Statutory School Age Children and Young People

Personal Education Plans (PEPs) are essential tools designed to support the educational progress of children in care. They help identify each child's individual learning needs and are key to raising aspirations and improving outcomes.

PEPs are a statutory requirement and form part of a child's overall care plan. They ensure that everyone involved in a child's life—social workers, carers, educators, and other professionals—can work together to plan and support the child's educational journey.

 Statutory guidance for local authorities 'Promoting the education of looked after children and previously looked after children' outlines the required content and timescales for completing a PEP.

A PEP is a living document, meaning it should be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the child's current needs, progress, and goals.

The process begins with the child or young person's social worker, who arranges a PEP meeting. This meeting brings together the young person, their carer, and relevant professionals to discuss educational progress, aspirations, and any additional support required. The social worker continues to lead the plan to ensure it remains a meaningful and effective part of the care plan.

Each school has a Designated Teacher for children in care, who plays a central role in developing and maintaining the PEP. They work closely with school staff to identify the child's strengths, needs, and any barriers to learning. The Designated Teacher is also responsible for ensuring the PEP is implemented effectively in school and that the child is making progress towards their targets.

Personal Education Plans (PEPs): Supporting Educational Success for Children in Care

PEPs are vital tools that help ensure children in care receive the support they need to thrive in their education. Each PEP should:

• Celebrate what's going well
• Identify areas where support is needed
• Set out clear plans and targets for progress

PEPs must include aspirational and SMART outcomes—goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. These outcomes should reflect the child's potential and outline the support required to help them succeed.

A well-developed PEP ensures that teachers, social workers, carers, other professionals, and the young person themselves:

• Have a shared understanding of what is needed to support the child's learning
• Can clearly see if progress is being made—or if further action is needed

PEP Meetings

PEP meetings must take place once every term.

Children and young people are encouraged to attend their PEP meetings. If they choose not to, their views should still be captured and shared by their carer or designated teacher. It's essential that every PEP reflects the child's voice, whether they participate directly or not.

The PEP record

Norfolk's Virtual School is committed to ensuring every looked-after child has a high-quality, ambitious PEP that:

• Is completed within statutory timescales
• Accurately reflects their educational journey

To support this, Norfolk has commissioned Welfare Call, an external provider, to deliver a secure, web-hosted electronic PEP system. This platform allows schools and settings to:

• Evidence how they are supporting children in care
• Demonstrate effective use of the Pupil Premium

There are three types of PEPs available:

• Statutory school age
• Early years
• Post-16

Access and Training

If your role requires access to the electronic PEP system, please contact:

Julie Steward, PEP Manager
 01603 222414

You will be provided with login credentials and access to an online user manual. Designated Teachers and Social Workers that wish to access a 1:1 training session should email [email protected]

Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) Grant for Looked-After Children

The PP+ Grant for looked-after children is funding allocated to local authorities based on the number of looked-after children in their care.  It is intended to improve the attainment of those children, by helping deliver the outcomes identified in their Personal Education Plans.

It is for the local authority, at the discretion of the Virtual School Head, to decide how much of this funding to pass on to a child's school.  The Pupil premium 2026-27 : conditions of grant make it clear that all funding must be spent in accordance with the Department for Education's Menu of Approaches, a framework designed to help educational professionals use PP+ funding effectively.

For specific information regarding Norfolk Virtual School's PP+ policy, please download our latest guidance and FAQs.  

Please also read our One Minute Guide to Pupil Premium Plus Funding for Looked After Children here which includes further information and advice.

Need more help?

Contact Clare Farrant, Pupil Premium Manager on 01603 307769 or email [email protected]

Attendance monitoring and tracking has always been a priority for the Virtual School for Children in Care. If our young people are not attending school they will not be progressing and fulfilling their educational potential.  It is crucial to mention that Attendance is everyone's responsibility and in consequence we have joined up with our colleagues in the Attendance Team to improve outcomes for our young people.

Additionally, in line with the extension of the Virtual School head role to include Children with a Social Worker (September 2021), the Virtual School was tasked with working strategically to ensure there is culture of high aspirations for children with a social worker and to promote their educational outcomes including their engagement with education. As part of this work, the Virtual School has joined up with the existing support offered by the Attendance team to further the understanding of barriers to and supporting the improvement of attendance of children with a social worker.

This partnership has included the additional resource of funding an Attendance Entitlement Officer (AEO) with responsibility across all of the Virtual School cohorts.

The offer of support is structured in a tiered response aligned to the offer of Virtual School support for all cohorts.

The work of the linked Virtual School AEO allows targeted school and pupil-level work in response to our attendance data and dynamic bespoke pupil-level support when requested by a Virtual School adviser.

Designated Teachers play a vital role as a safe adult, advocate, and guide for children in care. A trauma-informed, attachment-aware approach not only supports these pupils to learn and thrive, but also creates a classroom culture that is compassionate and inclusive for all

1. Building Positive Relationships

With Young People:

• Prioritise connection before correction: Children in care may have disrupted attachments. Focus first on relationships, not behaviour management.
• Consistent, warm adult presence: Be a predictable, nurturing adult. Greet each student by name daily. Use calm, friendly tones.
• Emotionally attuned communication: Reflect and validate emotions: "You look upset - do you want to talk or have some quiet time?"
• High warmth, high expectations: Balance nurture and structure. Offer encouragement while maintaining clear, gentle boundaries.
• Personalised attention: Learn about the child's interests and talents to help build trust and identity.

With Carers and Social Workers:

• Open communication channels: Share successes, not just concerns. Use respectful, jargon-free language.
• Regular updates and check-ins: Provide timely feedback about academic and emotional progress.
• Respect lived experience: Recognise that carers often know the child well. Collaborate, don't instruct.
• Involve in transitions and planning: Include carers and social workers in meetings around support plans, PEPs, and school transitions.

2. Creating a Safe and Secure Classroom

Emotional Safety:

• Predictable routines: Timetables, visual cues, and consistent language reduce anxiety and build trust.
• Flexible response to distress: Offer safe spaces (e.g., calm corners), time-out cards, or movement breaks.
• No shame-based discipline: Avoid exclusion, sarcasm, or public corrections. Use restorative approaches when harm occurs.

Physical Safety:

• Classroom layout and supervision: Ensure children can always see the adult and feel secure in their physical space.
• Sensory considerations: Be aware of triggers like noise, touch, and lighting. Offer tools (ear defenders, fiddle toys) where appropriate.

3. Reflective and Curious Teaching Practice

• See behaviour as communication: Ask "What is this child telling me?" rather than "What is wrong with them?"
• Maintain professional curiosity: Be open to the unseen causes of behaviours: attachment disruption, grief, fear, or shame.
• Ongoing professional development: Attend trauma-informed, attachment-focused training. Share learning with colleagues.
• Use supervision and peer reflection: Regularly reflect with safeguarding leads or school counsellors to prevent burnout and bias.

4. Teaching Approaches that Support Regulation and Learning

• Co-regulation first: Help children calm before expecting them to learn. Offer grounding activities and connection.
• Emotion coaching: Teach language for feelings and model self-regulation: "I'm feeling frustrated too. Let's take a breath together."
• Build in success: Design learning that allows early wins and celebrates progress, not just attainment.
• Adapted academic expectations: Understand that emotional needs may impact learning. Allow catch-up time and scaffolding.
• Use relational repair: When things go wrong, gently repair the relationship: "I'm sorry that was hard today. I'm still here for you."

5. Whole-School Consistency and Advocacy

• Whole-school ethos: Ensure all staff understand trauma-informed, attachment-aware principles. Be a model for this in action.
• Advocate for the child: Be their voice in staff meetings, PEPs, and review processes.
• Transition support: Pay extra attention to changes in school year, class, or placement. Plan them with care and inclusion.
• Celebrate identity and resilience: Help children in care build positive self-identity. Celebrate strengths, cultural background, and milestones.

6. Understanding SEN and Speech, Language & Communication Needs (SLCN)

Many Children in Care (CiC) have underlying or undiagnosed SEN, particularly in the areas of speech, language and communication, social interaction, emotional regulation, and executive functioning. A trauma-informed and attachment-aware approach must also consider how these needs intersect with developmental trauma and disrupted attachment.

 Key Considerations:

• High incidence of need: A disproportionate number of CiC have SLCN or neurodevelopmental conditions like ADHD, autism, or specific learning difficulties.
• Overlap with trauma: Behaviours linked to trauma (e.g. hypervigilance, avoidance, shutdown) can mask or mimic SEN.
• Late or missed diagnoses: Children entering care often have gaps in their assessment history. Referrals may be delayed or lost through placement moves.

Suitable for Reception to Year 11