This document provides an introduction to supporting looked after children in educational settings. It explores key issues such as the educational outcomes and needs of looked after children. It also examines the roles and responsibilities of designated teachers and best practices for supporting looked after learners, such as using pupil premium funds effectively and addressing mental health needs. The goal is to promote the educational achievement and well-being of looked after children.

1. Supporting
Looked After
Learners
An introduction to supporting
looked after children within an
educational setting
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2. This course aims to…
• Explore the issues relating to Looked After
Children and their educational outcomes.
• Provide guidance on the role of the
Designated Teacher within the school and
beyond
• Explore best practice when working with
Looked After Children.
Guidance document; The designated teacher for looked
after and previously looked after children. (DfE 2018)
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3. Course Contents
4 Exploring the Issues
9 Review of Statutory Guidance
11 Narrowing the Gap – National Policy
13 Roles and Responsibilities
15 Exploring Best Practice
24 Review
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4. Exploring the Issues

5. Exploring the issues
The Premise
“our goals for children in care should be exactly the
same as our goals for our own children: we want their
childhoods to be secure, healthy and enjoyable – rich
and valuable in themselves as well as providing stable
foundations for the rest of their lives”
Foreword to Care Matters
The concern
Every child requires love, care and stability when they
are growing up, but not all children are fortunate enough
to have a loving family which is capable of providing this
support. Children in care are frequently in greater need,
but paradoxically less likely to receive the help they
require.
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6. National Context
• At 31 March 2017 there were 72,670 looked after children, an increase of 3% on
2016.
• 25% of looked after children achieved the expected level in English (Reading, Writing
& SPaG) and Maths at KS2 compared with 54% of all children.
• 17.5% of looked after children achieved a pass in English and Maths at GCSE level
compared with 58.8% of all children.
• 23% of the prison population has spent time in care
• 45% of children in care are assessed as having a mental health disorder.
• 29% of looked after children are not in education, employment or training by the age
of 19, compared with 13% of all young people.
• 57.3% of looked after children had a special educational need compared with 14.4%
of all children. (27% of looked after children also had an EHCP)
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7. The question
Would this be good enough for
our own children?
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8. Five key reasons why
looked after children
underachieve in education
1. Their lives are characterised by instability.
2. They spend too much time out of school.
3. They do not have sufficient help with their
education if they fall behind.
4. Primary carers are not expected or equipped to
provide sufficient support and encouragement for
learning and development.
5. They have unmet emotional, mental and physical
health needs that impact on their education.
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9. Statutory Guidance

10. Statutory Guidance
The designated teacher for looked-after and
previously looked-after children
DfE 2018
Useful Acronyms:
PEP = Personal Education Plan
VSH = Virtual School Head
DT = Designated Teacher
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11. National Policy

12. National Policy
• Local authorities have a duty to promote the educational achievement of looked
after children. (Children Act 1989)
• Access to high quality early years provision
• Designated Teacher for looked after children
• Looked after children should have a Personal Education Plan (PEP) that is
reviewed on a regular basis
• Training and support for carers, schools and LA staff to ensure they know the
needs of looked after children.
• Pupil Premium + for looked after children
• 16-19 bursary for looked after children going onto higher education
• Priority for school admissions
• Every practicable means should be tried to maintain a child in school and not
exclude
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13. Roles and
Responsibilities

14. Roles and Responsibilities
Designated Teacher
A key part of the designated
teacher's role is ensuring that
they, and other school staff, have
strong awareness, training and
skills around the specific needs
of looked-after and previously
looked-after children and how to
support them.
Virtual School
The Virtual School acts as a
local authority champion to
promote the progress and
attainment of looked after
learners.
They influence local policy for
looked after children, provide
advice support and training to
professionals and provide
additional opportunities and
specialist services.
All Teachers
Deliver high quality education to
looked after students and ensure
they are fully aware of how they
can support any looked after
student in their care.
Seek the advice of the
designated teachers to develop
practice.
Build relationships with looked
after children and ensure they
make progress.
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15. Exploring Best
Practice

16. Examples of best practice
• High quality PEP which is regularly monitored and updated
• Children’s views are sought and they understand the reasons for the decisions
being made
• The designated teacher understands and carries out their role to best support the
child
• Children do not come out of lessons where possible
• Child has a key person and knows who that is in school
• Opinions of outside agencies are sought when appropriate to support the emotional
and educational needs
• Pupil Premium + is used effectively to narrow the educational gap
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17. Listening to the
voice of the child
• Be available, take the time to get to
know me
• Notice if I am upset or angry and listen
to me when I need help
• Understand that even though I’ve had
a different past than most people, it
doesn’t mean I need to be treated
differently
• Understand my experience of being
looked-after
• Understand that my past will affect my
present and my future behaviour even
if I don’t notice
Staffordshire virtual school 2016
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18. Getting the most from PP+
Approaches that are:
• Individually tailored to the needs and strengths of
each pupil
• Consistent: based on agreed core principles and
components, but also flexible and responsive
• Based on evidence of what works
• Focussed on clear short-term goals which give
opportunities for pupils to experience success
• Include regular, high quality feedback from teaching
staff
• Engage parents/carers
• Supporting pupil transitions
• Raising aspirations through access to high-quality
educational experiences
• Promote the young persons awareness and
understanding of their own though processes and
help to develop problem solving strategies.
Which emphasise
• Relationship building
• An emotionally intelligent approach
• Increasing pupil’s understanding of their own emotions
and identity
• Positive reinforcement
• Build self-esteem
• Relevance to the learner; relate to pupils interest
where possible
• A joined up approach
• Strong and visionary leadership on the part of both of
the pupils head teachers
• A child centred approach to assessment for learning
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19. Supporting mental health
What might this look like?
Overview
Looked after children are more likely to
have a range of mental health issues, not
only themselves but often impacted by
their parents issues. Some have been
known to self harm, have substance
misuse or be at high risk of child sexual
exploitation (CSE). They often are from
families where parenting capacity and
family relationships also affect their
emotional wellbeing.
The PEP should be used to identify
individual barriers and plan accordingly. It
does not use a one size fits all model of
intervention. Intervention should be put in
place swiftly and evidence from agency
meetings should trigger a variety of
strategies.
Possible Interventions
- Learning mentors and a member of SLT
or pastoral team with responsibility to
support them
- Daily Head of Year support
- Daily behaviour support
- One to one support from Virtual Schools
Team
- HYMS input (including Tier 3 support
from HYMS where necessary)
- 1:1 mentoring with school staff and
outside agencies
- Support from the drug and alcohol team
in school
- Weekly counselling
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20. Behaviour Support
What might this look like?
Overview
Looked after children are more likely to
find themselves on the wrong end of a
schools behaviour system and display
challenging behaviour.
A key factor in behaviour for looked after
children is being resilient. One key
indicator of a child not being resilient is
when they ‘flip their lid’.
In these instances a looked after child is
seeking to remove the threat, remove
themselves or infantilise in order to attract
adult help. These manifest as aggression,
absence or appeasement. – This is
SURVIVING not thriving.
Possible Interventions
- Building relationships
- Meta-cognition
- Positive reinforcement of ‘good’
behaviour
- Five to Thrive
- “I’m not going to kick you out”
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Image by Photographer's Name (Credit in white type)
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21. Five to Thrive
• RESPOND - Responding and assessing needs
-Be available to support when a child is experiencing stress
• ENGAGE – Connecting and engaging
-Ensuring the child knows that you are available to support.
• RELAX – Self regulating stress (Co-Regulation)
- Working with the child to relax
• PLAY – Being playful (Co-Learning)
- Make sense of what is going on socially and emotionally
• TALK – Creating a narrative
-Discuss what has happened, allow the child to explain.
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22. Supporting in lessons
What might this look like?
Overview
Looked after children are more likely to
be behind their peers in lessons and
make slower progress. Behaviour can be
a big factor in this but there are still other
factors which can affect how well a
looked after child performs in a lesson
Looked after students are more likely to
have additional needs and it would be a
good idea to speak with your schools
SEND team, often strategies they used
with students will have an impact even if
there is no identified SEND need.
Possible Interventions
- Support with work from classroom
teacher / teaching assistant
- Sitting near the front of the class
- Plan group work carefully
- Explain and Exemplify
- Modelling conversation
- Build relationships
- Provide a framework for tasks that
require interaction
- Check sheets
- DIFFERENTIATION
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23. Permission Slips
A common cause of concern
Know what to do when permission is
required for trips or activities.
Ultimately, responsibility for this will lie
with a child's social worker however, the
task of signing permission slips can be
delegated to carers.
- Check the PEP, who can sign
permission slips should be included.
No looked-after child should miss out on
the opportunity of a school trip as a result
of delays in obtaining a permission slip.
Schools should be told by the social
worker who to approach for permissions.
- Allow enough time to obtain
permission
- Do not wait until permission has
been obtained to reserve a place for
the child.
- It is better to release a previously
reserved space if the permission is
not granted.
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24. Review & Action Plan

25. Questions to ask yourself
1. How do you know who your looked after children are?
‒ What steps have you taken to identify who your LACs are?
‒ How much do you know about these children?
‒ What will you do to ensure you know what you need?
2. How do you promote high expectations and achievement?
‒ What barriers to learning do you need to overcome?
‒ What interventions might I need to put in place?
‒ How can you engage this learner?
3. What will you do if there are issues?
‒ What interventions can I rely on?
‒ Who in school can support with this student?
‒ Who can I contact at home?
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