Understanding the
DCSF/DFE Guidance for Children in Care
and the
London PEP
Joint Training for
Social Workers and Designated Teachers
Ceri May - Teacher
Haringey Virtual School of Children in Care
09/09/10
Key Educational Messages from
Government:
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Personal Education Plans (PEPs) are more
important than ever.
The ‘Designated Teacher’ must have qualified
teacher status.
Additional school-based support should be put
in place so that the Child in Care (CiC) succeeds.
A CiC should access additional school-based
support even if they do not meet the criteria.
New Ofsted Criteria have limiting judgements on
CiC.
High Ofsted focus on Vulnerable Groups.
Haringey Initiatives
to Reflect Government Policy:
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Adopt the London PEP:
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Live on Framework I– Spring Term.
Advice to SWs and DTs from Haringey Virtual School.
4 Training Strands:
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DFE Guidance and the London PEP – joint training to
Designated Teachers and Social Workers.
DFE Guidance – to Headteacher, School Governor and
Designated Teacher.
Understanding different attachment styles to improve
the quality of teaching and learning.
CiC Education Conference & Akamas online learning.
Role of the Designated Teacher
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Lead responsibility within the school for the
development and implementation of the PEP.
Lead responsibility for helping school staff
understand the world of a child in care.
Promoting a school culture of:
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High expectation for children in care.
Understanding the emotional, psychological, and social
effects of being in care.
Adults treating ‘care status’ issues with sensitivity.
Individual planning for children in care where the
Personal Education Plan (PEP) is central in creating a
shared understanding of educational needs.
Adults understanding on a ‘needs to know’ basis of how
the PEP fits into wider care planning.
Role of the Designated Teacher
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The Designated Teacher should:
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Contribute to the development and review of whole school
policies/procedures to ensure that looked after children are
promoted at all times.
Lead the process of target setting and promote a culture so that
looked after children are involved in their learning goals.
Be a source of advice for teachers at school about differentiated
teaching strategies appropriate for individual pupils and make sure
the school makes full use of ‘Assessment for Learning’.
Make sure that looked after children are prioritised for school-based
interventions, including ‘Making Good Progress 121 tuition’, even
when they do not meet the criteria, and challenge where this is not
happening.
Promote good home school links and help school staff understand
the particular needs of carers in the school setting.
Role of the Social Worker
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To promptly inform the school of anything around
the child’s care that could impact on their emotional
well-being, behaviour, or ability to concentrate,
including:
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Initial move into care.
Change of care placement.
Any disruption or instability in care placement.
Contact arrangements with birth family - dates.
Changes to contact arrangements with birth family.
Any court proceedings that could cause anxiety.
To initiate the PEP within the statutory timeframe (2 in
one academic year) and meet with school staff to set
educational targets and share information. The London
PEP promotes PEP meetings held in October & March.
Role of the Social Worker
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To share care information with the Designated Teacher and
relevant school staff via the PEP, including:
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What care order the child is under.
Who has Parental Responsibility – who signs permissions.
Any specific issues around contact at school with birth family
members.
Any health information.
Any confidential information that could impact on the child’s learning,
behaviour, social or emotional development at school on a ‘needs to
know’ basis.
To be a champion for the children in care and ensure that:
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the adults supporting the child at school and home have high
expectations for rapid educational progress.
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The child is receiving school-based interventions, including
Government funded ‘Making Good Progress 121 tuition’.
Personal Education Plans (PEPs):
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Every Child in Care on roll must have a working PEP within
the statutory timeframe.
A copy of the PEP must be held both at the school and
within the Local Authority database.
PEPs should set high expectations of rapid progress.
The PEP is a living document to be ‘fed’ by ALL.
Statutory Timeframe:
 Within 20 working days of being taken into care.
 Then 3 months.
 6 monthly thereafter.
 A PEP should be called outside this timeframe if there is a
change of care or educational placement, or if there are any
concerns that impact on education.
PEP Function:
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The PEP serves as a ‘collective memory’ about the child’s
educational history and achievements.
Ownership of the PEP is shared between the school and
local authority which looks after the child.
It is a record of achievement (academic and wider) and a
celebration for the young person.
It is a key tool for the DT to work with other teachers.
To capture the assessed learning needs.
To agree challenging targets.
To record specific interventions and targeted support to
ensure that personal targets are met.
To record clear accountability on who does what.
London PEP Structure
4 Sections:
 Section A – Social Worker completes before the meeting, taking
multiple hard copies to the school.
 Section B – Designated Teacher completes before the meeting.
 Section C – Child / Young Person completes with an adult who is
close to their education and knows their learning needs,
strengths, weaknesses and aspirations well.
 Section D – to be completed at the PEP meeting by the DT.
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It is a ‘Word’ document; so schools will hold sections B,C and D
electronically.
Section A will be embedded in Framework I; SW holds Section A.
Section D is completed at the meeting. The DT passes on the
completed sections B,C & D to the SW asap following meeting.
SW uploads PEP onto FWi and distributes to all parties.
Activity:
Use the 4 slides on PEPs in your pack.
Make sure you’re a mixed group of SWs &
DTs
 Create a venn diagram – DT SW
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Name 3 things the SW should contribute to
produce a joint quality PEP.
Name 3 things the DT should contribute to
produce a joint quality PEP.
Name 3 things that DT & SW do together to
form a quality PEP.
Nominate a person to feed back to the group
PEP Completion:
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It is important that the DT, or another teacher
with appropriate experience of target-setting
writes the educational targets in section D to
ensure that they are relevant and appropriately
differentiated.
The PEP needs to be ‘actioned’ by school staff
from the date of the meeting.
The PEP (sections A,B,C & D) needs to be
uploaded to Framework I by the SW asap.
The complete PEP is distributed by the Social
Worker.
The SW provides the IRO with a copy of the
completed PEP 3 days before the LAC Review.
Creating a Strong
Team Around the Child
Guiding Principles:
 Recognise that the PEP is a vital part of the child’s wider
care plan.
 DT makes sure there is a central point of contact within
school.
 Social Worker shares care information promptly.
 Social Worker actively seeks out Educational information
from the school.
 School has strong internal communication systems to share
information.
 All parties use plain English, where possible, to
communicate information to colleagues from other
agencies.
 School has agreed processes to support the work with
colleagues from other agencies and to build relationships.
 Understanding by ALL that children experiencing strong
emotions can impact on the ‘Team around the child’
resulting in the team subconsciously replicating ‘birth
family’ patterns of behaviour.
Designated Teacher’s Involvement
in the Care Planning Process:
 ‘At the table’ fulfilling the role of ‘Education
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Champion’.
Finding ways to make sure that the latest
information about educational progress, primarily
through the PEP, is fed into the LAC Statutory
Review.
Providing advice about the impact of disrupting
education.
Ensuring that records move promptly to the new
school, if a CiC moves school.
Ofsted Inspection Framework
for Schools from 1 Sept ’09:
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Outcomes for individuals & groups of pupils,
capacity for sustained improvement and overall
effectiveness.
While on site, inspectors will ‘track’ vulnerable
pupils, especially looked after children.
Specific attention to quality of learning for
specific groups in separate provision &
mainstream lessons.
One child in care on a school roll constitutes a
group.
Ofsted Inspection of Safeguarding &
Looked After Childrens Services:
Will focus on, among other things:
 Outcomes achieved
 Access to and attendance at suitable schools
 The quality of care planning, review and support, including
in relation to PEPs
Inspections on LAC subject to limiting judgements:
 Overall effectiveness likely to be inadequate if any outcome
judgement inadequate.
 Overall effectiveness unlikely to be good if ‘enjoying &
achieving’ is not judged good.
 ‘Enjoying & achieving’ not likely to be good if LAC are not
making at least good educational progress.
Contact Details:
Ceri May – Teacher
Haringey Virtual School.
ceri.may@haringey.gov.uk
Tel: 020 8489 3160
Good luck in your roles supporting
Children in Care