General PEP guidance
PEPs are education plans drawn up at a meeting, usually held in the young persons education or training provision.
They are a statutory part of the care planning for each child.
They are designed to ensure that all important decisions about the education of children in care (CiC) are made jointly by the corporate parents. This includes designated teachers and all other professionals supporting the young person.
The PEP is an evolving record of what needs to happen for looked-after children, to enable them to make at least expected progress and fulfil their potential.
At what age do children have a PEP?
All CiC must have a PEP from
- aged 2 years if accessing a minimum of 15 hours’ Early Years entitlement, or
- aged 3 years
All CiC must have a PEP until they are aged 18 years.
Who should initiate the PEP?
The social worker has the duty to initiate the PEP within 10 working days of a child or young person coming into care.
How often should a PEP be completed?
PEPs need to take place once a term, a review of the PEP should take place termly or more frequently if there is a need.
If a child is new to care, or new to the education or training provision, a PEP needs to take place within 20 school days, and reviewed each term.
A PEP can be done at the same time as Individual Education Plan (IEP) or Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) reviews.
Quality assurance of the PEP
Birmingham Virtual School believes that all of our looked after children deserve a high-quality PEP to support them in achieving to their full potential.
Refer to our quality assurance guidance and use this to support you when writing a PEP.
BVS will regularly monitor PEPs for quality assurance using the above framework.
This will help inform us where our children are being well supported by a quality PEP and also identify any areas in need of improvement.
These can then be discussed during your education provision corporate parent visit.
PEP responsibilities
Section A: Essential information and care information
This is completed by the social worker.
Section B: The child or young person's views
This should be completed by the child or young person, with the support of the designated teacher.
Section C: Education information
This includes attainment levels, attendance, targets, Health and Emotional Wellbeing, SEND and 14-19+ plan. This is completed by the designated teacher.
Section D:
This should be completed by the carer or keyworker. If they do not have access to ePEP online, the social worker or designated teacher can complete the section on their behalf.
Section E: Meeting record
This section includes:
- achievements since the previous PEP
- an outline of the PEP meeting discussion
- identified support needs
- an outline of the agreed plan for the coming term.
This should be completed by the designated teacher.
Post‑16 PEP responsibilities
Post‑16 PEPs are used for young people aged 16 to 18 years who are in education, employment or training.
The Post‑16 PEP is shorter and only includes Sections A and B.
Section A: Young person’s information
This section is completed and updated by the social worker and includes:
- personal and care information
- social worker information
- education, employment or apprenticeship details
- criminal custody and remand information, where relevant
- additional needs
Section B: Post‑16 plan
This section records the Post‑16 PEP meeting and outlines the agreed plan to support the young person’s education, training or employment.
It should reflect the discussion held at the PEP meeting and the agreed next steps. This section is usually completed by the PEP coordinator or designated teacher
Pupil voice
The statutory guidance places an emphasis on pupil voice.
In Birmingham the Virtual School consulted with a group of CiC.
The young people involved in this consultation suggested improvements for PEP meetings.
They would like:
- professionals to be more discreet, as they felt they needed to lie to friends about why they were out of lessons
- more notice about the meetings
- fewer people at the meetings
- shorter, less formal meetings
- the focus to be on them and their learning
- subject teachers from their weakest subjects to attend to discuss support in these areas
- to be given the opportunity to chair their own PEP
Target setting (pre-16) / action setting (post-16)
Targets and actions can be:
- in-school targets
- pupil led targets
- be identified as a result of the discussion
Targets and actions need to be SMART:
- Specific, Significant, Stretching
- Measurable, Meaningful, Motivational
- Agreed, Achievable, Action-Orientation
- Realistic, Relevant, Results-Orientated
- Time-Bound, Tangible, Trackable
There should be a minimum of one target / action relating to Pupil Premium Plus (PPP). There also must be targets linked to literacy, numeracy or at least 2 academic targets.
The meeting
The discussions that take part at the PEP meeting are recorded in Section E for pre-16 PEPs and Section B for Post 16 PEPs.
It should also reflect the voice of the child / young person.
The PEP should reflect the importance of a personalised approach to learning that meets the child's identified educational needs, raises aspirations and builds life chances.
Quick guides for using the ePEP
Page last updated: 2 March 2026
