Electronic Personal Education Plan completion guidance
Introduction
Download this guidance as a pdf (PDF, 958 KB)
A Personal Education Plan (PEP) is a statutory requirement for every child or young person who enters the care of a Local Authority (CIOC) from the academic year of their 3rd birthday (if they are accessing provision) up to their 18th birthday and through to the end of year 13 (the education year in which they become 18). A PEP is the process of assessing the appropriateness and quality of educational provision in accelerating the progress of a Child/Young Person (C/YP) to close any gaps in their development or attainment, forming an integral part of their Care Planning Cycle.
The PEP is an evolving record of what needs to happen for Children in our Care to enable them to make at least expected progress and fulfil their potential. The PEP should reflect the importance of a personalised approach to learning that meets the child's identified educational and developmental needs, raises aspirations and maximises life chances. It is also used to provide key performance indicators which monitor the attendance, attainment, curriculum offer and the well-being needs of C/YP in our Care, as they progress through their education.
It is a statutory requirement for a PEP to be initiated within 20 working days of a C/YP entering care with an initial version being available for the 20 working-day review of the care plan. Also a new PEP must completed within 10 working days after any significant change in provision; for example, a change of education setting.
The PEP is reviewed once every school term for those in statutory and early years or nursery settings, at regular termly intervals. The Virtual School has determined three final dates each term when a PEP meeting must have taken place and the PEP document completed and uploaded onto the Welfare Call system for quality assurance.
The dates for 2025/2026 are:
- Autumn: 28 November 2025
- Spring: 20 March 2026
- Summer: 27 June 2026
The Virtual School quality assures all PEPs and uses the information contained within the plan to provide advice, support and challenge to schools on behalf of the Local Authority as Corporate Parent.
Welfare Call (WC) - is the provider of a secure, electronic, web-based system, commissioned by Gateshead Virtual School. It is the system we use to compile and analyse information before, during and after Personal Education Planning (PEP) meetings.
Gateshead Virtual School have three versions of the ePEP on the Welfare Call system:
- Early Years PEP - for children who are accessing an early years setting on a part or full-time basis in the two years prior to entering statutory school known as : N-2 2 and 3 year olds N-1 3 and 4 year olds
- Statutory School Age PEP - for those C/YP in Reception to Year 11 4
- Post 16 PEP - for young people in Year 12 and 13 whether they are in Education, Employment or Training (EET), or are currently seeking Education, Employment or Training (SEET).
Information contained in this guidance has been designed to help all Designated Teachers/Leads to access and effectively complete a high quality PEP on the Welfare Call system.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Virtual School Caseworker attached to your school, college or provision for any further information or queries in relation to the content of this document. Likewise, we are here to help with any support or training you may require, particularly for those who are new to the role of Designated Teacher/Lead.