Guidance, Document

Personal education plans for children looked after: guidance for practitioners

Non-statutory guidance for local authorities and schools on initiating, developing and reviewing personal education plans (PEPs).

First published: 9 July 2026
Last updated:

1. Audience

This guidance is for those with a responsibility for personal education plans (PEPs) in their school or local authority. This includes:

  • the designated person for children looked after within schools
  • headteachers
  • governors
  • local authority officers with responsibility for children looked after (including looked-after children in education (LACE) coordinators and virtual school heads)
  • social services staff
  • independent reviewing officers
  • pupil referral units

This guidance may also be read by staff in third sector organisations whose work helps support children looked after.

2. Purpose

This document provides good practice guidance to local authorities and schools on initiating, developing and reviewing PEPs. In the guidance ‘must’ indicates an obligation, derived from existing statute while ‘should’ suggests a good practice recommendation.

3. Introduction

Development of this guidance

The Welsh Government worked with a wide range of professionals to inform the development of this guidance. A Personal Education Plan Task and Finish Group was established made up of individuals from local authorities who have a strategic role in promoting the education of care-experienced learners. The task and finish group were a subgroup of the National Delivery Group (NDG) for the education of care-experienced leaners. The NDG comprised external stakeholders who work to promote and support the educational outcomes of care-experienced children in Wales.

The Welsh Government also engaged with care-experienced learners on:

  • what is important to them in their education 
  • what should be included in this guidance

Their views are reflected throughout the guidance. We are very grateful to the young people for sharing their views.

4. Background and context

Welsh Government commitment

The Welsh Government’s ‘Corporate Parenting Charter: A Promise from Wales’ sets out the shared principles all bodies and their leaders should follow when providing services (including education) to care-experienced children and young people. This includes the following principle:

A good education: we will provide opportunities and support for all care-experienced children and young people to learn and develop, and help them become who they want to be.

Although children looked after are not a homogeneous group, they:

  • are more likely to have experienced trauma in their lives, including abuse, neglect or loss
  • may need support to overcome attachment difficulties which can affect the way they engage at school, including their concentration and behaviour

Providing children and young people with the right support will help them achieve their potential and progress in the next steps of their life.

This guidance is based on the understanding every child looked after:

  • is unique with individual strengths and needs
  • should have their voice heard
  • is central to the planning put in place for them
  • should have the opportunity and support to build positive, secure relationships and social interactions with adults and their peers
  • has a right to an education in a safe, enabling and inclusive environment where there is a culture of high educational aspirations
  • can thrive with the right skills and support

Enabling adults working with children looked after should provide developmentally and pedagogically appropriate support. They should:

  • respect and promote the rights of the child as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
  • celebrate and value diversity and demonstrate inclusivity
  • provide emotionally safe environments that support learners to express and regulate their feelings and behaviours in positive ways
  • be consistent in their care, modelling compassion and kindness
  • help learners to cope with uncertainty and change, preparing them to manage transitions and changes in daily routines
  • provide opportunities for learners to develop secure attachments and relationships, so that they can feel confident in themselves and participate positively in everyday activities
  • actively engage with the wider system around the child including social workers, carers, therapeutic support, youth workers or other trusted adults to ensure integration of care and support

The Curriculum for Wales Enabling learning guidance provides more information on the key principles for holistic and meaningful learning for all learners.

Teachers and other school staff have been identified by children and young people looked after as key to their educational progress. Teachers and other staff have a vital role as ‘trusted adults’ whose support provides benefits such as:

  • greater self-confidence
  • decreased feelings of worry
  • better school engagement and achievement

Young people told us about how they would like to be supported in school:

“I would like more space to chill out, or to talk in private with teachers who understand me.” Young person

“Schools need a list of kids who are care-experienced, so we can have more support and help us make more friends with shared experiences.” Young person

“Have staff trained to support care-experienced young people. They would better understand us and you could talk about how you feel. Have an older person who has been in care who understands us and advocates for us.” Young person

“For some of us, especially when we are younger, school is our safe place. But if you constantly pick us up on little things, things we often can’t help like not having all the right uniform or all the right books, that can make us feel unsafe in what should be our safe space. Try to be understanding. It might be harder for us to stick to all the rules all the time.” Young person

5. Duties in relation to the education of children looked after

Children and Young Persons Act 2008

Section 20 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 states that the governing body of a maintained school must designate a member of staff (‘the designated person’) as having responsibility for promoting the educational achievement of children who are looked after in the school. This duty applies regardless of whether there are children looked after on the school roll. Schools need to be prepared to respond quickly to the needs of children looked after who may join the school at very short notice.

Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities to promote the educational achievement of children looked after. The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014: Part 6 Code of Practice (Looked After and Accommodated Children) provides advice on the care and support planning duties of local authorities in relation to care and support plans, including health and education.

The Part 6 care and support plan is a plan for children looked after. It brings together all the key information from the assessment of the child’s developmental needs and from any other assessments of the child and their family. The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) (CPPCR) Regulations 2015 also require the preparation of a health plan, a PEP and a placement plan for the child. These should all be incorporated into and form an integral part of the overall Part 6 care and support plan for the child.

The provisions under Part 6 of the Act also apply to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. They have the same rights and entitlements as children looked after who are born in Wales and the UK.

This guidance provides further good practice advice in relation to PEPs, which supplements the duties highlighted in the Code. The advice is not intended to impose additional duties on local authorities or schools.

6. The purpose of a personal education plan

In order to be impactful, the PEP process should:

  • support and meet the child’s educational and emotional needs, allowing them to thrive in their education setting and achieve their full potential
  • be an effective, high-quality and personalised plan that the child has ownership over
  • embed Welsh language opportunities, as appropriate, for example the PEP should be accessible through the medium of Welsh and English (in accordance with the Welsh Language Standards) and the young person should be able to contribute their views in their language of choice (Welsh or English)
  • be a live (current) and evolving document for setting and tracking targets, monitoring progress and showing how professionals are working (and plan to work) with the child supporting their education
  • support effective communication and partnership working between all those who have responsibility for the PEP (for example the education provider, local authority officers, the child and their carers)

7. PEP minimum requirements

The Part 6 Code of Practice sets out the: 

  • information that should be included in the PEP
  • time scales for initiating the PEP
  • transition arrangements 
  • cross-border arrangements

Please refer directly to the Code for more information.

8. Giving the child a voice

Taking account of the child’s views

Young people highlighted the importance of having opportunities to have their voices heard and taken seriously in decisions that affect them:

“Listen to us. Ask us what would help us learn now, listen to what we say and act on it. And if you can’t do what we’re asking you to, explain why.” Young person

The most important person in the PEP process is the child. Listening to their voice is vital to understanding and meeting their needs and it should be evident in their PEP. According to their age and understanding, views should be considered when identifying their educational needs and deciding on actions at a school or individual level. They should be given feedback on how their views have been acted upon and the reasons for any decisions taken where this was not possible.

What this participation looks like may depend on: 

  • the level of participation the child or young person wishes or is supported to have
  • the nature of issues being discussed at the PEP meeting
  • what the people who know the child or young person feel is in their best interests

A member of school staff or other trusted adult who has a good relationship with the learner should support them to express their views and identify their strengths, goals and aspirations. Alternatively, the learner may be supported to share their views by an independent advocate (for example, as provided by Tros Gynnal Plant or the National Youth Advocacy Service).

The child or young person may wish to: 

  • stay for part or all of the PEP meeting
  • share their opinions themselves
  • opt out of the meeting but choose an adult to share their views at the meeting

Supporting learners and their caregiver to participate meaningfully in the PEP process will help them to: 

  • feel confident their views are listened to and valued
  • have an awareness of their rights and the support available to them
  • develop a sense of responsibility for, and control over, their learning

The following quotes from learners who are looked after in Wales suggest that children or young people are not always fully engaged in the PEP process:

“I have never seen one of these before in my life, am I meant to have?” 

“If these are meant to be done with us, they aren’t. I’m not sure it would even be helpful as most of the issues I have in school are more emotional well-being- or placement-related. I can do the schoolwork if I’m in the right mindset. I’m not dull, I’m very clever.” 

“I have seen this sheet with boxes on before and filled it in. I didn’t know what it was or what it meant though?”

Ways of getting a child or young person’s views

The child or young person should be provided with time and appropriate information to:

  • understand the PEP process
  • be able to participate meaningfully in their language of choice (English or Welsh)

Their views could be collected through:

  • a conversation (for younger children this might be by talking with the child while they play or do creative activities)
  • a questionnaire
  • pictorial representations

The way views are gathered depends on their language, age, stage of development and any additional needs they may have.

Useful resources

About Me profile

The About Me profile (one-page profile) can be helpful as the starting point for person-centred planning. It is a simple summary of what is important to a child or young person and how they want to be supported. It helps teaching staff plan specifically for their needs.

The About Me profile captures positive information about the child on a single sheet of paper. It might include:

  • ‘what people like and admire about me’
  • ‘what is important to me’
  • ‘how best to support me’

The child or young person should be involved as much as possible in the development of the About Me profile using a person-centred approach. It should be reviewed regularly and prior to transition so the new school has a clear and accurate picture of the child or young person. This way the child or young person will be included and supported in the new environment.

Useful resources

Emotional and mental well-being

Emotional well-being has a strong influence on cognitive skills such as:

  • maintaining attention
  • memory
  • executive function
  • motivation to learn
  • problem-solving 
  • regulation

As such, emotional and mental well-being plays an integral role in supporting or undermining learning and teaching. It therefore needs to be at the centre of the PEP process and embedded through teaching and all the other aspects of school life.

According to the latest Children Receiving Care and Support (CRCS) Census, 50% of all children receiving care and support in Wales on 31 March 2023 started to do so because of the risk of, or actual, abuse or neglect. The proportion was higher for children looked after (65%) compared to children who were not looked after and not on the child protection register (33%). These adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase the risk of mental health challenges in childhood or adulthood. Mental health issues can further compound difficulties in education.

Supporting a child or young person’s emotional well-being enables them to thrive and achieve their full potential. It is therefore crucial to consider the emotional health and well-being of the child as part of the PEP process. One way of supporting those who have experienced childhood adversity and trauma is to adopt a trauma-informed approach and practices. To help guide consistent good practice, the Welsh Government commissioned ACE Hub Wales and Traumatic Stress Wales to develop a trauma-informed practice framework for Wales. The Trauma and ACE (TrACE) Informed Organisations Toolkit is a practical resource to support the implementation of the Framework.

The Welsh Government’s ‘Framework on embedding a whole-school approach to emotional and mental well-being’ provides guidance for schools and education settings to support good emotional and mental well-being. This is achieved by promoting a positive cultural environment in schools, where:

  • children and young people form positive relationships with staff and other learners
  • relationships are strengthened

School senior leadership teams are expected to consider their more vulnerable learners (including children looked after) when developing their well-being plan. This should be part of the wider school improvement process, to ensure it accommodates learners’ needs. The framework includes guidance for schools about the collection of a range of data and intelligence which can be used to inform and understand the well-being of learners and school staff.

To support the emotional and mental well-being of children looked after it is helpful if schools work with the wider system of support for the young person. This includes:

  • social workers
  • carers
  • therapeutic support workers
  • youth workers
  • third sector organisations 
  • other trusted adults

Where children looked after are accessing mental health support, education staff:

  • should be aware of the intervention 
  • understand the approach being taken and any dysregulation or behavioural change that may occur as a result

Young people highlighted the importance of school staff taking a trauma-informed approach to support their progress in school:

“What has happened to us shapes who we are and how we respond in certain situations. Care-experienced children have all experienced trauma. Just being taken into care is a trauma in itself. That means that we may respond differently in some situations to the way someone else does. Please make sure that everyone who works in education understands this so they understand how we might respond to things and how to help us feel safe and supported.” Young person

“A quiet word from the teacher to ask if I am OK is welcomed if this is done without drawing the attention of the other students. With one teacher there is a code between us. I exchange a glance with the teacher and give them a small nod to show I am OK.” Young person

“The support I’ve received in school has been brilliant. I’ve got a brilliant rapport with every single teacher, whether they’ve taught me in lesson or not.” Young person

Useful resources

9. Personal education plan process

The PEP process is a cycle of consultation, planning and review which should ensure that the child or young person can maximise their potential. It is important that:

  • the voice of the young person is central to their PEP
  • the PEP is treated as a ‘living document’

The PEP must be reviewed in partnership with the school, the child and the child’s carers, as part of the statutory review of the wider care and support plan. The PEP should be reviewed when the child or young person experiences any significant change in their life. It is considered best practice to conduct the PEP review separately from the overarching children looked after review.

Stages of the PEP process

The local authority should have a quality assurance process for PEPs.

Child arrives in care

  • PEP initiated as part of the Part 6 care and support plan.
  • In an emergency placement the PEP must be initiated within 10 working days.

First PEP meeting

Suggested attendees include:

  • social worker
  • child looked after (if appropriate)
  • designated teacher
  • senior school staff
  • carer or foster parent
  • advocate

The meetings should be led by senior school staff or the designated teacher:

  • A version of the PEP must be available for the first statutory review meeting of the Part 6 care and support plan.
  • The statutory time frame is 20 days after entry to care or accommodation.

Subsequent PEP meetings

While the child remains in care, the school is responsible for completing and updating the PEP.

Child turns 16

The local authority prepares a pathway plan to assist with the transition to adulthood and leaving care.

Individual development plan (IDP)

  • Where applicable, the IDP should be incorporated into the PEP.
  • IDPs should be reviewed at least annually.
  • The IDP may be prepared, reviewed or revised at the same time as the PEP.

10. Initiating, developing and reviewing the PEP

Young people emphasised the importance of staying in the same school, to increase their feelings of stability and security:

“When we are taken in to care please work with our social workers and whoever else you have to try and keep us in our own school, if it is safe. I was able to stay in my school, and it made a real difference to me. The teachers already knew me, they were already supporting me.” Young person

PEP meeting

Key points:

  • Every child and young person is unique. Attendance at the meeting will depend on each learner’s needs and who is involved in supporting them. The meeting should only involve professionals or supporting adults who need to be there so the child or young person feels safe and comfortable attending. 
  • It is considered best practice to conduct the PEP review separately from the children looked after review so that a thorough review can take place. When the PEP meeting is part of the broader child looked after review it may involve discussion of issues which trigger an emotional response in the young person thus colouring the PEP discussion. Children looked after said that: 

“When our education is addressed in the wider care review, it is skimmed over. They only asked us if we are ‘doing well’ at school. No one asked us for our views and there was no detailed discussion about the plan for our education or about next steps. There isn’t enough time in the child looked after review for a proper discussion about our education and there is not enough focus on it from social services. We were not asked about what we would like to talk about.”

  • Children looked after said they do not want their lessons to be disrupted by a PEP or care review meeting. Therefore, where possible, meetings should be held outside of lesson times. If this is not possible, provide an appropriate room to ensure privacy for the meeting and where the child or young person will feel at ease and comfortable.
  • The child or young person should have enough notice to prepare for the meeting (for example to think about what they want to say or if they want somebody to attend with them).
  • Be sensitive and empathetic in the language you use to record information about a young person in the PEP. Bear in mind the young person you are writing about may read them. This infographic (which uses findings from the Economic and Social Research Council funded Innovate Project) may be useful.
  • CLA Virtual School Cardiff’s PEP Monitoring and Review Template provides an example of how information from the PEP meeting might be captured.

Make every effort to consider and accommodate the young person’s preferences about:

  • whether to have the meeting face to face or virtually (a virtual meeting may be helpful for Welsh-speaking children educated out of county, especially where they are in settings without Welsh-speaking staff)
  • whether they want to attend the meeting or would rather have a trusted adult share their views
  • who they would like to support them at the meeting
  • what time of day the meeting should take place

Young people fed back the following about their PEP meeting:

  • “If I feel I am going to be judged I don’t say anything.”
  • “If you have just met us, give us time to warm up.”
  • “I am asked if I want to go.”
  • “I don’t like going to meetings. Sir says in the meeting what I want to say.”
  • “I like to go to meetings and say what I like and don’t like.” 
  • “I prefer online [PEP meetings] as this is less awkward. Sometimes there can be 5 people round the table so it can be intimidating.”

Quality assuring the PEP

The quality of the PEP is the joint responsibility of the local authority that looks after the child or young person and the school or education setting.

The PEP should not be seen as a ‘tick box’ exercise

When working with schools or education settings the local authority should have a quality assurance process in place that ensures:

  • the child or young person’s views and aspirations have been captured, including linguistic preference (English or Welsh)
  • all statutory information as set out in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014: Part 6 Code of Practice (Looked After and Accommodated Children) has been collected (see section 4)
  • there has been an analysis of the child or young person’s barriers to progress and achievement and an appropriate plan to deal with these
  • there are plans to support the child or young person’s transitions:
    • between classes within a school
    • between settings, schools and further education or training
    • where they move school due to a placement change
  • the action being put in place to support the child or young person is practical and clearly linked to the analysis of needs and strengths
  • everyone knows who is responsible for supporting the child or young person in relation to implementing the PEP
  • there is a clear sense of progression of relevant outcomes (for example well-being or academic outcomes), improvements in attendance or reduction in behaviour incidents leading to exclusion
  • there is a well-defined pathway for securing high-quality education provision where a child or young person is not in school or other education setting (this should set out how the child or young person and their carers will be supported so that they can be re-integrated into an appropriate educational placement)

Reviewing the PEP

The PEP should be treated as a ‘living’ (working and evolving) document which helps create a shared understanding about how everyone can support the child or young person to succeed.

It is recommended as good practice that the PEP is reviewed: 

  • at least every 6 months to provide an update at the child looked after review meeting
  • when the child experiences any significant change in their life (for example a placement move, changing school, turning 16)

The review of the PEP should be an opportunity to ensure: 

  • current targets continue to be relevant and sufficiently challenging
  • approaches put in place to support the child’s progression have had a positive impact on the child’s outcomes, as intended

PEP processes put in place by the local authority should:

  • recognise workload challenges for teachers 
  • ensure processes are streamlined and user-friendly

Transition arrangements

The Part 6 Code of Practice sets out the arrangements that should be made where a child changes school due to a placement change.

Transition to post 16 education

Young people discussed their plans after leaving school and the support they would need:

“I want to be a barber. I think you need natural talent and an eye for the finer details to do this. I don’t want to work for someone else I’ll have my own studio, I’ve never learned how to set up a business like this in school.” Young person

“I have disability, dyslexia and dyspraxia. I found lessons where I had to sit and listen difficult but also the practical side of day-to-day life with my coordination. There was no winning in school, now I’m a school leaver and have no job. I go to Inspire but this will be finishing soon, I don’t know what I will do.” Young person

The Part 6 Code of Practice sets out requirements in relation to the young person’s transition to further education, training and employment. This needs to be considered at the earliest opportunity. 

Note: Young people attending the Care Experienced Summit in March 2024 said that discussions on future pathways and post-16 need to start earlier for care-experienced learners. They felt many changes are made once a child is 16 and by then they felt it was too late to begin discussions about higher education options.

Local authority staff should work closely with the engagement and progression coordinator (EPC) and youth homelessness coordinator (YHC) to ensure that children looked after who are at risk of disengaging or at risk of youth homelessness are supported and have a planned transition to an appropriate post-16 setting.

The EPC and YHC play a critical role in implementing the Youth Engagement and Progression Framework. The EPC role is about:

  • preventing young people disengaging from learning 
  • supporting young people who are not in education, employment or training

The YHC role is focused on the prevention of youth homelessness.

11. Roles and responsibilities

The Welsh Government’s guide for the designated person for looked after children in schools sets out the roles and responsibilities of key professionals in relation to the education of children looked after.

12. Children with additional learning needs

Under the additional learning needs (ALN) system duties to identify ALN and prepare and maintain IDPs in respect of children looked after are in most cases placed on the local authority that looks after the child.

The mandatory ALN Code sets out that an IDP for a child looked after must be incorporated into the child’s PEP. This is to support a holistic approach and enable the additional learning provision (ALP) for a child that is looked after and the wider educational provision made for them, to complement one another.

As a minimum, IDPs are reviewed annually. Where possible and appropriate, the IDP may be prepared, revised or reviewed at the same time as the PEP.

Chapter 14 of the ALN Code and Additional learning needs (ALN) and looked after children supplementary guidance provides information on:

  • decisions about ALN
  • the preparation and maintaining of IDPs
  • the securing of the ALP included in an IDP

Estyn’s effective practice case study on taking a whole-school approach to supporting pupils with additional learning needs may be a helpful resource.

13. Cross-border arrangements

The Part 6 Code of Practice sets out the arrangements that should be made for a child or young person’s education or training before any placement is made. These should be consistent with their PEP.

Any admissions decisions made must also be consistent with the Welsh Government’s Admissions Code.

14. PEP templates

The Part 6 Code of Practice sets out the information that should be included in the PEP. However, there is no requirement for local authorities across Wales to use a common template. The school should complete the PEP relevant to a child or young person’s home local authority (their corporate parent), regardless of which local authority they are educated in. The PEP templates used by CLA Virtual School Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf may provide ideas for other local authorities.

15. Further information and sources of support

Sources of support

  • Adoption UK Cymru provides support and services across Wales and works in collaboration with their partners in the National Adoption Service.
    email: wales@adoptionuk.org.uk
    Helpline: 0300 666 0006 (Monday to Friday between 10am and 2.30pm)
  • The Fostering Network Wales supports foster carers and other professionals by providing learning and development, research and information services.
    email: wales@fostering.net
    Tel: 029 20 440940
  • Voices From Care Cymru are dedicated to upholding the rights and welfare of care-experienced children and young people.
    email: info@vfcc.org.uk
    Tel: 029 2045 1431
  • Tros Gynnal Plant (TGP) Cymru work with some of the most vulnerable and marginalised children, young people and families in Wales.
    email: admin@tgpcymru.org.uk 
    Tel: 029 2039 6974
  • The National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) supports children, young people and adults in vulnerable situations across England and Wales. It offers advocacy, mental health advocacy support, monitoring, safeguarding, and legal services.
    email: help@nyas.net
    Helpline: 0808 808 1001 (Monday to Friday: 9am to 8pm. Saturday: 10am to 4pm.)
  • The Children’s Commissioner for Wales offers a free and confidential advice line to assist children and young people who feel their rights have been infringed.
    email: post@childcomwales.org.uk
    Tel: 0808 801 1000
  • Children in Wales is the national umbrella body for organisations and individuals who work with children, young people and their families in Wales. They have created resources to support young people leaving care.
    email: info@childreninwales.org.uk
    Tel: 029 2034 2434
  • Careers Wales helps young people to plan their career, prepare to get a job, and find and apply for the right apprenticeships, courses and training.
    Contact: Careers Wales: contact us
    Tel:0800 028 4844 (Monday to Thursday: 9am to 5pm. Friday: 9am to 4:30pm.)
  • Care Leavers Activities and Student Support (CLASS) Cymru offers tips for care-experienced people (or those who support them) and links to helpful resources supporting access into further and higher education.
  • Meic is the helpline service for children and young people up to the age of 25 in Wales.
    Tel: 080880 23456
  • SNAP Cymru offers free and independent information, advice and support to help get the right education for children and young people with ALN and disabilities.
    email: enquiries@snapcymru.org
    Tel: 0808 801 0608
  • Welsh Government’s School Essentials Grant is available to all children in local authority care. Parents and carers with children in reception to Year 11 can apply for £125 per learner and extra funding for their children’s school. Families with children entering Year 7 can apply for £200 to help with the increased costs of starting secondary school. Claims can be made once per child per school year.

Further information

Online resources

Books

  • Inside I’m hurting: Practical strategies for supporting children with attachment difficulties in schools by Louise Michelle Bombèr (Worth Publishing, 2007).
  • Know Me To Teach Me: Differentiated discipline for those recovering from adverse childhood experiences by Louise Michelle Bombèr (Worth Publishing, 2020).
  • The Trauma and Attachment Aware Classroom by Rebecca Brooks (‎Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019).
  • The A to Z of Trauma-Informed Teaching by Sarah Naish, Anne Oakley, Hannah O'Brien, Sair Penna and Daniel Thrower (‎Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2023).
  • When the Adults Change, Everything Changes: Seismic shifts in school behaviour by Paul Dix (‎Independent Thinking Press, 2017).
First published: 9 July 2026
Last updated: