EssexCounty Council SENCO Manual 2011



The Virtual School

for

Looked After Children

The Virtual School

The VirtualSchool has oversight for all Essex Looked After children of school age. These children may be receiving education both in Essex and outside of the county. We also acquire responsibility for children from other Local Authorities placed in education in Essex.
The attendance of Looked After children is a key responsibility of the VirtualSchool. Our aim is to:

  • track and reduce the amount of time children miss from their education by non attendance, truancy and also by the disruption and gaps caused by moved placements or placement distance;
  • resolve specific difficulties and remove barriers to education and learning.

The VirtualSchool also has a key role to play in anchoring Looked After children within their local school communities. This is done by ensuring information and access to Extended Services provision is available and taken up.

The VirtualSchool works with other professionals to make sure all Essex children looked after have an up to date Personal Education Plan (PEP) that is meaningful and of high quality.

Currently the VirtualSchool holds the budget for Personal Education Allowances PEA). Every child looked after who is at risk of not reaching the national expected standards of attainment can access up to £500 per financial year to support their education. Requests for this funding should be linked to their educational and social targets enabling funding to be used for personalised support, additional tuition or resources or activities that will benefit the child or young person’s learning and development. In addition the funding can be used as support for vocational training.

Personal Education Plan

Every child and young person in care needs, and is legally required to have, a Personal Education Plan (PEP). As well as providing essential information for schools and carers, the purpose of PEPs is to encourage dialogue between children and young people, social workers, carers and schools.

The PEP covers the following areas:

  • an achievement record
  • developmental and educational needs
  • short-term targets
  • long-term plans and aspirations

It should ensure access to appropriate services and support, contribute to stability, minimise disruption and incomplete schooling, identify particular and special needs, establish clear goals and act as a record of progress and achievement.

Timing

The PEP must be started within 20 days of the young person entering care. It is the responsibility of the Social Worker to initiate the completion of the PEP but this does not preclude schools from being proactive.

The PEP will become part of the care plan and should be available for the first care review held 28 days after the young person enters care and then at any subsequent reviews.

Personal Education Plan Meetings

The PEP must be reviewed and updated every 6 months or at a time of change of school, placement or carer. Where an IEP for School Action, School Action Plus or a Statement of special educational need exist, one of the PEP reviews could form part of the Annual Review of the statement.

The pupil should be given an opportunity to view the sections completed by others and to complete their own views in a supported way before the meeting.

The PEP should be an integral part of the young person’s Care Plan and should also reflect any existing plans, e.g. IEPs, statements of special educational need, pastoral support plans, Transition Pathway plans etc. The PEP for pupils with a Statement in Yr 9 and above should be reviewed using the Unified Transition Plan to be found on the SEN Paperwork page of the Infolink.

  • The PEP includes pupil’s views, a record of achievement, current priorities and review dates. For a pupil with an individual education plan (IEP) this plan could be appended to the PEP.
  • For pupils up to Yr 8 with statements of special educational need, the Annual Review sections 3 and 4 on progress and targets could also be appended to the PEP.

Designated Teachers

Each school should have a designated teacher for children in public care to:

  • act as an advocate
  • ensure that each child has a PEP (if contact is not made by the social worker, the designated teacher should seekcontact)
  • ensure efficient transfer of educational information between agencies and individuals
  • ensure that a home-school agreement is drawn up with the primary carer

1

Ref: SM1/5.14

First issue: October 2002