The Islington Plan for Looked After Children and ... - Islington Council

e. Children looked after with who have special educational needs (SEN) are
nine times more likely to have a statement than the general pupil
population. 8 Although children might have SEN not all will be long
standing or enduring and could be met within a mainstream school
environment without additional educational support (school action and
school action plus). Islington has forty eight children looked after who are
statemented due to enduring special educational needs. Thirty eight of
these children are placed out of borough and it is a challenge to ensure
that their needs are met.
5.4.4 Priorities 2011-2014
a. Raising attainment at Key Stage 4.
The focus will be on Key Stage 4 children to ensure that they get the
predicted grades, that they should, as identified by their schools.
The Virtual School and Children Looked After Service will increase its
monitoring of levels of attainment in Key Stage 4 via the development of
pupil progress meetings, attendance at all Year 11 Personal Education
Plan (PEP) meetings and increased PEP monitoring, negotiating
appropriate levels of support with schools and feedback to the Children
Looked After Service of individual Year 11 pupil’s progress.
b. Ensuring that the needs of children in care are effectively targeted,
monitored and supported in school settings.
The timeliness and quality of Personal Education Plans will be monitored
by the Virtual School and linked to the pupil premium to ensure it is used
effectively to support the specific needs of children looked after and
enhance their attainment.
c. Improving the quality of Personal Education Plans.
The quality assurance processes used to ensure that schools, social
workers and foster carers meet the needs of children looked after will be
improved to ensure that they are able to support educational targets set by
the ‘home’ school. This will include children with statements or SEN needs
wherever they are placed.
d. To ensure that our tracking and monitoring systems can identify
children and young people at key stages and with individual needs.
The Virtual School has developed a robust database for tracking and
monitoring children at key stages in an effort to be responsive to their
needs at the right time and improve their outcomes. This includes tracking
and monitoring children who are statemented or who have been identified
8 Guidance on Looked After Children with Special Educational Needs placed outof-authority
(Jan 2010)
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