider theoretical literature on the policy process, which shows that the relationship between research findings and policy development is often problematic. There is an implicit view that child welfare policy is based on research evidence and this assumption holds important implications for the social sciences and for social scientists.