Electronic Personal Education Plan quality assurance framework

Download this framework as a pdf (PDF, 562 KB)

Principles and process

Gateshead Virtual School has robust arrangements for all Electronic Personal Education Plan's (ePEP) to be quality assured each school term. In the first instance the ePEP is Quality Assured by the Virtual School Caseworker who is attached to the school, college, or provision. A moderation of Quality Assurance is carried out by the Virtual School on a termly basis to ensure consistency of judgements.

This process ensures the story of the child's educational progress is current and continues to meet the child's educational needs. It is also to ensure that information from the PEP is available to feed into the next statutory review of the wider care plan. Where appropriate it will also outline the support and interventions which have been put in place to impact upon the outcomes of the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound) targets set in the PEP.

To be effective and high quality, a PEP should:

Be a 'living,' evolving, comprehensive and enduring record of the child's experience, progress, and achievement (academic and otherwise), and inform any discussion about education during statutory reviews of the child's wider care plan
Be linked to, but not duplicate or conflict with, information in any other plans held by the child's education setting or responsible authority - e.g. their Care Plan, Cared for Review or Education, Health and Care Plan
Ensure that DT's and other professionals have all relevant information for the PEP meeting in advance or have pre populated the PEP in advance of the meeting for discussion
Celebrate what is going well, key achievements and milestones reached and acknowledge the additional efforts made by the C/YP to overcome any barriers or exceed expectations in their learning.
Identify personalised learning requirements to ensure successful outcomes
Identify developmental needs (including any related to attachment and past trauma) and secure appropriate support required, or which is ongoing from specialist support services
Provide early identification of any potential underlying or undiagnosed special educational needs and/or disabilities, particularly in relation to SEMH and emotional wellbeing.
Outline strategies in place to minimise any barriers to progress resulting from; change to home, low attendance, presentation, behavioural concerns related to emotional, social, or mental health need; including the recording of external agency referrals submitted and their outcomes
Highlight access to effective intervention strategies and how this will make/has made a difference to outcomes
Include behaviour/emotional well being management and support strategies agreed between the setting and home to help ensure any concern is managed in the most effective way for the C/YP
Identify SMART short-term targets, based around the C/YP's starting point in the analysis of data, to minimise identified barriers to learning and/or areas for stretch and challenge
Identify SMART longer-term plans for educational targets and aspirations. These should, according to age and understanding, typically focus on; public examinations, further and higher education, managing money and savings, work experience and career plans and aspirations - preparation for adulthood
Clearly outline actions, with time scales, to support the achievement of agreed SMART targets, accounting for the use of any additional resources specifically designated to support the attainment of Children in Our Care (e.g., pupil premium plus and how this is used to support intervention programmes and support eg literacy catch up)
Evaluate previous targets against pupil outcomes (impact of planned intervention and support)

In assessing the quality of the ePEP, the Virtual School will use the following graduated Quality Assurance Framework, and the overall PEP rating will follow 'Best Fit' principles.

PEP quality assurance framework

	Green: PEP is effective and complete, no further action is required	Amber: PEP is complete, however, QA feedback has been given on how to improve/strengthen the next PEP	Red: Actions identified in the QA feedback are required before the PEP can be signed off as completed
Statutory timeframes	The PEP meeting was held within statutory timeframes and the recording and completion on Welfare Call was within 10 working days of the meeting.	The PEP meeting was held up to 10 days outside of the timeframe and/or the information was not fully completed on WC more than 10 days after the meeting date.	The PEP meeting was held >10 days beyond statutory timeframes and/or completion of key information within the ePEP remains outstanding on Welfare Call.
1. General and personal	All relevant fields in this section have been completed to a good standard by C/YP's Social Worker and have been updated after each PEP.	There are incomplete fields in the recording of information in this section, however, all safeguarding/mandatory fields have all been completed.	There are too many gaps in the recording of information in this section, including mandatory fields of which some relate to safeguarding.
2. Education information	All contextual information has been completed to a good standard. Where relevant, key documents have been uploaded. Where a concern has been identified, appropriate strategies to address this have been recorded.	There are gaps in the recording of contextual information. All relevant key documents have not been uploaded. There is limited detail relating to the strategies in place to address identified barriers to learning or pastoral concerns.	There are many gaps in the recording of contextual information. Relevant supporting documents have not been uploaded. There is no evidence to suggest that strategies are in place to address identified barriers/concerns.
3. Alternative provision	All information has been provided on the alternative provision for this pupil. All checks and measures have been actioned.	There are gaps in the required information about alternative provision.	Alternative provision information has not been provided.
4. Careers and post 16 planning	Sufficient evidence has been provided to show that the CYP has received high quality independent careers advice and guidance and/or robust details of a transition plan are in place to the next phase of education.	There are gaps in the required information about Careers and post 16 planning or for transition to next phase of education.	Information about careers and post 16 planning have not been entered. The CYP has not had no high-quality independent careers advice and guidance. Planning has not taken place to ensure successful transition to the next phase of education.
5. My views	C/YP's voice has been appropriately recorded and this is reflected in the PEP meeting record and/or acted upon in setting SMART targets. This should be completed in advance of the meeting with the CYP.	C/YP's voice has been recorded, however there are insufficient elements present to fully represent their views in either the PEO meeting or in the setting of smart targets.	C/YP's voice has not been captured or lacks any depth. There is no evidence that their views have been considered in the setting of SMART targets or recorded in the PEP meeting record.
6. Progress and attainment	Accurate data is complete, up-to-date and shows the progress being made by CYP. Where attainment is below target grade, effective and ambitious intervention strategies are in place by the setting close the gap. The school has up to date WAG data on the PEP and the latest data capture/ report has been attached to the PEP.	Data is either incomplete or out of date. Where progress lags behind expectations, strategies employed by the setting to address underachievement or gaps in learning may be outlined but not in sufficient detail. Curriculum targets could be more aspirational to show ambition for C/YP.	Attainment and Progress data has not been entered or is significantly out of date. There is little evidence of the setting's actions to address underachievement. Curriculum targets are incomplete or have been set well below national expectations therefore progress is not evident.
7. Setting SMART targets and action planning	Evidence shows the impact of actions and targets from the previous PEP being completed and evaluated. The impact of the previous support and interventions has been evaluated against the progress made. All new targets set are SMART and supported by planned interventions to overcome identified barriers or gaps in learning. The use of support and interventions and is recorded against the new targets set.	Evidence of the impact of actions and targets from the previous PEP could be more detailed in their evaluation. The evidence presented does not clearly show whether support and/or intervention is having an impact in supporting outcomes. New targets set are appropriate; however, they are not specific or focused enough to demonstrate how they will overcome identified barriers or gaps in learning. The use of support and interventions remains unclear.	There is no evidence that actions from the previous PEP have been evaluated, including any planned support and/or intervention; therefore, no impact on outcomes is evident. New targets are insufficient or have not been set. Those which have been set lack any rigor, focus or detail to demonstrate the support strategies offered by the setting to overcome any identified barriers to learning. Support and/or Intervention is not identified appropriately against any new targets set for this term.
8. PEP meeting record	Notes clearly identify what is working well, what still needs support and actions needed are recorded. These provide a clear insight to carers and other professionals of C/YP's developmental/educational needs, and the support strategies employed in the setting to meet these needs. What is working well? What are we worried about? What needs to happen?	Notes of the meeting, whilst lacking detail, do give some insight of C/YP's developmental/educational needs to carers and other professionals. They outline support strategies in place within the setting to meet C/YP needs, although lack any detail.	The notes of the meeting contain insufficient detail to give insight to parents/carers and professionals of C/YP's developmental/educational needs or the support strategies in place within the setting to meet these needs.
Overall quality judgement	The PEP has been rated Green as an effective plan designed to provide a clear strategy to address barriers to learning, accelerate progress and improve life chances. Where relevant, any transition plans, careers advice, guidance and support are effective.	The PEP has been rated Amber, as whilst appropriate in content, it lacks a clear strategy and accountability for the actions identified to accelerate progress and improve life chances. Where relevant, transition plans, careers advice, guidance and support do not always contain sufficient detail.	The PEP has been rated Red as it fails to demonstrate how C/YP can be supported to make progress or to minimise barriers to learning to improve life chances. Where relevant, transition plans, careers advice, guidance and support are not evidenced.

In ensuring the strength of the PEP in securing positive outcomes for child or young person, you may also take into consideration some of the following:

Curriculum

Does the C/YP have access to an appropriate curriculum to meet their needs? Have curricular priorities been clearly identified, e.g. literacy/numeracy? Have curricular strengths been identified e.g. art, music
If alternative education provision is used, is this appropriate, safe, of high quality and designed to aid progression to post 16 provision and beyond into adult life
Curriculum targets - have they been appropriately set, are they aspirational and have predicted grades been inputted?
Are pupils/students making the required progress? e.g. age related expectations, and is progress measured regularly?
Home learning, is this completed and on time, and if not, what support is provided to improve this?
What is the quality of CIAG and what support is needed to make timely, informed, and appropriate choices?
What is the quality of careers advice and guidance for post 16 and post 18 provision?
Has the young person had access to appropriate work experience, or are there plans in place to provide this?

Additional or Special Educational Needs (learning and/or emotional, social, mental health)

Does the C/YP have a statement of special education needs/EHCP, or are they identified as having Additional Education or support needs (K)? Are these reflected and detailed in the PEP?
What are these needs and how are they being addressed? Has the current EHCP/IEP/BSP been uploaded?
Does the information contained in the PEP indicate a timely assessment of SEN should be considered?
Identification of other needs, e.g. emotional/social/pastoral/physical. Is there any analysis of times or situations that are triggers to distress/behaviour/withdrawal concerns? What strategies are in place to support the C/YP?
If completed, does the SDQ (Strengths and Difficulties) or Leuvan Assessment (Early Years) suggest areas for intervention?
Have appropriate and timely referrals been made to other agencies?
Is there clear identification of the provision of support from other agencies involved - e.g. Behaviour Support Team; anger management; counselling/therapy?

Study support

What is the impact of Teaching Assistant support/1:1/small groups - what is the focus and how often?
Is the impact of these interventions reflected in the attainment and progress tracker?
Has additional support been prioritised toward underachievement in core areas?
What is the quality of liaison between home and school? e.g. homework diary; attendance at Parents' Evenings
Are carers effectively supporting learning at home, and are they supported themselves in doing this?
Is there provision/support for home learning - at home, at school/college, attendance at homework clubs, mentoring

Personal/Cultural/ Religious development

Are full opportunities available to pursue sporting/musical/ artistic interests or strengths, hobbies, or clubs
Is additional funding or resources directed to support engagement in enrichment activities?
Have the child/young person's personal strengths been identified and celebrated appropriately?
What of cultural and/or religious needs (including mixed ethnicity) and are these being effectively met?
Has an evaluation of the quality of the relationships with peers and adult's ben explored?
Are there opportunities to develop friendships, socialisation, outside of school available, e.g. in-home placement
Does the setting offer peer mentoring, if appropriate?
What is the stability/consistency of the home and school placement and how is the C/YP supported around this?
Has identified need been addressed through strategies to build confidence and self-esteem?
Does the C/YP have access to holidays, school trips, residentials and extra-curricular events?

Transfer/transition:

Nursery and Year 6: are transition plans in place and how robust/detailed are they?
How robust is CIAG and Transition plans to p0st 16 and beyond?
Are arrangements for phase transition and mid-term transition effective, e.g. liaison with prospective school/college/employer in advance of any move?
How robust is the transfer of relevant information, documentation, strategies, and support when moving out of area?

Policies