Support for Designated Teachers and Governors

 Tameside PEP Document

The PEP document can be found on our website here.

  

Who is responsible for calling a PEP?

It is a joint responsibility to hold a PEP between school and social worker, however, as it is school who submits the document and due to the location of the PEP being held in school we ask that you, as Designated Teachers, coordinate the PEP meeting. You are also best placed to complete the vast majority of the PEP document as its main focus is around education.
 

How often should a PEP be called?

PEPs must take place at least once every term. Ideally we ask for them to be completed within the first half term as this allows time for interventions to take effect before being reviewed at the next PEP. If there are issues with a young person, then calling an early or additional PEP is a good, proactive measure to bring professionals, carers, family and school together to address them.
 
 

Completing a PEP as a Designated Teachers at a Non-Tameside School

Yes, we ask our out of borough schools to use Looked After Call to complete our PEPs. You can find a training video to support you with this here.

 

How the Virtual School Monitors Attendance

The Virtual School and College believes that attendance in education underpins the opportunities for gaining the best possible outcomes of cared for children in Tameside. We recognise that the lived experiences of our cared for children may impact on attendance and we recognise that early intervention and support is key to maintaining high levels of attendance. We have rigorous tracking and monitoring systems in place and use Looked After Call data retrieval to monitor attendance and track it in real time. This allows us to work with agencies to identify and offer timely responses to attendance concerns.

We also ask for attendance to be recorded at PEPs and that targets to improve attendance are included in PEPs if there are concerns. While we believe that, in the first instance, responsibility for addressing attendance concerns lies with the school and there is an expectation for schools to follow their attendance procedures, where the Virtual School and College identify a concerning attendance pattern, we may contact schools, parents, social workers or carers to investigate or offer advice and support.

For more information about statutory guidance on attendance please click here

 

Support We Can Offer Young People with Attendance Concerns

We recognise that in some cases, despite a schools best efforts, resolving attendance issues of cared for children can be challenging. If a cared for young person in your setting is displaying a concerning attendance pattern, and school procedures have failed to lead to improvements,  please contact us at the earliest opportunity and we will discuss what individual support may be available.  Our contact details are here.

 

What To Do When a Child is at Risk of a Suspension or Permanent Exclusion

If a child is displaying behaviours which suggest they may be at risk of a suspension or permanent exclusion, please contact us to see if we can offer support at admin.virtualschool@tameside.gov.gov
 
If a fixed-term exclusion is unavoidable, we ask that you contact us on the first day of the exclusion to discuss how we may be able to offer support. We also ask that a copy of the exclusion letter be forwarded to us for our records. It may be useful to call an early PEP with virtual school attendance to help the young person move forward.

 

The Steps for Completing a PEP

The flow chart below gives a practical guide for steps to take to efficiently organise a PEP.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






 

How much Pupil Premium + funding does each young person receive?

On acceptance of the PEP document, school will receive up to £600 per term of funding to spend on the interventions indicated in the PEP. These interventions should, in the first instance, be based around closing any gaps in a young person’s academic achievement and the spend be clearly evidenced in the document.

 

How to use the Pupil Premium Plus (PP+?)

After submission, every PEP is quality assured by a member of the Virtual School and College Team. We may contact you for further clarification about the PEP document and/or Pupil Premium Plus spending, if it is not clear how the funding is being used.
 
Please reply to any queries quickly to avoid payment delays. Once funding requests have been approved, funds will be released to school at the end of that school term. Final cut off dates are published on the dates for the diary section here

Please make sure we have the correct contact details for the person who processes your funding. A funding statement is sent from our finance team, and if you have any queries, please contact us.

 

Next Stages After Submitting a PEP Document

After submission, every PEP is quality assured by a member of the Virtual School and College Team. We may contact you for more detail or clarification about Pupil Premium Plus spend if it is not clear how the funding is being used.

Please reply to any queries quickly to avoid delay to your payments. Once funding requests have been approved, funds will be released to school at the end of that school term. Final cut off dates are published on the dates for the diary section here.

Please make sure we have the up-to-date contact details for the person who processes your funding, either in school or via your local authority. A funding statement is sent from our finance team, and as always, any queries please contact us.

 

Who is Responsible for Giving Consent for a Cared For Young Person

The answer to this question depends on the care plan for each individual young person. Your first point of contact should be the young person’s social worker who is best placed to offer advice on issues of consent.

 

EHCP Application Process

If you feel a cared for young person needs additional support, above and beyond that that is received under the principles of quality first teaching and a schools initial SEN support, then you should contact Tameside SEN to request a child be assessed for an EHCP.

Please see here for more information about the EHCP process.

 If you require any support in applying for an EHCP, do not hesitate to contact the virtual school here.