Tower Hamlets applauds looked after children

Tower Hamlets Council has always taken its responsibilities to looked after children in its care very seriously. It runs a Virtual School, which it explains as a system “responsible for working with social workers, carers and professionals to promote educational achievement”. Now the Virtual School has held an Awards Ceremony, to recognise the achievements of the current generation of looked after young people.

The ceremony took place at the end of last month at the Museum of London Docklands and over 50 awards were distributed by Tower Hamlets Council’s Looked-After Children’s Manager Khalida Khan and Children’s Social Care Head Nasima Patel. Cllr Rachael Saunders (Deputy Mayor, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services) and Cllr David Edgar (Cabinet Member for Resources) were also present. The awards recognised a range of achievements, including academic excellence, full attendance, progress made and participation in study support and enrichment activities.

The young people receiving awards brought along their carers and social workers to see their triumph, and staff from the Virtual School also came to watch. Attendees were treated to a buffet, a complimentary photo booth and a showing of Give it a go – a film commissioned to document participation in the Virtual School enrichment programme. It was introduced by Lorraine Wood, Acting Head of the Virtual School, and starred many of the award winners present in the audience. There was also a keynote speech from Bonita Norris, who in two years went from learning to climb to being the youngest English person ever to climb Mount Everest.

The ceremony was a great success enjoyed by all, and the team have a second event planned for October.

Cllr Rachael Saunders explained that the Administration decided to spend money on a ceremony as it wants to measure improvement: “Our Strategic Plan contains a clear commitment to raising attainment in our Virtual School, and awards ceremonies like this one play a vital part in that process by rewarding children and in young people for their hard work and inspiring them to go further.”

She went on to thank all those involved, gushing: “It was a great night and fabulous to see the children taking pride in receiving their awards. Both students and teachers at the Virtual School have worked incredibly hard and worked well together, and it’s important that we celebrate their success.”

The Council has only promoted comments from Cabinet Members on this matter.

Councillor Rabina Khan told East London News: “I am delighted to see the Council recognise the achievements of looked after children and I congratulate the young people on their successes. However, Labour is also planning to close down a whole list of youth centres – so I do feel the Administration is sending out very mixed messages about how much it values our young people.”

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