Two Timetables: training for schools and social careOne child, two timetables.
Training that puts school and social care in the same room to sort out the clash points. You leave with a written agreement on what each side will do.
- Length
- 6 hours face to face, or 2 hours online
- Group
- Up to 60 face to face, 200 online
- For
- Designated teachers, social workers, virtual schools, carers
- Included
- Workbook, 12 months online, certificate
School runs on terms, timetables and exam dates. Social care runs on visits, reviews, court dates and whichever home is available. Children with a social worker live between the two. Meetings get booked in lesson time. Moves happen mid-term. Information arrives weeks after the child does. For children in care, the personal education plan should hold it together. Too often it is a form filled in each term, not a plan anyone works to.
Who it’s for
Schools
Designated teachers, SENCOs and designated safeguarding leads
Social workers
Social workers, personal advisers and independent reviewing officers
Virtual schools
Virtual school staff
Carers
Foster, kinship and residential carers who attend PEP and school meetings
- Up to 60 face to face, 200 online
- Best with school and social care together
- No knowledge of the other system needed
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, people will be able to:
- 1
Describe a week in the life of a child with a social worker from the child’s side, showing where the school and social care timetables collide.
- 2
Identify the clash points in their area, such as meetings in lesson time, moves mid-term and missing information, and who can fix each one.
- 3
Explain, using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (1979), why the link between school and social care matters to a child’s learning, and set out the roles of the designated teacher, the virtual school head and the social worker, including for children with a social worker and children in kinship care.
- 4
Apply the rules on education stability when a child in care moves, including nominated officer approval for moves that would disrupt education in years 10 and 11.
- 5
Write PEP targets that include the child’s views, using Laura Lundy’s model of participation (2007), and link Pupil Premium Plus spending to them.
- 6
Agree written joint habits with colleagues on the other side that protect a child’s education, such as notice for meetings and what is shared before a move.
Our learning framework in this course
Every Care Leaders Learning course follows Story, Theory, Action. Here is how it runs through Two Timetables: When School Meets Social Care.
Story
Every part opens with one child’s week.
Two composite stories: Ellie, 14, whose review clashes with her maths mock and whose PEP misses why she leaves early, and Aaron, 9, who moves foster home in February.
Theory
Then the guidance or theory that explains it.
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, the DfE’s statutory guidance on promoting the education of looked-after and previously looked-after children, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023, and Laura Lundy’s model of participation.
Action
Then a tool school and social care staff use together.
A shared picture of each other’s week, a clash point map, rewritten PEP targets with a shared checklist, and a written agreement on what each side will do differently.
The course in four parts
Every part opens with one child’s week and ends with a tool both sides use together. The stories are composites. They draw on real experiences of care but are not one person. Open a part to see what happens.
1Two worlds
Story. Ellie, 14, has a maths mock at 10am on Tuesday. Her review is booked for 10am on Tuesday, because it’s the only slot her social worker, reviewing officer and carer all had free. Her maths teacher finds out when she doesn’t turn up.
Theory. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (1979) says a child is shaped not only by home and school but by how well the two connect. When the adults in each world can’t see the other’s timetable, the child carries the gap.
Action. Two timetables, side by side. School staff and social care staff each map a typical week for Ellie and mark the fixed points, such as exams, court dates, visits and reviews, then explain to each other what drives their decisions.
By the end of this part people can describe the pressures behind decisions on the other side and point to where the two timetables collide for one child.
You leave with A shared picture of each other’s working week and pressures
2The gaps
Story. Aaron, 9, moves to a new foster home in February. His new school finds out about his reading support three weeks after he arrives, when his old school’s file turns up.
Theory. The DfE’s statutory guidance on promoting the education of looked-after and previously looked-after children expects a school place to be arranged alongside a new home, with extra protection for children in years 10 and 11, where a nominated officer must approve a move that would disrupt their education. Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 is clear that sharing information early is part of keeping children safe.
Action. A clash point map. Mixed groups list every clash in Aaron’s move and in their own area, then name who can fix each one and by when.
By the end of this part people can apply the education stability rules to a planned move and name who fixes each clash point in their area.
You leave with A list of the clash points in your area, and who can fix each one
3The plan
Story. Ellie’s PEP target has said “improve attendance” for three terms. Nobody has asked her why she misses Wednesdays. It’s the day she sees her brother after school, and she leaves early to make the bus.
Theory. The statutory guidance expects the PEP to be part of the care plan, reviewed each school term and shaped with the child. Laura Lundy’s model of participation (2007) gives four tests for that: space, voice, audience and influence. Ellie had a space and a voice. Nobody with influence heard her.
Action. PEP rewrite. Staff take targets from a real, anonymised PEP and rewrite them so they are specific, include the child’s views using Lundy’s four tests, and link to Pupil Premium Plus spending.
By the end of this part people can rewrite a PEP target so it is specific, reflects the child’s view and is linked to Pupil Premium Plus.
You leave with A shared checklist for PEPs, meetings and moves, and rewritten targets from a real PEP
4The deal
Story. Aaron’s designated teacher and social worker agree one thing: a text the day before any visit in school hours, so it can be moved out of PE, the lesson he loves. It costs nothing, and he stops missing it.
Theory. Back to Bronfenbrenner: the link between school and social care is something adults can strengthen on purpose. Small, written habits that both sides agree hold up better than goodwill when people change jobs.
Action. The deal. School and social care staff agree what each needs from the other: notice for meetings, what is shared before a move, and who calls whom. They write it down before anyone leaves the room.
By the end of this part people can agree and write down joint habits with colleagues on the other side, with a named contact on each.
You leave with A written agreement on what each side will do differently
What you get with each course
Included for every delegate, however you run it.
A workbook to keep
Every delegate gets their own copy, with the stories, the tools and space to plan.
The online course for 12 months
An interactive course on The Care Leaders Online, for 12 months after the training.
The recording for 12 months
Live online sessions are recorded, so people can catch up or go back over a part.
A certificate of completion
For each delegate, to keep for their own development record.
Choose how you run it
Two ways to run the course.
Face to face
We come to you for a day, 10am to 4pm, in your building or a venue you choose. It works best as a joint session for schools and their social care teams, at mixed tables.
- When One day, 10am to 4pm
- Group Up to 60 people
- You provide A screen or projector with an HDMI connection
- We provide The facilitator, a workbook for every delegate and 12 months of the online course
Live online
A 2-hour live session on Teams or Zoom covering the key story, theory and tool from each part. Mixed breakout rooms mean school and social care teams across a large area can join.
- When One 2-hour session
- Group Up to 200 people
- You provide A device with a camera, microphone and internet connection for each delegate
- We provide The facilitator, the online links for delegates, a workbook for every delegate, 12 months of the online course and the recording
What changes
- Book meetings, visits and family time around lessons and exams, not across them
- Use the PEP as a working plan, with targets the child helped to set
- Arrange a new school place at the same time as a new home, with the virtual school
- Share what the school needs to know before a move, not after it
- Say clearly what they need from colleagues on the other side, and who to call
- Fewer lessons missed for meetings and visits
- A PEP that reflects what they want and need
- Not having to repeat their story to every new adult
- Moves that take their education into account
Questions commissioners ask
How is the day structured?
Four parts, each built the same way. Story: one child’s week, such as Ellie’s review booked over her maths mock or Aaron’s school file arriving three weeks late. Theory: what explains it, from Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and Lundy’s model of participation to the statutory guidance on education and moves. Action: a tool school and social care use together, such as the clash point map, a PEP rewrite and a written agreement. Face to face it runs for 6 hours, usually 10am to 4pm, with breaks. Live online it is a 2-hour session covering the key story, theory and tool from each part.
Do we need both school and social care staff there?
It works best with both, because hearing the other side is the point. If that isn’t possible, we run it for one group and bring the other side’s view in through the stories and real examples.
Will it help with PEP quality?
Yes. Part 3 is given to the personal education plan. Staff rewrite targets from a real, anonymised PEP and leave with a shared checklist for PEPs, meetings and moves that both sides can use.
Does it cover children with a social worker who are not in care?
Yes. The PEP applies to children in care, but the clash points apply to any child with a social worker. Virtual school heads have had a role for children with a social worker since 2021, extended to children in kinship care in 2024, and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 puts that role on a statutory footing. We cover what that means for schools.
Can a virtual school run it for its whole area?
Yes. A virtual school can bring together designated teachers and the social work teams in its area, face to face or live online, so the agreement in part 4 covers the whole area.
Who delivers it?
Trainers with lived experience of care and professional experience of children’s services. The course was designed by Luke Rodgers BEM, who grew up in care and has spent his career leading change in children’s services, and it follows our Story, Theory, Action approach.
How do you price it?
Each format has one flat fee. Face to face covers up to 60 people, and over 60 we charge for an additional facilitator. Live online covers up to 200 people. The workbook, the online course and the recording are included in the flat fee. Tell us what you need and we will send you a quote.
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The Designated Leaders ProgrammeA year that turns designated teachers into leaders of trauma-informed practice in their school.A school yearTalk to us about Two Timetables: When School Meets Social Care
Tell us who it is for and roughly how many people. We will shape it around your service and send you a quote.