A Personal Education Plan (PEP) is a document describing a course of action to help a child or young person reach their full academic and life potential. They can improve educational outcomes for Looked After Children by helping everyone gain a clear and shared understanding about the teaching and learning provision necessary to meet the child’s education needs and how that will be provided.
The North Yorkshire Virtual School now use the ePEP platform which has been designed by eGOV Solutions this can be found here. The Social Worker, The Designated Teacher, Foster Carer and where appropriate the Child/Young Person and the Virtual School staff all have access to this ePEP system.
Once completed, the Personal Education Plan on ePEP will provide a clear insight into the Child in Care's educational journey. As many children move schools, this may be most useful if it is your school who receives a new Child in Care with little notice.
This will all give the cohesive message to other professionals including the foster carer, that the school has carefully considered all aspects of the Child in Care and the school/establishment's response to raising the educational standards and minimising any barriers to learning.
If you are a Designated Teacher or Foster Carer and require access to ePEP, or any guidance on using it, please email the Virtual School on VirtualSchool@northyorks.gov.uk
PEP Meetings
PEPs are developed and reviewed termly in a PEP meeting, with the designated teacher, young person, social worker, carer and virtual school. These are statutory and should be held every term and at least every six months, although they may be sooner if a young person changes school or is going through a difficult period in their life.
The timescales for PEP meetings are very important as OFSTED will judge a County by the timeliness of their PEPs and individual Social Workers and The North Yorkshire Virtual School have targets that they also need to adhere to.
The pupil may also wish to attend their PEP meeting in person. Not all young people attend but it is good practice to ask them.
There are separate sections of the PEP that are to be completed by the relevant person. All sections can be completed prior to the actual PEP meeting. All sections, especially the SMART targets can be discussed at the PEP meeting, and there is a section to record details from the PEP meeting.
There is a section specifically for the Child/Young Person and one for the Foster Carers to complete prior to the meeting.
The Social Worker will complete the personal information about the child, the carer information and the key contacts for the child.
The Designated Teacher will complete all educational information such as attendance, attainment and any SMART targets. The Pupil Premium Plus+ expenditure and its impact are recorded within the SMART target section. See our Pupil Premium Plus+ section below for more details on SMART target setting via Provision Maps. At the following PEP, the evaluation of those targets can then be discussed and progress be assessed.
The Designated Teacher should consult and gain other information from other teaching staff and Teaching Assistants. This can be included in the PEP. This is an effective way to ensure that all staff involved with the Young Person has contributed.
There is also a section called General Overview whereby some background information about the child can be recorded. This is useful to be able to say what is working well, are there any concerns or issues that may need to be addressed such as homework, relationships with peers etc.
Other sections include:
- SEND
- Social Emotional and Mental Health
- Transitions
- Part Time timetable
- Current Support
- 14 – 19+ plan
- NEET support
All professionals will bring their expertise and share any pertinent and relevant information. This may involve changing some aspects on the draft PEP, such as priorities of targets or Pupil Premium expenditure priorities, but these can easily be amended during or immediately following the meeting.
The Foster Carer, Social Worker and Designated Teacher can give a final overall comment in the Adult’s Views and then give a Scaled Score about the child’s education.
Useful resources and further guidance
• ePEP
• NYCC Virtual School’s ePEP guidance for designated teachers (NYCC)
• NYCC Virtual School’s ePEP guidance for parents and carers (NYCC)
• NYCC Virtual School’s ePEP guidance for social workers (NYCC)
• NYCC Guidance on Personal Education Plans (NYCC)
• The designated teacher for looked-after and previously looked-after children: statutory guidance (DFE, February 2018)
