Celebrating Partnership and Progress: Join Welfare Call at Wonde Discover, BETT 2026
Since 2020, Welfare Call’s partnership with Wonde has helped transform how Virtual School Heads collect and act on attendance data. What began as an innovative step forward has become a vital hybrid model for safeguarding, inclusion, and improved outcomes. This January, we’re proud to take that partnership further, joining Wonde on the Wonde Discover stand […]
Coming Together for Our Community: Supporting Barnsley Foodbank This Christmas
At Welfare Call, we’re proud to be based in Barnsley, and even prouder to play a small part in supporting the community around us. Today, two carloads of donations from our staff were delivered to the Barnsley Foodbank, just in time for the festive season. From long-life staples to Christmas treats, our team came together […]
ARC 2025 Conference Reflections: Inclusion Needs More Than Good Intentions – It Needs Infrastructure
This year’s ARC 2025 Annual Conference brought together hundreds of professionals from education, all united by a single goal: to build systems where every child belongs. With a theme of “Relational Approaches, Inclusion and Belonging: Myth, Necessity or Achievable Reality?”, the event created space for both critical reflection and practical insight. Conversations in sessions and […]
How Barnsley Virtual School Uses Welfare Call to Drive Data-Led Support for Vulnerable Learners
A case study with Tom, Virtual Headteacher for Looked After Children and Vulnerable Groups At Barnsley Virtual School, ensuring every child receives the support they need at the right time is at the heart of everything they do. With growing demands, complex needs, and the pressure to deliver measurable outcomes, they needed a way […]
Raising the Standard: How Cyber Essentials Plus Protects Local Authority and Virtual School Data
We’re pleased to confirm that Welfare Call has once again achieved the Cyber Essentials Plus certification – the highest level of assurance within the government-backed Cyber Essentials framework. This isn’t just another annual tick-box exercise. It’s a clear sign of our ongoing commitment to maintaining the highest standards in data security, privacy, and resilience for […]
Why Prioritising Value Over Cost Matters in Virtual School Procurement
Balancing limited budgets with growing responsibilities has always been a challenge for Virtual School Heads. The extension of your role, increasing complexity of data needs, and rising expectations for outcomes mean decisions about where and how to invest resources are under closer scrutiny than ever. It’s no surprise that procurement decisions often start with cost […]
What the 2025–26 Grant Letter Tells Us About the Future of the Virtual School Head Role
The Department for Education has now published its 2025–2026 grant determination letter for the extended Virtual School Head (VSH) role. This update confirms continued investment in both the Children With a Social Worker (CWSW) and Kinship Care strands, with specific allocations now available by Local Authority. It’s a moment of clarity and opportunity for the […]
Virtual Schools Forum Highlights: Two Powerful Days of Insight, Connection and Shared Purpose
Over the past fortnight, Welfare Call was proud to host two Virtual Schools Forums – first in York, then in London – bringing together professionals from across the country for two energising days of learning, collaboration, and reflection. With over 150 attendees in total, representing local authorities, Virtual Schools, and sector partners, the Forums were […]
A Simpler Way to Procure Trusted Solutions for Virtual Schools: Everything You Need to Know
Finding and procuring education software shouldn’t be an exhausting process. We understand that local authorities and Virtual School Heads need to make confident, informed decisions, especially when it comes to systems supporting vulnerable children. That’s why many of our customers choose to procure through approved public sector frameworks. These routes strip out the complexity of […]
Building the Golden Record: How Welfare Call’s API Is Powering Data Interoperability for Virtual Schools
The power of data lies not just in what you collect, but in how seamlessly and accurately you can use it. That’s why we’re investing in the development of a new Application Programming Interface (API) designed to enable true data interoperability across the systems you rely on every day. Currently in active development, this […]