Section 2 Parent or Carer s views This form should be sent out by the Social Worker to all carers and to parents as appropriate.

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1 Personal Education Plans Guidance for Social Workers What are Personal Educational Plans (PEPs)? All looked after children have a care plan, which is drawn up and reviewed by the Local Authority that looks after them. The PEP is an integral part of the care plan and is a statutory requirement for all looked after children from pre-school to age 18. A PEP is an evolving record of what needs to happen for looked after children to enable them to make expected progress and fulfil their potential. The PEP should reflect the importance of a personalised approach to learning that meets the identified educational needs of the child, raises aspirations and builds life chances. It should be a living, evolving, comprehensive and enduring record of the child s experience, progress and achievement (academic and otherwise) and be linked to, but not duplicate or conflict with, information in any other plans held by the child s education setting. The purposes of the PEP are to: record prior learning and attainment identify developmental (including any related to attachment) and educational needs (short and longer term and including SEN) in relation to skills, knowledge, subject areas and experiences set short-term targets and longer-term plans agreed with the child or young person and carer identify actions, with time scales, for specific individuals intended to support the achievement of agreed targets and use of any additional resources (e.g. Pupil Premium Plus) specifically designated to support the attainment of looked after children highlight access to effective intervention strategies and how this will make/has made a difference to achievement levels give the child or young person an opportunity to have a voice in shaping their education record when targets are achieved and to document new targets assimilate information in any other plans held by the education setting, including where appropriate plans from any other education, health or care services provide a record of participation in school and after-school activities be a living, evolving, comprehensive and enduring record of the child s experience, progress and achievement (academic and otherwise) and inform any discussion about education during the statutory review of the child s wider care plan When do you need a PEP? A new PEP or a review of a PEP should be completed: when a child or young person is received into care (Initial PEP) as part of the PEP review cycle (every term - three times per annum) if the child or young person changes school/education provision (NB if a looked after child joins the school it is the responsibility of the previous school to send a copy of the PEP to the new school) if the child or young person changes placement if there are any concerns or situations that impact on an education placement (e.g. risk of exclusion, concerns about attendance) It is the responsibility of the Social Worker to initiate a PEP within 10 working days of a child being admitted into Care and completed within 20 working days. An will be sent from the Virtual School to the Social Worker of any new child in Care reminding them of their Page 1 of 7 September 2014

2 responsibilities. A full PEP must be available for the first LAC review and then reviewed termly thereafter (this is taken to mean three times per annum). It is essential that every child in Care has a current PEP. If any support is needed in arranging dates with a school please contact the Virtual School for assistance. Which forms to use? There are 4 sections to the PEP. Section 1 Child s views This form should be sent/given to the child by the social worker (or via the carer or the school whichever is most appropriate). The child can be supported to complete this form by the most appropriate adult if necessary. If an older child is attending the it may not be necessary for them to complete a form but the content of the forms may help them to organise their thoughts and to think of issues or questions in advance. The most appropriate form for the age or needs of the child should be used. Section 2 Parent or Carer s views This form should be sent out by the Social Worker to all carers and to parents as appropriate. Section 3 Personal Information This form should be completed by the Social Worker and taken to the. This form will only need updating for future PEP review s. It contains essential information for schools. A Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire should be completed by the school for every PEP and brought to the. This will support setting objectives for social and emotional issues. (These can be found on the internet via the Virtual School website) For Initial PEPs only the Virtual School will contact the school and send out guidance and information. In preparation for the PEP, it is the Social Worker s responsibility to ensure the sections for the child and carer are sent out at least 2 weeks prior to the to enable completion beforehand. When completed these forms should be returned to the Social Worker and brought to the together with a copy of Section 3 (SW information). Section 4 Meeting summary While the summary should be completed at the PEP, it is strongly advised that the Designated Teacher pre-populates relevant sections of the summary document as a means of preparing for the. The summary document also provides an agenda for the and should be used as such. There may be sections of this form that are not appropriate for all ages or situations these should be marked N/A otherwise all sections of the PEP should be fully completed. Newly arrived to the country: Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children In these circumstances there is a specific form that should be used to record the first to discuss education and can be considered a PEP. (Form title - Initial PEP for UASC). As soon as a school place is secured and the child begins to attend a full PEP should be held as soon as possible. Where can you find the forms? All forms for PEPs are available at or can be requested from the Virtualschool@northamptonshire.gov.uk Page 2 of 7 September 2014

3 Arrangements for the As most PEPs are held in schools, a mutually convenient date and time will need to be agreed with the school. The school will need to ensure there is a private room available and be given advice about how much time they will need to give to the. It is often essential to consult with other parties to ensure they are able to attend including other professionals. The child should be encouraged to attend but may not want to. Their contribution should always be considered and so it is useful to have their thoughts and feelings to take to the if they are not attending. If a child s birth parent is attending the PEP this may cause distress or anxiety and need to be handled sensitively. It is an expectation that the carer will attend as their views and support are crucial. It is expected that a PEP will be held for every child even if they are without a school place. A PEP may be needed to make plans for a school place and put interim educational arrangements into place whilst an application is processed. In these circumstances a mutually agreed venue should be agreed that considers the needs of the child and carer. Who to invite to the It is the social workers responsibility to invite people to the PEP. Invitations to a PEP should be sent out as far in advance as possible. Invitees must include: Designated teacher Carer Parent or family member (if appropriate) Child or young person Foster carer s link social worker Connexions Choices Advisor (CA) if in Year 11 (All LAC are entitled to a CA whether or not the school has a Service Agreement with Connexions) If the child s social worker or a representative of their team is absent from the PEP, it is likely the PEP will have to be rearranged, as it is extremely important that there is a member of the Child Care Team at the PEP. Invitees may also include: A representative from the Virtual School Please note that members of the Virtual School team can only attend for identified children or criteria only. Criteria include: o Children at risk of exclusion o Children with complex issues that are barriers to learning o Children without a school place o Children who are the focus or concern as identified by Virtual School o Or for a new social worker or designated teacher if support is needed Other key representatives from the school Any other key stakeholder who has a real impact or is closely involved with the child or young person s education (e.g. Educational Psychologist, CAMHs worker, etc ) Any health representatives according to child s needs Before the Decide who will chair the and who will take the notes on Form 4 (Meeting Summary). Clarifying these roles beforehand will ensure the can run smoothly and the person chairing does not have to undertake two roles. Page 3 of 7 September 2014

4 At the Ensure the previous PEP is available for previous objectives to be reviewed. Sections 1,2,3 and 4 review past progress, achievements and events. Section 5 is the Action Plan for the next term and is of key importance as the objectives will support the learning and progress for the child. It is essential that all the boxes are completed fully with SMART objectives for the child, clear actions stated for all adults in supporting the child to achieve their objectives and the person responsible identified. Section 6 gives detail of how Pupil Premium Plus will be used to support the child achieve their objectives and section 7 gives the detail of any other actions needed to support the child s educational needs. Section 8 gives a RAG (red/amber/green) rating to 5 key areas. Educational Objectives It is important that the Designated Teacher or another teacher with appropriate experience of target-setting composes the educational objectives to ensure that they are relevant and specific to the child s educational needs Objectives should address: Any underachievement particularly in maths and English Any barriers to learning for example; social, emotional and behavioural aspects of learning Ways of helping the child to make progress in line with their peers Access to enrichment activities and clubs both in and out of school Accessing Educational Psychologist and EEO for Mental Health support for LAC (For Northamptonshire children placed in county only. For those children placed out of county the school would need to follow procedures for that County.) The pathway for accessing psychological input specifically related to developmental issues associated with attachment, abuse and/or neglect and funded through the Local Authority will be through the PEP. This input can be for children with or without a statement of Special Educational Needs/ Education Health and Care (EHC) plan. This request should be discussed and agreed by all at the. Access to the Education Entitlement Officer for Mental Health should also be discussed and agreed at the. A Request and Consent for Involvement for LAC form should be completed and sent in with the completed PEP form which will be forwarded to a panel for consideration. The school will be notified of the outcome. Psychological and Mental Health support will be allocated to those cases considered a priority in the county. Schools may also use their commissioned time to access their link EP for other issues. SEN For children with SEN an effective PEP can be used to inform application for additional High Needs funding and Requests for Statutory Assessment where necessary. This is the pathway for LAC with SEN to access additional resources. ages/senpoliciesandguidanceforschools.aspx Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) A school aged looked after child is eligible for PP+ as soon as they enter care. NCC policy states that children who are on the school roll on the Friday of the first week of a long term will be eligible for the term s funding. PP+ will be transferred to schools and academies three times a year via the July, October and February transfers. The PEP should record how the individual child has benefitted from the spend of PP+ and the impact it has had on their learning and progress. The future plan for using PP+ for supporting academic progress Page 4 of 7 September 2014

5 should also be recorded. (This will support the school in monitoring the effective actions taken in narrowing any gaps in achievement between LAC and all pupils, particularly in English and Maths (Foundation Stage - Literacy and Maths) and where there are differences in progress from similar starting points.) PP+ will only be paid if there is a high quality PEP in place. The Virtual School will be quality assuring every PEP. If the PEP does not meet the standard required amendments will need to be made. Schools and social workers will be informed of any changes needed. The Quality Assurance form is available alongside the PEP forms. The date, time and venue for the next PEP should be agreed with all key professionals involved with the child before the end of the current. This date should then be entered on the last page of the PEP report and this date should be within a term of the previous. After the If the child attends a school in Northamptonshire that is a mainstream school, Academy or Special School, it is the school s responsibility to type up the final copy of the PEP summary within 10 days of the. It should then be sent to the Social Worker for the child. They will then check it through to ensure any information on it is appropriate and safe to be shared and then circulate it to all who were invited to the, the IRO, and to the Virtual School (virtualschool@northamptonshire.gov.uk), LACHealthPEPAdmin@northamptonshire.gov.uk and team admin co-ordinator. All sections of the PEP should also be sent to Virtual School and to the team admin co-ordinator. NB: If the school is out of county, Independent or private or is a pre school, private nursery or a Further Education establishment then it is the Social Workers responsibility to type up the completed PEP. If a child or young person is without a school place A PEP should be held as soon as possible for any child or young person who is without a school place. This can then determine all of the actions needed to ensure a suitable school place or provision is found as quickly as possible. Arrangements can also be made to ensure educational provision is made in the interim period. If a child or young person moves to a new school A child s PEP is part of their educational record and must be sent to any new school they move to within 10 working days. The IRO will review the PEP as part of the 6 month LAC review and will check that progress is being made against objectives and that actions have been completed. Advice from the DfE on children in care on Short Breaks: If a child is looked after as a result of the short break arrangements (and not all short break care requires a child to be looked after) then care planning arrangements including the personal education plan - would apply. The requirements would be proportionate according to the length of time of the short break and the number of short breaks over the course of a year. The care planning requirements are modified for some short breaks. For some short breaks Regulation 48 of the care planning regulations applies. This is where no single placement lasts more than 17 days and the total of short breaks in one year does not exceed 75 days. Page 5 of 7 September 2014

6 In these circumstances Regulation 5 of the care planning regulations would not apply in relation to the PEP. In other words the PEP would be much lighter touch and would not have lots of educational information, more about how the carers would promote the child s education while on the short break. If a child is looked after as a result of a short break the local authority would not attract a unit of pupil premium for him/her. Social workers should consult with the Virtual School team before taking any decision or action that concerns education. Key reference: Promoting the education of looked after children, statutory guidance for local authorities July Reference DFE ng_the_educational_achievement_of_looked_after_children_final_23-...pdf Page 6 of 7 September 2014

7 PEP Checklist for Social Workers As soon as a child is taken into care or for the review of a PEP social workers should take the following actions: When What 2 weeks before Liaise with the Designated Teacher at the child s school (or Virtual School if child does not have a school place) to confirm date, time and venue and clarify who you are inviting 2 weeks Invite all who are attending: before Child/young person Carer of the child Parent/family member (if appropriate) Designated teacher (they should include other school staff as appropriate) Virtual School (only for complex cases) Other professionals as appropriate Connexions (for year 10 and 11 young people) At the Immediately after the Subsequent actions Ensure child/young person has a section 1 for completion Send carer section 2 for completion Complete or update section 3 yourself Ensure all 3 forms are gathered for the Send form 4, Meeting Summary, to the Designated Teacher for them to pre populate data and have ready for the Take to the any completed forms and a blank copy of the Meeting Summary form (this is the agenda and useful for taking notes) Firstly agree who is going to chair and who will note take Contribute to the (reminders may be needed to ensure the focus of the is education and the aim is a robust plan to support good progress) Ensure all sections of the PEP are completed including date of next Confirm who is writing up the and timescale (PEP should circulated within 10 days) Ensure you have copies of notes if you are responsible for writing up If out of county, an independent school or further education provision write up the PEP Check completed PEP when received or written up is accurate and safe to be circulated Ensure a copy of the Meeting Summary is circulated to the following: The child/young person The school The carer Any other professional or family member at the The Virtual School virtualschool@northamptonshire.gov.uk LACHealthPEPAdmin@northamptonshire.gov.uk and team admin co-ordinator The IRO Send copies of all sections of the PEP to Virtual School Carry out any agreed actions from the Page 7 of 7 September 2014