Chapter contents
Helping Your Young Person Achieve at School
Promoting Educational Attainment
Personal Education Plans (PEPs)
Special Education Needs (SEN) and Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCP)
School Uniform, Equipment, Transport and Other School Expenses
Further and Higher Education Post-18
Helping Your Young Person Achieve At School
At ISP, we want to see our young people achieve their academic potential at school; however, each child’s potential is different and they have varying needs. We will ask you to be actively involved in helping your young people succeed, with the support of the ISP team. We would like you to:
- Talk to school staff regularly, so that you know how the young person is progressing academically and socially.
- Be aware of homework and support your child to complete this on time and to the best of their ability. If they are not sure how to complete the work, help them to improve their knowledge and understanding in that subject/topic. Help them to look things up online, find a book at the local library or ask a teacher for help.
- Help young people learn that it is OK for them to make mistakes, and praise them when they have a go at something they find difficult. Supporting children to try new things and learn from their mistakes will help them to ‘grow and flourish’ at school; effort is as valuable as the outcome and helps develop academic resilience.
Complete our required training at Core grade: Helping children succeed at school
Read the Anna Freud Centre’s guide to supporting children with the transition from primary to secondary school:
https://www.flipsnack.com/annafreud/supporting-children-through-secondary-transition.html
ISP Education Support
Every ISP centre has an advisory teacher. They ensure that our young people have a school place, attend regularly, and are supported in making progress. They are also there to support you.
Our advisory teachers help with the process of finding a new school place. Once a young person is at school, they will attend meetings whenever they can. This includes PEP meetings, SEN annual reviews and network meetings.
The advisory teacher will also make sure that young people get additional help that they need. This can include one-to-one tuition, special equipment, or an assessment of special educational need. They will also make sure that everyone working with the child is aware of their additional needs.
ISP School
ISP has a school in Teynham, Kent that provides education for children with social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH). Some of these children are fostered.
Vision:
ISP School strives to help all our pupils reach their potential and believe that they can be kind, make positive relationships, communicate well and grow as individuals.
Mission Statement:
Our mission is to provide each pupil with a diverse and appropriate education in a safe, supportive environment that promotes self-discipline and engagement, inspires learning and encourages aspiration and achievement.
Values:
At ISP School, relationships are the cornerstone of everything we do and this is reflected in our values:
- Relationships
We learn to develop effective relationships, by building trust and respect, and developing self-esteem and self-confidence.
- Education
We are learning to learn in all that we do.
- Lifelong
We make relationships which will support and inspire us to be our best.
- Aspirations
We are looking to the future and working towards where we want to be.
- Teamwork
We work together to achieve excellence.
- Equality
We embrace the opportunities we are presented with and show respect to all.
Promoting Educational Attainment
The child’s local authority has a duty to promote good educational outcomes for them. When making a placement, the local authority must think about what effect it might have on the child’s education and consider the child’s view.
Throughout the foster placement, the child’s local authority must:
- Ensure that the child has a suitable school place, which meets their needs.
- Mediate on behalf of the child if they experience problems at school.
- Ensure that the care plan and placement plan reflect the child’s educational needs.
- Ensure that the child has an effective Personal Education Plan (PEP).
- Put funding in place to support additional needs that arise.
Local authorities appoint a Virtual School Head (sometimes a virtual school team) to ensure that they have effective systems in place to meet their responsibilities. In addition, every school must have a designated teacher for looked after children. This teacher plays an active role in supporting them and promoting their achievement.
Within foster placements, there are clear requirements to promote educational attainment (NMS 8). These requirements include:
- A foster home that supports the child’s development and promotes a learning environment
- Resources at home to support learning
- Ensuring that the child attends school or any alternative provision regularly
- Providing support to foster carers to enable them to work with the school/education provider to maximise the young person’s achievement
- Foster parents maintaining contact with the school/education provider and attending meetings and events, advocating for the child whenever needed
Additional training opportunity: The education of looked after children
Read the Government’s guidance on promoting the education of looked after children
School Placements
Looked after children should all attend a pre-school, mainstream school or alternative education provision. Wherever possible, this will be full-time at a local school that provides the best opportunities for the child.
When a placement is made, careful consideration must be given to any associated change of school, and the availability of local school places. Any change of school should be carefully planned and managed, using natural breaks in the school year if possible. Children in years 10 and 11 should be able to remain at the same school wherever possible.
Our advisory teachers will help the child’s social worker to identify the most suitable school placement from those with availability. Many factors will be considered including your local knowledge, the most recent Ofsted inspection and the advisory teacher’s knowledge of the school’s attitude to children in care and pastoral support arrangements. School admission procedures give priority to looked after children, and this means that the local authority can direct a school to admit a child, even if the school is full.
After GCSEs, all young people must continue in some form of learning up to 18. They can stay at school, go to a local further education (FE) college, or take up an apprenticeship. If they did not achieve grade 4 or above in English and Maths, they will continue to study these subjects alongside their main course of study/apprenticeship. In addition, schools should provide careers advice for all young people, which will include guidance on courses available at local FE colleges, and help completing application forms.
Financial support
The 16-19 Bursary is available to looked-after children to support them financially with the costs of Further Education. The young person’s education provider will provide information about how they award the bursary to eligible young people.
Personal Education Plans (PEPs)
The Personal Education Plan (PEP) is part of the child’s Care Plan. It should be a detailed record of the child’s current educational attainment, progress and potential. The child’s Local Authority will initiate the first PEP, and complete it in partnership with the child’s school and carers. A PEP should be in place within 20 days of a child becoming ‘looked after’, or changing school. The government recommends that the PEP is reviewed every term, and the school is responsible for PEP reviews.
Most Local Authorities now run an ePEP system which involves an on-line live document which the designated teacher completes prior to the PEP meeting. The meeting therefore focuses on discussing attendance, attainment, Pupil Premium Grant (PPG) spending and targets rather than paper form filling. Some local authorities are now starting to give carers on-line log in codes so that they can complete their section before the PEP meeting.
The PEP meeting will usually take place in school, and the school, the child’s social worker and the foster carers must attend. The young person must be aware of the meeting, and attend if appropriate. Other representatives from the virtual school team, education support services and social care might attend if required. Each Local Authority will have their own PEP forms and procedures, but they should all include:
- The pupil’s views
- A comprehensive record of the child’s progress and achievement at school
- Developmental and educational needs
- Actions and targets to meet these needs, both short-term and long-term.
Pupil Premium Grant Plus
Pupil Premium Grant Plus (PPG Plus) is a sum of money allocated to local authorities to be used for the benefit of looked after children, in accordance with their PEP.
The Virtual School head manages the PPG Plus. It is used according to the needs of each child. This means that some children will receive more money than others. The use of PPG Plus should be discussed and recorded at each Personal Education Plan (PEP) meeting.
Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP)
Types of special educational needs include:
- Moderate, severe or profound learning difficulty which includes global developmental delay, dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia
- Socialisation and communication difficulties
- Physical disabilities including visual and hearing impairment
- Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH)
The SEND Code of Practice 2015 puts a focus on supporting both children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and their parents/carers by:
- Raising their aspirations.
- Listening to their views, wishes and feelings.
- Helping them to participate more fully in decisions on provision and reviews.
- Preparing the children and young people for adulthood.
Therefore, each local authority has to publish information on the provision they expect to make for children in their authority who have a special educational need or disability. Local provision is expected to meet local need.
Special educational needs might be known at the time of school entry, or they might be identified over time. If you suspect that a child has an unmet need you should raise this at their PEP meeting. Every school has a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) who will be involved in discussions about the child’s needs and how they can best be met within the school. The SENCO might ask you to implement certain strategies and interventions at home. In addition, they might involve other professionals including speech and language therapists within the school. If these interventions and strategies do not lead to sufficient progress for the child, a request for an assessment and Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) can be made.
Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
The EHCP replaced statements of special education needs with the Children and Families Act 2014. The Plan will clarify the child’s needs and might recommend a change of school, if the current school is unable to meet those needs. In addition, the EHCP will detail strategies and interventions to be used to promote progress in the child’s achievement. The EHCP is reviewed annually.
When a looked after child does not live in the area of the authority which is looking after them (the ‘responsible authority’), the local authority where they live (the ‘area authority’) maintains their EHCP, while the responsible authority provides the necessary funding. If the child moves from one authority to another, the EHCP must be sent to the new area authority.
Behaviour At School
All maintained schools should have a written policy setting out the standards of behaviour they expect. This policy should be made available to parents and pupils and outline what the school will do if a child’s behaviour falls below these standards.
Schools have a legal right to impose reasonable sanctions if a pupil misbehaves. Sanctions a school might use include:
- A reprimand.
- A letter to parents or carers.
- Removal from a class or group.
- Confiscating something belonging to your child if it is inappropriate for school (for example, a mobile phone or music player).
- Detention.
- Exclusion.
Exclusion
Only head teachers have the power to exclude pupils from school. This can only happen if they have seriously broken school rules or if their behaviour is likely to cause harm to themselves or others. Above all, such exclusions must be lawful, reasonable and fair. Exclusion may be:
- Fixed term. This will be a specified number of days, usually of between one to five days.
- Permanent. The child will not return to the school and therefore an alternative school or provision must be identified.
If a young person is excluded, the head teacher must inform the carer and the social worker straight away, and advise the virtual school head. After that, they must put in writing:
- The reasons for the exclusion, the number of days if it is fixed term, or that it is permanent
- The carer’s and the social worker’s right to make representations about the exclusion to the governing body, and how to go about this.
Many looked after children have unmet social and emotional needs and, as a group, are at higher risk of exclusion. Schools are therefore expected to proactively support foster carers and the local authority in doing everything possible to avoid excluding a looked after child. Any exclusion must be made only as a last resort and in the most exceptional circumstances. Before excluding, schools should first consider alternative options for supporting the looked after child or young person. In addition, no looked after child should be excluded from a school without discussion with the local authority to ensure that there is suitable alternative provision available elsewhere.
For fixed-term exclusions of up to five days, schools must take ‘reasonable steps to set and mark work’. Such work should be accessible and achievable, considering it will be done outside the classroom without teacher support.
Statutory guidance on school exclusions
The Government’s statutory guidance states that head teachers should as far as possible avoid excluding any pupil who is a looked after child. Two alternatives should be considered to avoid exclusion:
- A ‘managed move’, meaning that the head teacher negotiates with another school accessible to the child to take them and give them a new start. Managed moves are not, however, allowed for children with an EHCP.
- Attendance at alternative provision
The Virtual School Head should be involved directly in negotiations to ensure the child’s best interests are met.
View the guidance on the GOV.UK website, or by clicking here.
Truancy
When a young person truants from school, this is an unauthorised absence. Schools are responsible for improving attendance and reducing persistent absence. They must therefore have clear policies, practice and systems in place to deal with attendance issues. They should also employ a range of interventions and support for individual pupils causing concern. There is an emphasis upon partnership with parents/carers and the involvement of other agencies in order to re-engage young people and integrate them back into school. Schools should pay particular attention to the persistent absence of a looked after child and be aware that children in care are a high risk group.
School Uniform, Equipment, Transport and Other School Expenses
You are generally expected to pay for school-related activities, bus fares, stationery, school lunches and the other day to day costs of maintaining a young person at school. The allowances element of your fostering fee covers these costs.
We will only make additional payments in exceptional circumstances. For instance, if at the point of placement a child or young person requires a new school uniform, an additional allowance might be available to help with this cost. There is also an allowance to assist with the cost of buying new uniform when the child starts secondary school, or changes school.
Further and Higher Education Post-18
If the young person is able to and wishes to continue their education at college or university they should be encouraged to do so. Local authorities have a duty to financially support a care leaver who pursues further or higher education, or vocational training, in accordance with their pathway plan. However, the extent of the support offered varies between local authorities.
Preparation should begin well in advance and you might need to help young people fill in various forms for education grants etc. However, the child’s social worker should also be able to help with this and clarify the financial assistance to which the young person may be entitled.
Young people who go to university must apply for student loans and maintenance grants just like all other students. In addition, the local authority might offer some financial support. Every local authority will have a financial policy for assisting care leavers in higher education, so make sure you get hold of a copy.
All care leavers will receive a higher education bursary of £2000. They are also entitled to holiday accommodation if they cannot remain in university accommodation all year round. Many universities also offer additional support to students who are care leavers, which may include a bursary.
Further and higher education – sources of information
There is a Supporting Care Leavers Toolkit on the UCAS website.
The Become charity has developed an interactive website called ‘Propel’ that covers higher education in the UK. Visit it here.
