Looked After Children - Department of Education, Northern Ireland

LOOKED AFTER CHILDREN

Looked After Children (LAC) are defined by the Children (NI) Order 1995 as children ‘who are in the care of a Trust or who are provided with accommodation by a Trust.’ Types of accommodation may include residential homes, residential schools, foster placement. Occasionally children may be accommodated in a family placement with a relative (kinship care) or occasionally at home.

The Care Matters strategy, which aims to improve support for children in care, was endorsed by the Executive in 2009. One of the recommended actions to improve the educational opportunities of Looked After Children was to ensure that each child had a Personal Education Plan (PEP) to which schools, social workers, carers and children would contribute. PEPs have been used for some years in England and Wales.

The Department of Education, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the Health and Social Care Board, Health and Social Care Trusts and the Education and Library Boards, with the support of a number of voluntary sector organisations, have been working together to develop a standardised regional Personal Education Plan for all Looked After Children of statutory school age.

This guidance in Annex A sets out the mechanisms by which Health and Social Services Care Trusts, Education and Library Boards, schools and others involved in a Looked After Child’s life share information to ensure that the child’s assessed needs are met. The guidance gives further details of the roles and responsibilities of the school named contact person and notes for completion of Section 2 by the school/education/training provider.

Annex B is a sample of Section 2 of the Personal Education Plan which will be sent out by the child/young Person's Social Worker.

Annex C is a list of contact details for Looked After Children Teams within the Education and Library Boards.

Schools will receive a hard copy of Section 2 of a Personal Education Plan. For their convenience the above electronic version can be used and kept by the school for updating for a LAC Review or when requested by the child/young Person's Social Worker.

This copy is for information only and shows all the sections of a Personal Education Plan.