Looked After Children and Previously Looked After Children Policy

Policy details

Date created - December 2021

Date reviewed - December 2021

Date approved - 21 January 2022

Next review date - Spring Term 2025

Policy owner - Designated Safeguarding Lead (Jude Baldwin)

Introduction

Definition of LAC and PLAC

Why additional support is needed - recent data on LAC

The role of the Designated Teacher for looked after and previously looked after children

Whole-staff Responsibility for LAC and PLAC

Induction and Transition

Personal Education Plans (PEPS)

Introduction

This policy for the looked after children (LAC) and previously looked after children (PLAC) details the rationale for their additional support, the role of the Designated Teacher and LAC Officer, the accountability to Manchester’s Virtual School and other LA Virtual Schools, the responsibility of all staff including the links with safeguarding and other teams within Co-op Academy Manchester.

Please note that a child on a Care Order can be living with: foster carers, in a residential home, with relatives, or with parents – under supervision of Children’s Services.

Definition of LAC and PLAC

A child ‘looked-after by a local authority’ is one who is looked after within the meaning of section 22 of Children Act 1989 or Part 6 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

A previously looked-after child is one who is no longer looked after in England and Wales because s/he is the subject of an adoption, special guardianship or child arrangements order.

Why additional support is needed - recent data on LAC

Many looked-after and previously looked-after children have suffered disrupted learning, may have missed extended periods of school, and many of them have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). The gaps in their learning and, in many cases the emotional impact of their experiences, are likely to have become significant barriers to their progress.

According to data from NSPCC (March 2021) on UK trends for looked after children:

• The number and rate of children in care is increasing across the UK (at Co-op Academy Manchester, in the last seven years, the number has ranged from 6-30 children and currently there are 16 LAC and 6 PLAC)
• The majority of children are in care because of abuse or neglect. The other main reason is where the parenting capacity is chronically inadequate. For many looked after children their pre-care experiences continue to affect them long after they become looked after.
• A significant minority of looked after children experience multiple care placements in a year. These can have a significant impact on looked after children’s wellbeing (Hannon et al, 2010) and are associated with poor behavioural outcomes (Rubin et al, 2007).
• Children in care have below average outcomes across a range of measures, although children in care make better progress in some areas than children in need, a closer comparison group. Attainment data for looked-after and previously looked-after children shows that, nationally, they do not perform as well at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 when compared to non-looked-after children.
• Looked after children are more likely to have a mental health issue.

The role of the Designated Teacher for looked after and previously looked after children

The Designated Teacher (DT) for looked after children and previously looked after children is Amy Green amy.green@coopacademies.co.uk. The DT is supported by the Child Looked After (CLA) Officer Michelle Nuttall.

The Designated Teacher role is statutory with the purpose of helping ensure the best educational outcomes for looked-after and previously looked-after children. The DT for LAC is the central point of initial contact within the school and the champion for the children.

The child’s foster carer (or residential care worker), social worker or, for previously looked-after children, parents or guardian, have day-to-day responsibilities for the child. Manchester’s Virtual School provides more strategic support, networking opportunities and training.  

Main responsibilities of the Designated Teacher at the Academy, supported by the LAC Officer, concerning looked after and previously looked after children:

• Ensure staff know who has parental responsibility and who is the most appropriate person to contact and what information can be shared.
• Ensure each child has a key adult with whom they can build up trust so that they feel able to discuss any issues of concern.
• Monitor the progress of looked-after and previously looked-after children (including if they are attending any alternative provision or spending time in the Sanctuary) to check if they have made the expected or better levels of progress.  Advise teachers on any learning gaps.
• Share relevant information with the Academy’s welfare team.
• Monitor how the needs are being met for those children identified as gifted and talented, having SEND or mental health needs.
• If necessary, ensure personalised learning pathways are put in place and their personal, emotional and academic needs are prioritised.
• Involve the child’s parents or guardians in decisions affecting their child’s education, and be a contact for parents or guardians who want advice or have concerns about their child’s progress at school.
• Monitor the pattern of attendance for looked-after and previously looked-after children in collaboration with the Attendance Officers. Where there is a concern about attendance or punctuality ensure the carer, social worker and other professionals including the Virtual School are kept informed.
• Help embed the Academy’s trauma-informed approach by ensuring staff are aware of the emotional, psychological and social effects of loss and separation (attachment awareness) from birth families and that some children may find it difficult to build relationships of trust with adults because of their experiences, and how this might affect the child’s behaviour.
• Ensure teachers have an understanding of the specific needs of looked after and previously looked-after children. Signpost staff to the LAC and PLAC Profiles and advise staff to show sensitivity about the children’s looked-after or previously looked-after status.
• Support the Academy’s behaviour management policy to be sufficiently flexible to respond to looked-after and previously looked-after children’s behaviour in the most effective way for those children
• Refer to the Sanctuary when appropriate e.g. to support a child’s return to the academy; during times of distress.
• Monitor children’s progress of those attending the Alternative Provision or The Sanctuary.
• Liaise with the Designated Safeguarding Lead over any safeguarding issues and keep CPOMS updated accordingly.
• Carry out Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires for all LAC and refer for additional support if necessary e.g. the Academy Counsellors, therapeutic support.
• Attend termly PEP meetings, six monthly LAC Reviews and other care planning meetings as requested.
• Ensure completed PEPs and LAC Review Minutes are uploaded to CPOMS.

Whole-staff Responsibility for LAC and PLAC

• Encourage looked-after and previously looked-after children to participate in academy activities and in decision making within the academy.
• Instil the belief that they can succeed and aspire to further and higher education or highly skilled jobs
• Give updates on academic progress and well-being when requested.
• Refer to the LAC and PLAC Pupil Profile (and SEND Pupil Profile if applicable) for strategies that support the child in the classroom.
• Pass on any concerns to the LAC Team and Head of Year and if appropriate to the Designated Safeguarding Lead via CPOMS.

Induction and Transition

All looked after children in Y6 who will be attending the academy in Y7, are offered extra transition days if necessary. A member of the LAC team will attend the Y6 Summer term PEP.  Mid-year arrivals have an induction and support to help them to settle in.

Looked after children and previously looked after children in Y11, have additional support if needed to write personal statements and complete college application forms. The LAC Designated Teacher from the college the student intends to go to, is invited to the summer term PEP as part of the post-16 transition process.

Personal Education Plans (PEPS)

The PEP serves as a ‘collective memory’ about the child’s education and is an integral part of a looked-after child’s wider care plan. A PEP must be initiated within 10 working days of the start of the first placement. The PEP is a shared document for the student and carers to know how the child’s education is being supported. Vital to the PEP is the wishes and feelings of the child and updates from the child’s teachers and Heads of Year regarding their academic progress, behaviours for learning and well-being.

A PEP meeting for each looked after child is held every term with the social worker, carer, a member of the LAC team, a member from the SEND team if required and other relevant professionals. The child’s wishes and feelings are gathered before the meeting and during the meeting the child should feel their views are being taken seriously. This meeting is a forum for the child to discuss their progress and be involved in setting their own targets. The targets reflect academic areas where additional support would be beneficial and may include a target to support a child’s well-being. Where the child also has an EHCP then the targets should be aligned to avoid duplication. The use of the Pupil Premium Plus funding for each term is determined by these targets e.g. one to one tuition, a laptop, revision books, resources to support a curriculum area, therapeutic support. The targets are shared with the relevant teachers and other appropriate staff. The impact the Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) has had in supporting the educational achievement of the child is reviewed in the following PEP meeting. Previously looked after children are also eligible for PP+ funding.

Working with external agencies - the LAC Team will:

• Work proactively with social workers and keep them informed of any issues affecting the looked after or previously looked after child’s progress and well-being e.g. interventions in place if at risk of exclusion or poor attendance.
• Work closely with the Virtual School, the child’s social worker and other relevant professionals regarding any decision about a change of school.
• For looked after or previously looked after children at risk of exclusion, the social worker, carers and Virtual School will be kept informed of interventions in place to avoid exclusion.
• Ensure referrals are made promptly to the relevant agency when concerns arise such as to the School Health Advisor, Educational Psychologists, CAMHS, Speech and Language Therapists and alternative provision placements when required.