3.1 Education

Contents

1. Principles
2. Introduction
3. Responsibilities of the Placing Authority
4. Daily Responsibilities for the Residential Care Worker
5. The Responsibilities of the Keyworker
6. Home Manager's Responsibilities

1. Principles

Looked After Children have a history of poor educational achievement. They are more likely to be non-school attendees and more likely to be excluded.

As a consequence, staff in schools and in Care Services tend to have low expectations of Looked After Children. Often their poor levels of achievement and behaviour are excused on the grounds of their pre-care and in care experiences.

However, research over the past few years has identified that the reasons for this low achievement are actually more to do with discrimination and institutional failure.

Children and young people with high numbers of placement moves are particularly vulnerable, since these moves often involve changes in schools, and entail periods out of school altogether. There is a strong correlation between poor school performance and multiple moves, and children and young people need extra support to help compensate for this disadvantage. 

Children and young people in the first six months of being looked after also record poor performances. Again, disruption of schooling plays a significant part in this. For some children and young people, school problems such as exclusion may have been a contributory factor in their admission to care. They may have already missed important areas of the curriculum. It must be a top priority to resolve this situation.

Children and young people in residential care have the highest risk of poor educational achievement because they tend to fall into these two most disadvantaged groups.

Moreover, these children and young people are missing out on much more than just an education. For Looked After Children, school can be a vital link to the outside world, where they are just like other children and young people, where they have stable friendships and familiar adults. Children and young people who miss school also miss out on health care, careers advice, health promotion advice and social education.

Full participation in all school activities is essential for Looked After Children in order to help them overcome their disadvantage. It is a guiding principle that our children should take up all school trips and extra school activities that are offered to them.

Some children and young people, however, experience considerable difficulties at school. They can suffer discrimination and bullying because they are looked after. Approximately one-quarter of Looked After Children are disabled, and many have special educational needs. The research is very critical of communication between Care Services and Children and Young People's Service on behalf of these children and young people and the Government has issued guidance between agencies to ensure the educational needs of Looked After Children are met, and procedures and protocols will be developed for all staff.

Carers have a crucial part to play in ensuring children and young people get the education they deserve by providing them with the help, support and encouragement that a good parent would provide.

2. Introduction

The importance of education to the future life chances of Children Looked After (LAC) is recognised by Blackpool and as a consequence the authority has invested a high degree of energy and resources into ensuring that the education of LAC is given a high priority.

Every school in Blackpool has a designated teacher for CLA who will champion their cause.

Every Blackpool CLA will have a Personal Education Plan (PEP).

3. Responsibilities of the Placing Authority

This summarises the responsibilities of the Placing Authority.

The Placing Authority has a corporate responsibility for promoting the educational achievement of all Looked After Children.

3.1 Personal Education Plans

To this end, they must ensure that all children have a school place and a Personal Education Plan (PEP) which promotes their educational achievement. The PEP must be drawn up before the child becomes Looked After (or within 10 working days in the case of an emergency placement), and be available for the first statutory review meeting.

If a child is placed in the Home without a PEP and it is the child’s first Looked After placement, the timescales above apply; if it is a subsequent placement, the Child should already have a PEP, if this is not the case, the Home’s manager should obtain one from the social worker.

The matters that should be covered by the PEP are:

1. Chronology of education and training history which provides a record of the child’s educational experience and progress in terms of National Curriculum levels of attainment, including information about educational institutions 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.
2. 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 and promote educational achievement.
3. Any planned changes to existing arrangements and provision to minimise disruption
4. The child’s leisure interests
5. Role of the appropriate person and any other person who cares for the child in promoting the child’s educational achievements and leisure interests.

PEPs should be reviewed by the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) at Looked After Reviews.

If the placement of any child at Key Stage 4 (years 10 - 11) is disrupted or there is a plan to change the placement, the IRO should be consulted first and the placement may not change unless a senior manager (a Nominated Manager) within the Placing Authority approves it - unless it is an emergency; in which case, the Placing Authority must make arrangements to re-establish the child’s education as quickly as possible after the child is placed in the new placement.

For more information about PEP's, see the following website's:

NTAS website

Teachernet website

3.2 Individual Education Plans

An Individual Education Plan should be drawn up for all Looked After Children, by the school, it sets out the day to day arrangements for educating the Child e.g. short term targets, strategies to be used, outcomes.

For more information about IEP's, see the Teachernet website.

4. Daily Responsibilities for the Residential Care Worker

Ensure that the child/young person has the correct uniform, materials etc. for the school day.

Inform the school of any legitimate absence before 10 am.

Ring the school to check that the child/young person has attended school where attendance is a cause for concern (after 10 am, to ensure that registers have reached the office).

If the child/young person has not attended school that day, the residential care worker should discuss the reasons for this with the child/young person on their return.

On their return, it is important to acknowledge all those children and young people that have attended school.

Ensure that there is a place for children and young people to do their homework and provide support for them. Homework details will be included in the school planner.

In the evening, check the child/young person has a clean school uniform, and that any materials they require for the following day (e.g. cookery ingredients) have been provided.

5. The Responsibilities of the Keyworker

On admission the keyworker should make contact with the school and introduce themselves to the designated teacher/ head teacher/head of year (as appropriate).

At this stage there should be an exchange of essential information:

• New address
• School timetable
• Information pack from school, to include uniform/dress code and behaviour policy
• Last school report - information on young person's attendance
• Homework planner for the individual child

This is an appropriate time to discuss any special arrangements between home and school required to meet the child's particular needs. For example, it may be agreed that the school will contact the home immediately in the event of the child's non-school attendance.

Each Child's must have a Personal Education Plan (PEP), which addresses the appropriateness of the Child's educational placement and any special educational needs that the young person has. The plan also details the arrangements for monitoring school attendance, and arrangements for parental or social work involvement in the education of the child. The PEP must be drawn up before the child becomes Looked After (or within 10 working days in the case of an emergency placement), and be available for the first statutory review meeting.   If a child is placed in the Home without a PEP and it is the child’s first Looked After placement, the timescales above apply; if it is a subsequent placement, the Child should already have a PEP, if this is not the case, the Home’s manager should obtain one from the social worker.

The keyworker should receive a copy of the home/school arrangement that they should sign.

The keyworker should regularly contact the designated teacher/link person to discuss the following:

• School attendance
• Educational attainment
• Homework

Regular and close contact between school and home should reduce the likelihood of exclusion.

The keyworker should monitor any patterns of non-attendance that emerge and seek early intervention to re-establish school attendance.

• School should be contacted immediately
• Information should be shared with the specialist CLA Service EWO and the Social Worker

The keyworker should attend parents' evenings and other school meetings and events. Social workers must be informed of these events in order that they can invite parents.

Both keyworker and social worker should attend any meeting where there is a chance of the young person being excluded, and exclusion should always be appealed. The Education CLA Service should be contacted immediately if schools exclude or indicate they are likely to exclude a child/young person.

The keyworker should regularly discuss educational expectations with the young person. It is very important that young people are given consistent and positive encouragement to attend and achieve at school.

The keyworker should actively praise the young person for a range of achievements from school attendance through to various educational attainments. The keyworker and the young person should identify targets and rewards.

7. Home Manager's Responsibilities

Education of young people living within the home should be an area covered in every supervision session and any problems/concerns passed onto an appropriate source.

Home Managers should lead staff discussions on the issues of:-

• After school treats
• Rewards and incentives for attendance and attainment
• Homework support and routines

End