What is the Virtual School?

Personal Education Plans (PEPS) identify the educational needs of children in care, and promote and raise expectations and aspirations for their outcomes.

The process allows all the adults planning a child's life to communicate with each other about that child's educational future. PEPs are a statutory requirement. They form part of the overarching care plan. Statutory guidance for local authorities 'Promoting the education of looked after children and previously looked after children' provides useful information on the content and timescales for completion.

A PEP is a 'living document'

PEPs are initiated by a child or young person's social worker. They arrange a meeting for the young person, their carer and other practitioners working with the young person to discuss their educational progress, aspirations, and any support they may need. The social worker should continue to lead the plan, to ensure that it is an effective element of the care plan.

Each school has a designated teacher for children in care. They lead on the development of the PEP, working with their colleagues in school to identify the young person's strengths, needs and any barriers to learning. The designated teacher is responsible for ensuring that the PEP is a 'living document' and implemented within school. They also check that the child is making progress against their targets.

PEPs should:

• Record what is going well
• Identify areas of need
• Record the plan for support and targets

PEPs must include aspirational and SMART outcomes for the child's progress in their learning. They should also identify what additional support the child or young person needs in order to achieve those outcomes.

A good PEP ensures that teachers, social workers, carers, other practitioners and the young people themselves:

• Have a clear plan about what is needed to ensure that child is doing well in their learning
• Shows clearly if they are not

PEP meetings

A PEP meeting must be held each term and at any other significant points in a young person's education.

All children can attend their PEP meeting or, if they choose, the carer or designated teacher might share their views on their behalf. It's important that every PEP captures the child's views - even if they choose not to participate.

The electronic PEP

The Virtual School is committed to ensuring that each looked after child and young person has an ambitious and high quality PEP, which:

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

Norfolk has commissioned an external provider called Welfare Call to provide a web-hosted electronic PEP.  Schools and settings can use the information to evidence how they are supporting their children in care and using the pupil premium effectively.

There are three categories of PEP available:

• Statutory school age
• Early years
• Post 16

Access to the electronic PEP and training

If your role requires you to have access to the electronic PEP, call Julie Steward, PEP Manager, on 01603 222414.

You will be supplied with passwords to enable you to log onto the web-based system, view PEP's for your Norfolk children and access an online user training manual.

The Virtual School also provides two-hour user training sessions for designated teachers and social workers in Norfolk.

Further information 

If you have a query regarding the PEP process call 01603 222414 or email julie.steward@norfolk.gov.uk