Research Assistant - Virtual School Model


Company:	Swansea University
Salary:	£34,132 - £38,249
Hours:	Part-time
Location:	Swansea, SA2 8PP
Working pattern:	On-site
Job type:	Temporary
Posting date:	24 Aug 2026
Closing date:	6 Sept 2026

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Summary

Join Swansea University’s School of Social Sciences to play a key role in delivering a strategic ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) project focused on capturing and evidencing real-world research impact. This is an ESRC funded post to support impact activities in relation to care-experienced children’s educational outcomes and the Welsh Virtual School Model.

The Virtual School Model is commonly confused with online learning, or remote teaching. However, that is not it’s focus. The Virtual School Model is an established method of supporting children who have been in care, i.e. removed from their families, with their educational progress and experiences.

Following a £1.2M pilot programme in Wales, there are six local authorities operating the Virtual School Model whereby each local authority has a Virtual School Headteacher and a hardworking team. These Virtual School Headteachers – termed VSH – work directly with acting school headteachers in mainstream schools and specialist schools and settings to discuss their current care-experienced children’s experiences, progress and outcomes. The other 16 local authorities operate different models including Looked-After Children Co-ordinators or School Improvement Advisors.

This project addresses this gap by consolidating evidence, strengthening professional networks, and developing an event and resource on the progress of the Welsh VSM.

This ESRC-IAA funded project focuses on strengthening the University’s capacity to capture, evidence, and communicate research impact. It will support the development of multiple REF Impact Case Studies by building structured evidence, engaging stakeholders, and developing sustainable approaches to impact generation and evaluation.

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