School and Education

Children in Care may have experienced disrupted education due to changes in their placements. This can have a negative impact on their achievements at school and on their ability to make friends.

It is vital that a child's educational arrangements and needs are discussed with the child's social worker and your Supervising Social Worker before the placement starts.

Where the child is an unaccompanied child (and looked after by a local authority), they are entitled to the same local authority support as any other Child in Care: to have a safe and stable placement; to receive the care that they need to thrive; and the support they need to fulfil their educational and other outcomes.

Some unaccompanied children who have recently arrived in the country may never have had access to education before. Appropriate education for unaccompanied children may include a period of time in a setting where their full educational needs can be assessed and integrated into their Personal Education Plan (PEP) (see Section 2, The Personal Education Plan (PEP)). They may need time to be prepared for and then become used to formal education, and their initial educational outcomes may include cultural orientation and life skills appropriate to their age. As a foster carer, you will have a key role in this.

You play an important role in promoting education, including early years/nursery, as well as providing a learning environment in the family home.

Children should attend school or other educational provision. They should be supported to make good progress from their starting points. You should be ambitious for children and support children to attend and do well in their education. There is effective liaison with the school/college and the virtual school head.

The virtual school can be contacted on:

Telephone: 0121 464 6599
Email: birminghamvirtualschool@birmingham.gov.uk

Your role:

• Keep nursery, school, alternative education provider or college informed of any significant changes and issues;
• Help the child or young person to express their concerns or aspirations and advocate on their behalf;
• Attend open evenings and any school meetings needed and encourage, where appropriate, parent's involvement;
• Provide uniform, equipment including a computer and appropriate financial support for trips and after school clubs;
• Establish clear expectations and provide support with attendance, punctuality, uniform, and completion of homework;
• Liaise with the school and other agencies including the child's social worker if non school attendance is an issue;
• Support a child/young person to achieve their education or training goals;
• Encourage a child/young person to look at alternative education/placements, further or higher education or training;
• Have up to date information about progress and attendance;
• Contribute to the on-going assessment of the child's educational needs and progress including the support of the Personal Education Plan (PEP);
• Record any relevant information with regards to the child/young person;
• To give time and space to the child/young person when they return from their education setting to check how it is going for them and ensure things are going well for them; speak to the child's social worker if you have any concerns (see also: Section 7, Safeguarding in Schools and Bullying Procedure).

The Role of the Virtual School Head (VSH) for Children in Care and Young People

The Children and Families Act 2014 amended the Children Act 1989 to require local authorities in England to appoint at least one person for the purpose of discharging Birmingham Children's Trust’s duty to promote the educational achievement of its looked-after Children and Young People, wherever they live or are educated. That person (the VSH) must be an officer employed by the authority or another local authority in England.

For looked-after Children and Young People, as part of a local authority’s corporate parent role, the VSH needs to be the educational advocate that parents are for others.

Information from Birmingham Virtual School

The Birmingham Virtual School is the Children in Care Education Service (CiCES) which coordinates educational services for Children and Young People in care.

We work in partnership with the Child or Young Person’s school to make sure they are supported at all stages of their education and have the best opportunities to be successful in their adult lives.Children in care attend schools and educational provision across Birmingham and other local authorities. The Virtual School monitors their attendance and achievements and ensures that their educational success is a top priority in care planning. The Virtual School in Birmingham has three teams – North & Central, East and South.

All Children in Care of compulsory school age must have a PEP, even if they are not currently in education. It provides important information to make sure that the right support is in place so that the child can achieve their targets. It should also be a record of the child's leisure interests and educationally what has been achieved.

The child's social worker should arrange a meeting to put together the first PEP within the first 10 days of a child becoming Looked After.

Who should be invited?

• You;
• The child and their parents if appropriate;
• The Designated Teacher at the school;
• Any other relevant professionals.

If the child is excluded from school, the Head Teacher, an education officer and the SEND adviser if needed should be invited.

PEP's should:

• Identify developmental and educational needs in relation to skills, knowledge, subject areas and experiences;
• Set short and long-term educational attainment targets agreed in partnership with the child and the carer where appropriate;
• Include a record of planned actions, including milestones on homework, extra tuition and study support, that the school and others will take to promote the educational achievement of the child, based on an assessment of their educational needs;
• Include information on how the child's progress is to be rigorously monitored;
• Record details of specific interventions and targeted support that will be used to make sure personal education targets are met, especially at the end of Key Stage 2 in relation to English and Mathematics, and at Key Stage 4 in achieving success in public examinations;
• Say what will happen, or is already happening, to put in place any additional support which may be required - e.g. possible action to support special educational needs involving the SENCO, educational psychologist, or local authority education services (information contained within a EHC plan does not have to be duplicated in the PEP, a reference is sufficient as long as the plans work together to meet overall needs);
• Set out information on what will happen or is already happening to identify and support any mental health needs relevant to the child's education;
• Set out how a child's aspiration and self-confidence is being nurtured, especially in consideration of longer-term goals towards further and higher education, work experience and career plans. Discussions about longer-term goals should start early and ideally well before Year 9 (age 13-14) at school. High aspirations are crucial to successful planning for the future. They should focus on the young person's strengths and capabilities and the outcomes they want to achieve;
• Include the child's views on how they feel they have progressed and what support they consider to be useful;
• Be a record of the child's academic achievements and participation in the wider activities of the school and other out of school learning activities (e.g. sporting, personal development);
• Provide information which helps all who are supporting the child's educational achievement to understand what works well for them, helping to substitute for the role that parents might otherwise provide; and
• Helping to substitute for the role that parents might otherwise provide, such as attending parents’ evening, concerts etc. and
• Liaising with the school and the person who is responsible for making the actions identified in the plan happen.

In addition, the PEP should have:

• An up to date and accurate chronology of education and training history which provides a record of the child's educational experience and progress in terms of National Curriculum Assessments, including information about schools attended and the reasons for leaving, attendance and conduct record, academic and other achievements, any special educational needs, an indication of the extent to which the child's education has been disrupted before entering care or accommodation;
• A clear statement clarifying existing arrangements for education and training, including details of any special educational provision and any other provision to meet the child's educational or training needs;
• A description of any planned changes to existing arrangements and provision to minimise disruption;
• A description of the child's leisure interests;
• A description of the role of the appropriate person and any other person who cares for the child in promoting the child's educational achievements and leisure interests;
• A description of how the Pupil Premium is assisting the child's progress; and
• Applications for bursaries should be discussed as part of PEP Meetings;
• Details of who will take the plan forward, with timescales for action and review are an essential aspect of all PEP planning.

The designated teacher would normally have overall responsibility for leading the process of target setting for looked-after children in school, should monitor and track how their attainment progresses, and ensure that identified actions are put in place. The designated teacher will help the school and the local authority that looks after the child to decide what arrangements work best in the development and review of the PEP.

The completed PEP should be given to you, the child, their parents, and all others invited to the meeting. A copy should also be sent to the child's Independent Reviewing Officer.

The child's social worker must ensure PEP review meetings take place on time.

PEP decisions and recommendations must be shared with the child's Independent Reviewing Officer at the Child in Care Review.

If there are changes in arrangements such as a change of school or if the child may need private tuition, these recommendations should be taken to the child's Child in Care Review.

Children in Care are eligible for Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) funding. This is additional funding provided to help improve the attainment of Children in Care . It is not a personal budget for individual children.

The PP+ for Children in Care is managed by the Virtual School Head (VSH) whose role it is to support Children in Care

The PP+ is a key component in ensuring resources are available to support the child's Personal Education Plan and the plan should clarify what the support is and how it will be delivered.

Choosing and applying for a school place is usually the child's social worker's responsibility but in some circumstances may be delegated to you or shared with others.

Changes of school should be avoided if at all possible as this will disrupt the child's education. It should not take place in the middle of a school year or in years 10 and 11, unless this is unavoidable.

The new school should be provided with a copy of the child's current PEP. Other members of staff who need to know should be identified at the PEP meeting, taking into account the child's wishes about confidentiality.

A change of school at any time needs the agreement of the relevant local education service maintaining the plan and the responsible social worker.

Children and Young People in care are given the highest priority within school admission arrangements. The admission requirements for looked-after Children and Young People are set out in the Schools Admission Code. This Code applies to maintained schools and academies, including free schools. It is important that admission authorities understand that Fair Access Protocols do not apply to Children and Young People in care and that they are ‘excepted pupils’ in relation to infant class size regulations.

Birmingham Children's Trust, as a corporate parent, does not tolerate drift and delay where Children and Young People the authority looks after are without an education placement that is appropriate to their assessed needs. This includes using the powers of direction in a timely way rather than delay issuing a direction as a result of protracted negotiation.

The choice of school requires skilled working between relevant people. It should be based on a discussion between the Child or Young Person’s Social Worker, their Foster Carers and, if appropriate, birth parents. The Virtual School Head Teacher should normally be consulted to avoid choosing a school that is unlikely to meet the Child’s or Young Person’s needs. 

The following principles should apply:

• Educational provision should mean a full-time place;
• Schools judged by Ofsted to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ should be prioritised for Children and Young People in care in need of a new school. Unless there are exceptional evidence-based reasons, Children and Young People in care should never be placed in a school judged by Ofsted to be ‘inadequate’

Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Research has informed that looked-after Children and Young People are significantly more likely to have SEN than their peers, of those with SEN, a significant proportion will have Education, Health and Care Plans (EHC Plan). EHC plans identify education, health and social needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs. In these circumstances the VSH should ensure that:

• The special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice 0 to 25 years, as it relates to looked-after Children and Young People is followed;
• For Children and Young People in care, that their EHC Plan works in harmony with their Care Plan and PEP to tell a coherent and comprehensive story of how the Child or Young Person’s needs are being met. Professionals should consider how the statement/EHC Plan adds to information about how education, health and care needs will be met without unnecessarily duplicating information already in the Child or Young Person’s Care Plan. Equally, the Child or Young Person's Care Plan should be fed into the care assessment section of the EHC Plan;
• Any special educational support provided by schools for looked-after Children and Young People with SEN but who do not need an EHC Plan, is looked at as part of the Child or Young Person’s PEP and Care Plan reviews, involving Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCO’s) where necessary;
• Some Children and Young People may have undiagnosed special needs when they come into care. As part of the PEP process, there should be robust arrangements in place to ensure that any undiagnosed SEN are addressed through the SEND framework as soon as possible.

Section 19 of the Children’s and Families Act 2014 is clear that when supporting Children and Young People with SEN, Birmingham Children's Trust must have regard to the need to support and help them to achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes. For Children and Young People in or beyond Year 9 (aged 13-14) with EHC Plans, local authorities have a legal duty to include provision to assist in preparing for adulthood in the EHC Plan review. In line with both of these duties and the corporate parenting principles, the VSH should encourage high aspirations for Children and Young People, focussing on their strengths and capabilities and the outcomes they want to achieve. 

Disrupting a child’s school can have a negative impact for a child at any stage of their school career. A Senior Manager in the placing authority must approve any change of placement affecting a child in Key Stage 4, except in an emergency/where the placement ends because of an immediate risk of serious harm to the child or to protect others from serious injury.

In those circumstances, Birmingham Children's Trust must make appropriate arrangements to promote the child's educational achievement as soon as possible.

If the child is to be placed in the area of a different local authority and will need a new school, this should be looked at (unless it is an emergency placement) well before they move.

The Education Officer and, if needed, the SEND adviser, should be asked to help with this.

Where possible a child should not be moved to a new placement until they have a school place.

Pupils with Educational Health and Care (EHC) Plan:

The local education service where the child lives (unless in residential accommodation) is responsible for the placement and provision of education to a pupil who has an EHC Plan. The education service for the area to which the child is moving should therefore be requested to adopt the EHC Plan. This needs to be planned as early as possible as it can cause long delays.

Children's educational (and other) achievements should be acknowledged at one or more of the following times: at Child in Care Reviews; in the PEP, at school-based meetings; in school reports; and after exams.

A Child in Care educational attainments should be recorded in the PEP.

Children in Care are a vulnerable group, and all staff, working in schools should be aware of the systems in place to support safeguarding. As a foster carer, it is important for you to be aware of the school’s safeguarding policies.

The aim of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in education should be:

• Protecting them from maltreatment, including emotional, physical abuse and harm; bullying and cyberbullying; upskirting _[1]; sexting _[2] (also known as youth produced sexual imagery); sexual harassment, etc.
• Preventing any impairment of their mental and physical health or development;
• Ensuring they are growing up in circumstances consistent with safe and effective care;
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

_{[1] Upskirting is against the law. See also: GOV.UK, Upskirting: know your rights
[2] NSPCC, Sexting: advice for professionals}

An Ofsted thematic review (Review of Sexual Abuse in Schools and Colleges (Ofsted)) identified substantial levels of sexual harassment for both girls (90%) and boys (nearly 50%) - usually in unsupervised settings. Sexual harassment and sexual violence exist on a continuum and may overlap. Where the latter occurs, there could be a criminal offence committed.

The Ofsted Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges also recognised a wide variety of behaviours that children and young people told (them) happened online including:

• Receiving unsolicited explicit photographs or videos, for example 'dick pics';
• Sending, or being pressured to send, nude and semi-nude photographs or videos ('nudes');
• Being sent or shown solicited or unsolicited online explicit material, such as pornographic videos.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (see Related Guidance above) notes that with regard to sexual harassment, all staff working with children are advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ and must respond to all reports and concerns about sexual violence and/or sexual harassment, including online behaviour and incidents that have happened outside the school/college. This could include picking-up information from other pupils.

Nevertheless, the Ofsted thematic Review also reflected that children said they did not bring events to the attention to staff for fear of losing control over events and the subsequent consequences.

A foster carer who has concerns about the sexual harassment or bullying of a child (in any setting), should always raise these concerns with their supervising social worker or the child’s social worker. It should not be assumed that the school will necessarily inform you of such concerns or behaviour (they may not be aware).

See also: Internet, Photographs and Mobile Phones Procedure.

There should be staff (usually the Designated Teacher or the SEND coordinator) who will be able to share with you information about:

• The school's child protection policy and procedures;
• The school’s bullying policy;
• The Data Protection Act and safeguarding;
• The child behaviour policy;
• The staff behaviour policy (code of conduct);
• The safeguarding response to children who go missing from education.

They will also explain that staff must report any concerns regarding Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), modern slavery, trafficking or exploitation.

You must notify the school and the child's social worker immediately if the child does not attend school for any reason (for example if they are unwell).

Schools monitor attendance closely and will let you know if they have any concerns about the child's attendance at school. They will work with you and offer support to address any issues which may be impacting on the child's attendance. The child's social worker should also be informed of any concerns you have about a child's attendance.

If the child is missing, see also: Missing Children.

Children must not be taken on holiday during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances and the holiday has been approved by the Head of the child's school and the Social Worker's Manager.

The Fostering Agency and Foster Carers will work with the Child or Young Person’s Social Worker and other professionals concerned with education to ensure that suitable arrangements are in place for monitoring school attendance and educational progress and achievement.

Foster Carers are required to notify the Child or Young Person’s school or other educational establishment of the reasons for any absences on the first day of such absence.

There are occasions where Children or Young People might refuse to attend school or miss lessons and part of the school day, and the reasons for this need to be fully explored.

The Fostering Agency and Foster Carers will work collaboratively with other professionals involved in establishing, where possible, the reasons for this and in the planning around supporting the Child or Young Person back into education.

Guidance is clear in that Head Teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Head Teachers should determine the number of school days a Child or Young Person can be away from school if the leave is granted. This must always be in consultation with the Child or Young Person’s Social Worker. Foster Carers are advised that holidays should always be planned during school holidays to avoid any disruptions in a Child or Young person education.

The school should tell you and the child's social worker the reasons for the exclusion. You should decide with the child's social worker who should speak to the child. The social worker should inform the parents, if appropriate. The social worker, after talking to the child and their parents, must look at whether to appeal against the decision to exclude the child.

The child's social worker must also inform the child's Independent Reviewing Officer.

Exclusion from school should be a last resort for children who are looked after so it is vital that you work with the school as soon as a child's behaviour becomes a cause for concern.

If a child is excluded from school for a fixed period, the school will provide homework for the first 5 days of the exclusion.

The social worker must talk to you about suitable arrangements for making sure the child does schoolwork during the day and ensuring that the child does not go out during school hours.

From the 6th day the school should provide a place for the child to be educated.

If the child is in primary school and receives a fixed term exclusion or is in secondary school and is excluded for more than 5 days, the social worker should make sure a meeting is held within the 5 days to discuss the child's return and how best this can be supported.

When a child is permanently excluded the social worker should speak to the local education service to find another school placement.

In the case of permanent exclusion a meeting of the governors will be held within 15 days to review the decision. If the meeting decides to uphold the decision to permanently exclude, an appeal can be made within 15 school days. The appeals form can be completed by you or anyone who has Parental Responsibility for the child.

Extract from Coram (2013)

“It is recognised that there are certain groups of people with additional needs who are particularly vulnerable to the impact of exclusion. This includes Children with special educational needs (SEN) and Looked After Children. It is stated that Head Teachers should as far as possible avoid excluding permanently any pupil with a Statement of SEN or a Looked After Child and schools should engage proactively with parents in supporting the behaviour of pupils with additional needs. In relation to Looked After Children, schools should cooperate proactively with Foster Carers and the Local Authority that looks after the Child.

Where a school has concerns about the behaviour, or risk of exclusion of a Child with additional needs, a pupil with a Statement of SEN or a Looked After Child, it should, in partnership with others (including the Local Authority as necessary), consider what additional support or alternative placement may be required. This should involve assessing the suitability of support for a pupil’s SEN. Where a pupil has a Statement of SEN, schools should consider requesting an early annual review or interim/emergency review.”

Please refer to Appendix 2: Guidance on Exclusions for further information.

Becoming pregnant is not in itself a reason for a young woman to stop attending school, or to cease education.

Where a young person becomes pregnant, the social worker must ensure that they remain in education if at all possible. This should be discussed with the young person taking into account their wishes and feelings. The Designated Teacher for Children in Care at the school should ensure an appropriate plan is in place if required.

Wherever possible children and young people who live close to their school should travel in the same way as their peers.

Transport costs may be agreed by the placing education department if a child or young person needs to attend a special school. They will also consider whether an escort is needed.

The child’s social worker in conjunction with the school should help you make these arrangements.

Under Section 22 (3A) of the Children Act 1989, local authorities have a duty to promote the educational achievement of Children in Care Section 99 of the Children and Families Act 2014 requires an officer be appointed to take on this duty – this is sometimes referred to as a 'Virtual School Head' ('VSH'). The VSH should ensure that there are appropriate arrangements in place to meet the training needs of those responsible for promoting the educational achievement of Children in Care . This includes carers, social workers, Designated Teachers and IROs.

The training will cover information about school admission arrangements; Special Educational Needs; attendance and exclusions; homework; choosing GCSE options; managing any challenging behaviour in relation to education; promoting positive educational and recreational activities and supporting children to be aspirational for their future education; training and employment, and the importance of listening to and taking account of the child's wishes and feelings about education and the PEP process. You should speak to your Supervising Social Worker about this.

Within the Placement Plan, Foster Carers will be clear of what level of decision making has been delegated to them in relation to the Child or Young Person’s education, such as authorisation for permission slips for school trips and activities.

The Placement Plan will also identify the Foster Carers role in supporting educational achievement.

For Young People making the transition to adulthood, the PEP will be maintained as part of the preparation and review of the Pathway Plan, and will identify the Foster Carers role in supporting them through further or higher education, training or employment.

• Foster Carers will assist in the making of, and give effect to, the arrangements made for the Child or Young Person’s education, training and employment;
• It must be ensured that Children, including pre-school children and Young People have a foster home which promotes a learning environment and supports their development;
• Foster Carers will ensure that Children and Young People are supported to attend school, or alternative provision, regularly. Participation in school activities, both during and after the school day should be promoted and supported;
• It must be ensured that Children and Young People are helped by their Foster Carers to achieve their educational or training goals defined within their PEP. They must be supported to work with a Child or Young Person’s education provider to maximise their achievement and to minimise any under achievement;
• Foster Carers will ensure that Children and Young People will be provided with opportunities beyond the school day to engage in activities which promote learning. They will provide suitable facilities to complete homework tasks, and they will provide support and assistance where required. They will ensure that private study and reading support is valued and encouraged and that Children and Young People have access to a computer which may be used to support their education;
• Foster Carers will take an active interest in a Child or Young Person’s learning and offer praise and encouragement for all efforts made. Achievements must be fully recognised. Efforts made and educational achievements should be recorded in the Foster Carers daily records;
• Foster Carers will maintain regular contact with the Child or Young Person’s school or other educational setting, attending all parent’s meetings, PEP meetings, and education meetings, advocating for the Child or Young Person where appropriate;
• Foster Carers will work collaboratively with other relevant professionals to engage and work with schools, colleges and other organisations to support the Child or Young Person’s education. This will include advocating to help overcome any problems the Child or Young Person may be experiencing in their education setting;
• Foster Carers will undertake any work identified within the care planning process and agreed by the Child or Young Person’s Social Worker with regard to changes in school such as visits to prospective schools where a change is identified as necessary. In most circumstances Children and Young People would remain in their current school, especially when the longer term plan is not confirmed and Foster Carers will be expected to support this.

Why Foster Carers are Important in Supporting the Education of Children and Young People in Care

Foster Carers can:

• Be a good role model and show how important education is by supporting, questioning and guiding the Child or Young Person in your care;
• Make sure the Child or Young Person is ready for school and ready to learn;
• Have high expectations of your looked-after Children or Young People and always encourage them to do their best and achieve more;
• Challenge others to make sure they provide all the support the Child or Young Person needs.

How Foster Carers Can Help with Personal Education Plans (PEPs)

• Ensure that you know the PEP dates. If you think a PEP is overdue, contact the Child or Young Person's school or Social Worker;
• Talk to the Child or Young Person before the meeting and help them to give their views during the meeting;
• Raise any concerns during the meeting and offer as much support as you can.

Further Information About the Personal Education Plan (PEP)

• All looked-after Children and Young People must have a Care Plan, of which the PEP is an integral part. The PEP (pre-school to age 18) should be initiated as part of the Care Plan. It is an evolving record of what needs to happen for looked-after Children and Young People to enable them to make at least expected progress and fulfil their potential. The PEP should reflect the importance of a personalised approach to learning that meets the Child or Young Person’s identified educational needs, raises aspirations and builds life chances. The school, other professionals and the Child’s or Young Person’s Foster Carers should use the PEP to support achieving those things;
• The quality of the PEP is the joint responsibility of the local authority that looks after the Child or Young Person and the school. Social Workers, Foster Carers, VSH’s, Designated Teachers and, as appropriate, other relevant professionals will need to work closely together. All of those involved in the PEP process at all stages should involve the Child or Young Person (according to understanding and ability) and, where appropriate, the Child’s or Young Person’s parent and/or relevant family member.

PEP Content

The PEP should cover the full range of education and development needs including:

• Access to a nursery or other high quality early years provision that is appropriate to the Child’s age (e.g. pre-school playgroups) and meets their identified developmental needs.
• On-going catch-up support for those who have fallen behind with school work (including use of effective intervention strategies);
• Provision of immediate suitable education where a Child or Young Person is not in school (e.g. because of temporary or permanent exclusion);
• Transition support where needed, such as when a Child or Young Person starts attending a new school or returns to school (e.g. moving from pre-school/ early years to primary school, primary to secondary school, from secondary school to further education, or following illness or exclusion) or when a Child or Young Person has a plan for permanence and may change schools as part of that plan;
• School attendance and, where appropriate, behaviour support; and support needed to help the Child or Young Person realise their short and long-term academic achievements and aspirations. This includes:
  • Support to achieve expected levels of progress for the relevant national curriculum key stage, and to complete an appropriate range of approved qualifications;
  • Careers advice and guidance and financial information about further and higher education, training and employment. Discussions about longer term goals should start early and, ideally, well before Year 9 (age 13-14) at school. High aspirations are crucial to successful planning for the future. They should focus on the Child or Young Person’s strengths and capabilities and the outcomes they want to achieve;
  • Out-of-school hours learning activities, study support and leisure interests.

Initiating, Developing and Reviewing the PEP

Wherever the Child or Young Person is placed, their Social Worker, supported by the authority’s VSH, should take the lead to:

• Initiate a PEP even where a Child or Young Person in Care is without a school place. This includes meeting with appropriate education providers and the Foster Carer;
• Ensure that where a Child or Young Person is placed in an emergency, the PEP is initiated within 10 working days of them coming into care, wherever they are placed;
• Ensure, with the support of others, including the VSH, that the PEP contains a summary of the Child or Young Person’s current attainment and progress (including any additional needs such as SEN and mental health needs);
• Ensure the PEP is effective and is available for the first statutory review meeting of the Care Plan;
• Ensure the PEP gives details of who will take the plan forward and specifies timescales for action and review;
• Once requesting the initiation of a PEP, the Virtual School will need to work with the Child’s or Young Person’s Social Worker and relevant Designated Teacher to facilitate its completion and agree how pupil premium plus (PP+) can most effectively be used to facilitate the Child or Young Person’s educational attainment and progress;
• VSH’s should have a quality assurance role in relation to PEPs. To be effective and high quality, a PEP should:
  • Be a ‘living’, evolving, comprehensive and enduring record of the Child or Young Person’s experience, progress and achievement (academic and otherwise), and inform any discussion about education during statutory reviews of the Child or Young Person’s wider Care Plan.

• Be linked to, but not duplicate or conflict with, information in any other plans held by the Child or Young Person’s education setting or responsible authority – e.g. their Care Plan or Education, Health and Care Plan;
• Identify developmental (including any related to attachment and past trauma) and educational needs (short and longer term) in relation to skills, knowledge, subject areas and experiences;
• Say what will happen or is already happening to identify and support any mental health needs, including detailing any support that is required or ongoing from mental health specialist support services;
• Include SMART short-term targets, including progress monitoring of each of the areas identified against development and educational needs. SMART means specific, significant, stretching, measurable, meaningful, motivational, agreed, achievable, action-orientated, realistic, relevant, result-orientated, time bound;
• Include SMART longer-term plans for educational targets and aspirations;
• These should, according to age and understanding, typically focus on:
• Public examinations, further and higher education, managing money and savings, work experience and career plans and aspirations;
• Identify actions, with timescales, for specific individuals intended to support the achievement of agreed targets and use of any additional resources (e.g. the pupil premium plus) specifically designated to support the attainment of Children and Young People in care;
• Include behaviour management strategies agreed between the VSH and school to help ensure challenging behaviour is managed in the most effective way for that Child or Young Person;
• Highlight access to effective intervention strategies and how this will make/has made a difference to achievement levels;
• Arrangements for the flow of information to develop, review and update the PEP should be in place to ensure the VSH, Designated Teacher, Foster Carer and, where appropriate, Child or Young Person and parent have a copy of the latest version of the document;
• The VSH and Social Worker should work together to ensure that monitoring arrangements are in place so that actions and activities recorded in the PEP are implemented without delay. This involves working in a joined-up way with the Child or Young Person’s school (usually through the Designated Teacher) and other relevant people and agencies (e.g. Educational Psychologists or the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service) where necessary;
• VSH’s should make arrangements for PEPs to be reviewed each school term. This should include mapping how the pupil premium plus and any other additional funding has been used to support the targets set in the PEP. This is to ensure that the story of the Child or Young Person’s educational progress is current and continues to meet the Child or Young Person’s educational needs. It is also to ensure that information from the PEP is available to feed into the next statutory review of the wider Care Plan. The nature of these arrangements and who to involve are for the VSH to decide in partnership with others.

The Designated Teacher Role in the PEP

The Designated Teacher leads on how the PEP is developed and used in school to make sure the Child or Young Person’s progress towards education targets is monitored.

The Child or Young Person’s Social Worker’s Role in Supporting the PEP

The Social Worker should:

• Not take significant decisions about a looked-after Child or Young Person’s education without reviewing the PEP in consultation with the Child or Young Person, their school, Foster Carer, VSH, Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) and, where appropriate, their parent(s);
• Alert the IRO to any significant changes to the Child or Young Person’s PEP such as the breakdown or change of an education placement so that the IRO can decide whether a review of the Care Plan is required;
• Work with the Child or Young Person’s school or other education setting between the statutory reviews of their Care Plan (involving the VSH if necessary) to ensure that up-to-date PEP; information is fed into those reviews, which are chaired by the Child or Young Person’s IRO;
• Ensure that all relevant information about the Child or Young Person’s educational progress and support needs is up-to-date and evidenced before the statutory review meeting;
• Act on any changes required to meet the Child or Young Person’s education needs identified by the IRO.

The IRO’s Role in Supporting the PEP

IRO’s should ensure that the PEP’s effectiveness is scrutinised in sufficient detail in order to feed in to the statutory review and at other times if necessary. If a Child or Young person also has an Education and Health Care (EHC) Plan, where possible, the IRO should ensure review of the Care Plan, including the PEP, is appropriately linked with the statutory review of the EHC plan. The VSH should work with the IRO and Child or Young Person’s Social Worker to help enable this.

The IRO should raise any unresolved concerns about a Child or Young Person’s PEP or education provision with the Social Worker and the VSH.

Asylum Seeking and Refugee Children and Young People

An unaccompanied Child or Young Person in care by a local authority is entitled to the same local authority support as any other child in care Child or Young Person: to have a safe and stable placement; to receive the care that they need to thrive; and the support they need to fulfil their educational and other outcomes. Some unaccompanied Children and Young People who have recently arrived in the country may never have had access to education before.

Appropriate education for unaccompanied Children and Young People may include a period of time in a setting where their full educational needs can be assessed and integrated into the PEP. They may need time to be prepared for and then become used to formal education, and their initial educational outcomes may include cultural orientation and life skills appropriate to their age. VSH’s, IRO’s, School Admission Officers and Special Educational Needs departments should work together to ensure that appropriate education provision for the Child or Young Person is arranged at the same time as a placement.

The local authority should ensure robust procedures are in place to monitor educational progress. This includes securing a culture of commitment to promoting the highest possible educational outcomes for unaccompanied Children or Young People or Child victims of modern slavery. Achieving and implementing the above should be monitored by a Senior Manager, such as the VSH.

Extracts and information taken from Coram- School Discipline and Exclusions and Department for Education Statutory Guidance

Prior to Exclusion

• Wherever possible, the school should consider alternatives to exclusion. Educational guidance is clear that early intervention should be used to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour. Therefore, if a Child or Young Person is regularly having behaviour difficulties in school and there is likelihood of exclusion, a Pastoral Support Programme should be put in place. This is a plan, which would identify support required for the pupil to avoid exclusion, also setting achievable targets for the Child or Young Person.

This should be regularly reviewed.

• Note that schools cannot request a Child or Young Person to remain at home as an alternative to exclusion, this would be classed as an unofficial exclusion and is illegal;
• Pupils should be given an opportunity to present their case before the decision to exclude;
• When considering whether to exclude, Head Teachers should take account of any contributing factors that are identified after an incident of poor behaviour has occurred. For example, where it comes to light that a pupil has suffered bereavement, has mental health issues or has been subject to bullying.

Exclusion can be For a Fixed Period or Permanent

Note that only the Head Teacher or Acting Head Teacher can exclude a Child or Young Person from education. This must be followed up at the earliest opportunity with the relevant paperwork giving the reason for and the length of the exclusion.

Fixed Period

• Up to 45 school days in a year;
• Foster Carers should be informed about exclusion immediately by phone with reasons;
• This should be followed by a letter within 1 school day.