GUIDANCE NOTES FOR PERSONAL EDUCATION PLANS

SECTION A

Please remember to include the date the PEP is completed.

To be filled in by the designated teacher for LAC or appropriate teacher, prior to the meeting. Initially, the amount of information available to complete this section will depend on whether the child or young person is currently on the roll of the school or has just been placed there, but either way, it needs to be completed within 20 school days of the child becoming LAC or joining a new school.

1.)Personal Details

Please be guided by these categories:

Ethnic Background:

  • White
  • Mixed
  • Asian or Asian British
  • Black or Black British
  • Other
  • Not given

National Identity:

  • Welsh
  • English
  • Scottish
  • Irish
  • British
  • Other
  • Not given

2.)School Details

“Wherever the child is placed, his/her social worker should take the lead to initiate a PEP, as part of the Care Plan, irrespective of whether the child has a school place or not” – Towards a Stable Life and a Brighter Future

Please ensure the box is ticked if a child is NOT in education.

Person to contact: - If designated teacher is not completing the form.

3.)Attainment

It is particularly important to review the progress of children in public care as they are dealing with a range of circumstances that can adversely affect their achievements. Many children need extra support to be able to compensate for earlier disadvantage. Please ensure, therefore, that Section 3 is fully completed, including other relevant test scores.

Research tells us that children in public care are often 2 years behind in their reading and 1 year behind in their maths.

4.)End of Key Stage Attainments

Please circle results, if known and comment whether or not the child is achieving in line with his/her ability or if results are not known or if the child was absent. If you have concerns about underachievement, additional support can be included as a target in Section D.

KS4

GCSE/Entry Level: Pred = Predicted. Actual grades are not included in the table because the Pathway Plan replaces the PEP, Post 16. If a young person has sat examinations earlier than Year 11, please indicate.

If the child has not had any careers’ advice and/or work experience, please contact the Careers Adviser. This can be included in his or her educational needs and targets.

5.)Alternative Provision

Please give details of any alternative provision with contact details.

6.)Attendance and Exclusions

Please attach a printout of attendance if possible. For Performance Indicator purposes we need a printout of a whole academic year from September to July.

Exclusionshave a devastating effect on looked after children as they are viewed as further rejection. They have a knock-on effect on foster-care placements too as they often break down as a consequence of exclusion. It is vital that appropriate plans and support are in place to help the young person avoid exclusion at all costs.

Please also state the number of days and the reason for exclusion. (Exclusions are a Performance Indicator for the Welsh Assembly Government.)

7.)Additional Needs

Please give as much detail as possible. If there are other current plans, simply attach them:

“The value of the PEP is in making connections with, but not duplicating, other plans” DoH/DCSF.

8.)Additional Learning Needs

Please contact if you have any requests.

9.)Parents’ Evenings

Foster-carers are expected to attend Parents’ Evening. Please contact us if you are not having contact with foster carers and consider it important that you have more.

SECTION B

To be filled in by the social worker, prior to the meeting and within 20 school days of the child becoming LAC or joining a new school. The PEP should be available for the first statutory review meeting of the Care Plan (the 28 day review), irrespective of whether the child has a school place or not. Any changes to the information in this section must be notified to the designated teacher as soon as possible.

If the child is NOT in school, please tick the box in Section A – 2. School Details.

10.)Care Details

Contact with parent explains if it is, for example, by phone, mail, supervised or unsupervised visits.

11.)Placement Type

Tick relevant box.

12.)Legal Status

Interim Care Order and Care Order

  • Parental responsibility is shared by the parents and the local authority although issues should be discussed with the social worker first. Legally, he or she can still make decisions without permission from parents.

Section 20

  • Voluntary Accommodation: parental responsibility remains with the parents.

13.)Transport Arrangements

Research stresses the importance of encouraging extra-curricular activities for looked after children to enable them to integrate socially and be included:-

“Involvement in school life can provide much more than educational qualifications; it can contribute to confidence, self-esteem and the development of life skills, thereby promoting resilience to cushion young people against the effects of adversity”.

14.)Social Worker

Please give details.

15.)Involvement of Other Agencies

Please give details. E.g. CAMHS.

16.)Care Plan

This is a statutory requirement that begins when a child enters the care system. The PEP is intended as the overarching education plan, which will become an integral part of a child’s care plan.

17.)Responsibilities

Much of this information will depend on whether or not there is a Care Order. For the majority of these categories, it should normally be the primary carer: the foster carer or keyworker from children’s homes.

The social worker will identify the relevant people.

Consent & Emergency Contacts

Although the foster carer will usually have authority to “sign” for the day to day activities, such as swimming lessons or after-school activities, consent for more “adventurous” activities will need to be given by the social worker and/or parent. For children on Care Orders, trips away from home and abroad must be agreed by the Head of Service, too.

Parental Responsibility

Schools are not always aware who has parental responsibility nor have the parental address. This is particularly the case with family breakdowns. The social worker will indicate who, other than the social worker and foster carer, should have copies of school reports or correspondence.

Contact Arrangements

Schools must be informed if any legal restrictions are in place with regard to contact with named adults. Teachers need to agree action to take if parents with parental responsibility arrive at the school wanting to take a child with them. They also need to clarify the legality about who can sign consent forms for medical intervention. Where relevant, social workers also need to check whether or not the designated teacher knows if the child is on the Child Protection Register.

Out of county placements

These details will raise awareness for teachers of home, host and educating authorities.

18.)Review

Date of the next Looked After Children Review.

SECTION C

19.)My Contribution

This is an example of the sort of questions you might choose to ask.

To be filled in by the child/young person, prior to the meeting, with the help and support of a carer, social worker or teacher, if required.

Teachers need to be mindful of the fact that some children do not want their peers to know that they are looked after and that they do not want to be singled out to complete the form in school.

There are special challenges for children in public care and for the professionals who are involved in supporting during this time. It is an opportunity for us as corporate parents to listen to young people and involve them effectively in the planning process. The PEP should act as a trigger to celebrate their achievements, what they are good at and to draw our attention to any unmet needs, for example, learning to swim or riding a bike. They may wish to contribute additional information to the questions contained in this section and should be encouraged to continue on the back if they so wish.

Please alert us if you feel something a child says needs to be responded to immediately.

SECTION D

20.)Identified Needs & Targets

To be filled in during the PEP meeting when written targets set by and for the child/young person are discussed in consultation with relevant adults.

Current Educational Priorities

These are suggested categories. More can be added in the blank boxes. Not all of them may apply.

If the young person is due to sit public exams, the priority may be scheduling revision sessions under Study Support. If a young person is at risk of exclusion, the priority may be support with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties supported by a Pastoral Support Programme included in the section on Short-term Educational Targets. If setting in certain subjects is about to take place, it may mean additional support in specific subjects.

Short-term Educational Targets

They should relate to the educational priorities. For example:

  • Improve hand-writing
  • Read with the foster carer every evening
  • Finish coursework by the deadline
  • Spend more time on homework
  • Practise ICT skills on your computer/laptop
  • Arrange additional support for under achievement

They can also link with other plans, including:

  • Care Plan
  • Statement of Special Educational Needs
  • Individual Education Plan
  • Pastoral Support Programme
  • Transition Plan
  • Pathway Plan

Long Term Plans

These could include:

Transitions:

  • Key Stage 1-2
  • Key Stage 2-3
  • Re-integration into mainstream provision
  • Securing an educational placement
  • Planned change of placement eg adoptive placement or out of county placement

Curriculum development and option choices

  • Literacy and numeracy programmes
  • Development of skills to support learning
  • KS3-4 planning to include preparation for option choices
  • SEN transition plan at 14+
  • Tailored packages where disapplication of curriculum applies

Careers Guidance and work experience

  • Make links with Careers and Personal Advisers
  • Identify who is arranging and supporting work experience
  • Identify the young person’s preference
  • Make links with Pathway Plan

Post 16

  • Identify how participation in further education and/or training will be funded
  • Identify how the local authority will support the young person emotionally, financially and practically, in terms of accommodation during term-time and holidays
  • Link with/integrate with the Pathway Plan

Personal Development

  • Identify out of school interests
  • Encourage skills development relating to interests; building confidence and personal effectiveness; IT skills etc.

Person responsible for circulating the PEP: Wherever possible the PEP should be copied and given to everyone at the meeting. Otherwise the designated teacher for Looked After Children or social worker should be responsible for circulating the plan, with a copy to the Children First Team.

Signed:

The adults who sign are responsible for supporting and guiding the educational career of the child/young person.

SECTION E

REVIEW PEP

This form is to be used for the 6 monthly review of the PEP. Ideally, it should be undertaken to feed into the statutory 6 monthly LAC review.

Please list any amendments to Sections A, B and C and state whether or not targets have been achieved and list new targets in Section D.

This form is only to be used if an initial PEP is in place. If a child has moved to your school and is already in the care system a new initial PEP should always be completed in the first instance. If you have not received previous PEPs please contact the school if known, social worker or the Children First Team.

Jenny Smith – LAC Education Co-ordinator

Children First Team

Provincial House

Kendrick Road

Barry

CF62 8BF

01446 709180