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ePEP online – guidance notes

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Purpose of the software

The ePEP online system has been designed to gather all information required for the Personal Education Plan (PEP) or Post-16 PEP process via a single collection. This will cover EYFS, KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4 and post-16.

The ePEP online system has a number of benefits. These include:

  • attainment tracking
  • attendance monitoring
  • pupil premium tracking
  • live reports
  • gathering the young person’s voice
  • greater data security

PEP meeting requirements

The social worker, designated teacher and carer(s) of the young person must attend each PEP meeting. Any other suitable professional can attend the PEP meeting where applicable.

Section 1 – logging in

Starting the software

To log into the ePEP single sign-on portal please enter the following web page address into your internet browser https://secure.epeponline.co.uk/login

First time registration

Single sign-on is accessed via the web address: egov.uk.com. Click on the orange single sign-on tab top right-hand corner of the webpage.

Screenshot of login to ePEP sign sign-on button

Signing up for single sign-on

Having used the new web address (above) you will arrive at the new ePEP single sign-on page.

Everyone will need to complete the registration process to use the single sign-on by using the first time registration button.

screenshot of click here first time registration button

Please complete the registration page even if you have access to the old login page as you will need to re-register.

When you click the first time registration button, you will be taken to the following page.

screenshot of ePEP registration form

You will be asked to enter a new password for security plus a new memorable word.

Once you have your registration details have been entered, click the register button – you will receive an email asking you to verify your email address.

Your verification email will have a link for you to confirm, this will ask you to enter three letters from your new memorable word.

Logging in once you have registered

Logging in to the ePEP is a two-step process. The first step is logging in using your professional email address and the password you created on the ePEP single sign-on page: egov.uk.com

Please ensure you tick the box to agree to accept the terms and conditions:

Screenshot of ePEP single sign-on

Once you have done this, you will be able to access the second stage of the log in process. You will be asked to enter several letters from the memorable word that you created when registered to use the single sign-on.

Having entered the correct details, you will be taken to a new ePEP landing page from which you can view and access all the young people you have been attached to from all the authorities using our ePEP system.

Once you have logged in you will see a page that looks like the image above. If you are assigned to cases, you will see all the young people allocated to you on the system.

You can view the PEPs by clicking onto the child’s name or directly by clicking onto the PEP meetings button.

screenshot of PEP meetings

In order to access the cases relevant for the local authority, you will need to click onto the coloured council banner, this will take you to the homepage for each authority.

From here you will be able to access all the ePEP functions you are used to. The only exception being the home button which will take you back to the new landing page. Using the home button will return you to the new look ePEP single sign-on page.

For any support with the registration or login process, please contact educationsystems@devon.gov.uk

Forgotton password, username or memorable question

If at any point you forget your username, password or memorable information, these can be reset by clicking the button on the ePEP sign on the homepage below.

Screenshot of forgotten password button

Section 2 – homepage

Home page overview

ePEP home page

The homepage is where all the ePEP functions are accessed.

  • Top bar – The top bar stays in place throughout the site and allows you to search for the young person at any time. There is also a book icon titled ‘Virtual School Helpdesk’ to access this training guide.
  • Left bar – The left bar stays in place throughout the site and allows access to your messages, meeting requests, learners or the notice board.
  • Home takes you back to this home screen from wherever you are in the system.
  • Your ePEP learners – You will see a list of all the young people that you are linked to.
    • The Profile button takes you into the young person’s overview.
    • The View button takes you into the current PEP formal overview.
    • The PEP button takes you into the current PEP, the content will differ depending on the Key Stage that the young person is working.
  • Your messages – Any messages produced by the system will appear here. You will also receive messages via email.

Profile

On clicking the profile button, the first thing you will notice is the key indicators at the top of the page.

Screenshot of your ePEP learners screen

This shows you the basic information about the child in an easy-to-read format. There are also links within the premium spent and target tracker to access further details on these sections.

Screenshot of key indicators

The next sections on the young person’s core record and the people who have access to the record.

Screenshot of core data screen
screenshot showing users with access to this child records within the ePEP system

PEP overview – before you create a PEP

A PEP is required to be completed and signed off for each school term. It is very important that the PEP is completed and signed off within the statutory deadlines. Please be very careful when editing a PEP. For example, it is imperative that PEP data from two terms is not merged into a single PEP, so please be very aware that the PEP you are editing is the correct one.

What is a PEP

A PEP is part of a looked-after child’s overall care plan. It is a key document, which needs to be jointly owned and developed by the local authority and the school and is a record of what needs to happen to help looked-after children meet both their short-term and long-term educational goals.

As it is part of the care plan, the local authority is responsible for making sure that every child and young person it looks after has an effective, high-quality PEP which meets his or her needs.

The school is responsible for helping to make sure that happens by using the PEP to set appropriately challenging targets, which will help the child to make progress. The PEP should be available for discussion in time for the LAC review of a child’s care plan.

The aim of a PEP

The aim of a PEP is to:

  • identify the educational needs of looked-after children
  • ensure access to services and support
  • contribute to educational stability

What makes a good quality PEP

  • Current and target attainment data.
  • Includes views of the student.
  • A PEP meeting is held.
  • SMART academic targets.

What does a good quality PEP contain?

A good quality PEP:

  • includes current and predicted attainment data
  • monitors attendance
  • celebrates strengths and achievements
  • engages with the student
  • captures key issues and priorities
  • demonstrates any action to be taken
  • sets SMART targets

PEP statuses

The next sections show images of current and completed PEPs, if no PEP is created this will need to be added by the designated teacher or key worker (EYFS only) via the add button on the top right of the image below.

Screenshot of current formal PEP's

Once a PEP has been created, it can be in various stages of progress. The image below shows a PEP that has been signed off by all key professionals associated with the young person. Each section is green, indicating that it has been marked as complete.

screenshot of current formal PEPs

The image below shows a PEP that is in its infancy, where no sections have been signed off.

Screenshot of current formal PEPs at infancy

When a PEP has been completed, it is transferred to the completed PEP’s section on the right of the screen. A PEP is given an overall rating and quality assured before it is signed off by the Virtual School. An example of a series of completed PEP’s is in the image below.

Screenshot of completed PEPs

There is an actions section towards the bottom of the screen that allows you to view activities relating to the young person, and the opportunity to upload documents relating to a PEP and quality assurance of a PEP if required.

The final screens will show graphs and reports on the young person’s attendance, attainment and timeline, these will populate as information is added to the system.

Mandatory fields

ePEP has several fields that must be entered before a PEP section can be marked a complete. Any box with a pink background is a mandatory field and must have data entered it. A notification with a pink background will appear if a field has not been completed successfully. The image on the next page shows an example of an attempt to sign off a designated teacher section.

By clicking on each link, you will be navigated to the area of the PEP where the attention to detail is required.

Screenshot of PEP sign off screen

Section 3 – Creating a new PEP

Screenshot of current formal PEPs

Adding a brand-new PEP is very simple, this will be undertaken by a designated teacher or key worker (EYFS only). The add button is only displayed before the very first PEP for the young person is created. Subsequent PEP’s will be automatically generated by ePEP after a future meeting date has been agreed.

Click on the add button. The child’s key stage and year group will be automatically shown from the data given about the child. The date initiated should be the date you create the PEP. The target date for completion, as described, needs to be set as one week after the PEP Meeting date. This is set as one week after so that you have one week to finish any outstanding parts of the PEP, before it must be signed off and sent to the Virtual School.

Screenshot of new assessment screen

You can then add the details for the meeting. This will include the data, time and venue. You will also be inviting the users who are linked to the young person.

Once populated, click on the create PEP button.

The invitations will be sent, and the PEP is created. The invited individuals will receive an invitation via their PEP meeting Invitations link on the left toolbar. These can be responded to by changing the status and clicking save.

Screenshot of pending meeting requests

Section 4 – Different sections of a PEP

After creating the PEP, you will now have two buttons, by clicking on view you will see the formal PEP details.

Screenshot of current formal PEPs

You will mostly be using this area so that the young person can complete their questions in the ‘young person’s modules’ This area has been optimised

for key stage 1-2 and 3-4 and can be accessed using the icons below. The buttons change according to the age of the young person. The young person’s modules are not accessible for early years or special school PEP’s (young people with complex and profound needs.)

Once accessed you will see the screens below, this area can be customised by the young person for whom asks the questions. Whilst undertaking, pearls are earnt and once the section is completed an optional 80’s arcade game is available. The answers given in this section are carried through to the PEP form completed by all associated users.

PEP Meeting invitation status

In the last section, you will be able to see who has accepted the PEP meeting invitations, in advance of the meeting.

Screenshot of PEP meeting invitations status

Printing a completed PEP

Once a PEP has been completed and signed off by the virtual school, the current PEP and previous PEPs are available to be downloaded to PDF. This can be achieved by clicking on the actions section at the top of the page and selecting the Print PEP to PDF file.

Screenshot of actions

The PDF can be customised to only print out the information you require (below).

Screenshot of create PDF

Section 5 – The PEP in detail

We have now finished viewing the different areas of the PEP. It is time to look at how we complete it. To access a PEP, go to your homepage and select the PEP button.

Screenshot of current formal PEPs

It is the responsibility of each professional to complete their part of the ePEP before the PEP meeting takes place. Please note: It is good practice to set SMART targets before the PEP meeting, as it can be time consuming. (The tables below show examples of the sections for a PEP, Post 16 PEP, Early Years PEP and a complex and profound PEP. As you will see, this will differ depending on National Curriculum Year and other factors such as a complex and profound PEP).

KS1, KS2, KS3 and PEP

A. Social worker section

  • personal information
  • care information
  • social workers views
  • key contacts
  • social worker section checked

B. YP’s view on learning

  • young person’s voice
  • young person’s section completed

C. Designated teacher section

  • education information
  • attendance
  • transitions
  • previous school or settings
  • attainment levels and progress
  • SEND
  • PT timetables and alt arrangements
  • exclusions
  • SMART targets
  • designated teachers section completed

D. The PEP meeting

  • meeting administration
  • the PEP meeting
  • pupil premium or additional funding
  • schedule next meeting
  • quality assurance
  • PEP meeting section completed

KS4 PEP

A. Social worker section

  • personal information
  • care information
  • social workers views
  • key contacts
  • social worker section checked

B. YP’s view on learning

  • young person’s voice
  • young person’s section completed

C. Designated teacher section

  • education information
  • attendance
  • transitions
  • previous school or settings
  • attainment levels and progress
  • SEND
  • PT timetables and alt arrangements
  • exclusions
  • 14-19+ plan for education, employment and training
  • SMART targets
  • designated teachers section completed

D. The PEP meeting

  • meeting administration
  • the PEP meeting
  • pupil premium or additional funding
  • schedule next meeting
  • quality assurance
  • PEP meeting section completed

Post 16 PEP

A. Social worker section

  • personal information
  • care information
  • Social workers views
  • key contacts
  • social worker section checked

B. YP’s view on learning

  • young person’s voice
  • young person’s section completed

C. Designated teacher section

  • education information
  • attendance
  • transitions
  • attainment levels and progress
  • SEND
  • 14-19+ plan for education, employment and training
  • SMART targets
  • designated teachers section completed

D. The PEP meeting

  • meeting administration
  • the PEP meeting
  • schedule next meeting
  • quality assurance
  • PEP meeting section completed

Early years PEP

A. Social worker section

  • personal information
  • care information
  • social workers views
  • key contacts
  • social worker section checked

B. Young person’s view

  • your views about school and learning
  • young person’s section completed

C. Designated teacher section

  • education information
  • development and progress
  • attendance
  • transitions
  • previous school or settings
  • SEND
  • PT timetables and alt arrangements
  • exclusions
  • SMART targets
  • designated teachers section completed

D. The PEP meeting

  • meeting administration
  • the PEP meeting
  • pupil premium or additional funding
  • schedule next meeting
  • quality assurance
  • PEP meeting section completed

Complex and profound PEP

A. Social worker section

  • personal information
  • care information
  • social workers views
  • key contacts
  • social worker section checked

B. YP’s view on learning

  • young person’s voice
  • young person’s section completed

C. Designated teacher section

  • education information
  • attendance
  • transitions
  • previous school or settings
  • SEND
  • attainment levels and progress
  • PT timetables and alt arrangements
  • exclusions
  • 14-19+ plan for education, employment and training
  • SMART targets
  • designated teachers section completed

D. The PEP meeting

  • meeting administration
  • the PEP meeting
  • pupil premium or additional funding
  • schedule next meeting
  • quality assurance
  • PEP meeting section completed

Comments

Section A is completed by the social worker prior to the PEP meeting.

Section B is completed by the young person with help from an adult if required prior to the PEP meeting.

Section C is completed by the designated teacher or key worker (EYFS only). The SMART targets can be accessed by the social worker. All the information needs to be entered prior to the PEP meeting.

Section D is completed on the day of the PEP meeting. All attendees can contribute.

Social worker section

Please remember to click the save button after each section is completed.

Personal information

Basic personal information will have been pulled through from the child’s core data. You will need to fill in any boxes where appropriate information is available and relevant. Any box shaded grey is not able to be edited.

Care information

Here information about the childcare arrangements, who has parental responsibility, emergency contacts etc. must be completed. In many cases, the carer’s information must be hidden to protect their identity.
The ‘should the parents be invited to the PEP Meeting?’ radio button is a mandatory field and must be ticked. You will not be able to sign off the Social Worker section if this has not been done.

The ‘Should the parents be communicated with’ field must also be ticked as this gives clear guidance on all aspects of communication with the parents.
In order to change the carer information, the ‘Hide carer Information’ tick box must be unticked and the save button clicked. Once the changes have been made, the box must be ticked and the save button clicked again.

Social worker’s views

The social worker can view commentary and other important information relevant to the young person in this section. The social worker’s views that were entered from the PEP Meeting section would be visible here. You are not able to type in the social worker views in the image below.

Key contacts

This section shows all the mandatory and additional key contact details for the young person. Click add an entry to add a new contact.

Screenshot of key contacts

Click the save button when the information has been entered correctly.

Screenshot of add a contact

Social workers views

The social worker can view commentary and other important information relevant to the young person in this section. The social worker’s views that were entered from the PEP meeting section would be visible here. You are not able to type in the social worker views in the image below.

Screenshot of social workers views

Key contacts

This section shows all the mandatory and additional key contact details for the young person. Click add an entry to add a new contact.

Screenshot of key contacts

Click the save button when the information has been entered correctly.

Screenshot of add a contact

Social worker section checked

When all the information has been correctly entered, the social worker can sign off their section. By clicking the appropriate mark completed button, the section is deemed complete.

Screenshot of PEP sign off

Young person’s section

Please remember to click the save button after each section is completed.

Screenshot of save button

All the answers given by the young person in their section will appear here. You will see, if you hover over an answer, that you may not have permission to amend this.

The permissions for adding to or amending a young person’s answers will be decided by your Virtual School.

A young person can submit answers through the young person modules in the ‘view’ section of the PEP.

Please be aware the sections and questions will change as they are tailored to the age and need of the child.

Key stage 1 and 2 young person’s voice

These are the questions presented to a young person in ks1 and ks2:

  • What do you enjoy about school?
  • What would make school even better?
  • What achievements in school and out of school are you most proud of?
  • What makes you feel safe in school?
  • Is there any adult in school that you find it easy to talk to about things which worry or concern you?
  • Tell us about what you do at playtimes and lunchtimes
  • Additional notes from your conversation
Screenshot of young persons voice screen

Key stage 3 and 4 young person’s voice

These are the questions presented to a young person in ks3 and ks4:

  • What’s going well at school?
  • How could school be better for you?
  • How safe do you feel in school? Please rate this as a number from 1-10 (10 being extremely safe and 1 being not safe at all)
  • Can you explain your score?
  • Is there any adult in school that you find it easy to talk to about things which worry or concern you?
  • What things do you think you are good at? (Don’t forget that this doesn’t have to be to do with school)
  • What jobs and careers are you interested in?
  • Additional notes from your conversation

Post 16 young person’s voice

These are the questions presented to a young person in post-16 education:

(The post-16 PEP has been designed by care to help you plan for a successful future and make sure that you are able to access any courses, qualifications, work experience or other support that you need to get there.

A post-16 PEP questionnaire will be sent to you twice a year and is your chance to let us know how you think you are getting on and if you are getting the help you want and beed (or you can complete this form and pass it to your social worker on the virtual college at any time. You can use the gold star to record (out of 10) how you feel about this.

If you are not happy with the progress you’re progress you’re making on your course, or with your job, we can help you by arranging a meeting to discuss this.

It is up to you who attends the meeting (through someone from your school, college or workplace or your personal advisor will need to be there). You will have a say in where and when it takes place.

During the meeting you will discuss, with those you have invited, how you think you are getting on and what extra support or advice you think would be helpful.

The college or other provider will also be able to identify areas where they think you are doing well or any challenges you may be having.

A post-16 PEP action plan will be completed as part of the meeting to record the actions which will be taken to support you in achievning your goals.

  • What are your ambitions, aspirations and career plans?
  • What progress are you making towards your goals? are you happy with this?
  • How can we help support you to achieve these goals?
  • Do you have questions or concerns?
  • What would be your chosen area of future employment?

Early years young person’s voice

These are the questions presented to a young person in an early years setting:

  • How has the pupils voice been heard?
  • Pupils voice
  • Good day or bad day
  • Working or not working
  • Do you feel safe in school
  • Aspirations
  • Important to or important for
  • Has the pupil had the opportunity to review their responses from the EHCP meeting and make changes where necessary
Screenshot of your views about school and learning

Complex and profound young person’a voice

These are the questions presented to a young person with a complex and profound PEP.

  • What’s going well at school?
  • How could school be better for you?
  • How safe do you feel in school? Please rate this as a number from 1-10 (10 being extremely safe and 1 being not sfae at all)
  • Can you explain your score?
  • Is there any adult in school that you find it easy to talk to about things which worry or concern you?
  • What things do you think you are good at? (Don’t forget that this doesn’t have to do with school)
  • What jobs and careers are you interested in?
  • Additional notes from your conversation
Screenshot of young persons voice

Young person’s section completed

When all the information has been correctly entered, the designated teacher can sign off this section. By clicking the appropriate mark completed button, the section is deemed complete.

Screenshot of PEP sign off

Designated teacher or key worker (EYFS only) section

Please remember to click the save button after each section is completed.

Education information

KS1, KS2, KS3, post-16, early years, complex and profound

This is where information about a young person’s current and previous education settings or provisions can be viewed and edited if they are in KS1, KS2, KS3 or in an early years settings or post 16 learner.

Screenshot of education information

In order to update previous school settings or provisions, click the ‘Add an Entry’ button and the screen below will appear. Please click the ‘Submit’ button when you have completed your work.

Ks4 Education information

This is where information about a young person’s current and previous education settings or provisions can be viewed and edited if they are in KS4. Please note the primary course information is included here.

Attendance

KS1,KS2,KS3,KS4,post 16,complex and profound

Basic attendance information can be detailed here. An ‘attendance tracker’ graph will map the child’s attendance over time when new data in entered. Please ensure this is submitted as year to date.

Click the ‘save attendance data’ button when you have completed your work.

Screenshot of save attendance data

Early years attendance

This is basically the same process as the attendance for other key stages, with the addition of hours registered and attended.

Early years development and progress

This area of the PEP is specific to early years development only. It is a tracker to check developmental milestones and has fourteen prime areas to record, set out in a termly basis. Progress can be recorded in the same way. These are recorded by using the drop-down menu to choose either ‘yes’ or ‘No’ from the available options. Evidence based documents can be attached to support the choices.

Transitions

Transition

This section allows you to add information about a new school transfer before it occurs. Click add new transition to record the information. Once completed, click the save settings button at the bottom of the screen when the information has been correctly entered.

PEP transition KS1,KS2,post 16,early years

This section is where a young person’s support requirement can be rated if additional support is required. Choose the transition support key stage and then rate the level of additional support required between 1 and 5, where 1 is minimum support and 5 is significant support.

PEP Transition KS3,KS4,complex and profound

This is like previous key stages but includes additional information relating to career advice and risk of NEET rating.

Previous school settings

In this section you can add information about a previous school or setting if the start and end dates, and reason for leaving are known. Click add an entry to update previous school history.

Click the submit button when the information has been entered correctly.

Attainment levels and progress

Each different subject is colour-coded. You can add attainments for each school term. Click add an entry to start.

Screenshot of year 6 progress report

Please note that the options in the drop-down lists change depending on the key stage of the young person. For example, GCSE grades would not be an available choice if you are working on a PEP for a young person who is currently in year 6. If a subject you wish to add an Attainment for is not listed, please contact educationsystems@devon.gov.uk and they will add this for you. There are separate attainment screens for EYFS and special school PEP’s. The EYFS option is shown as ‘development and progress’ in section c.
It is important to have a target declared for the end of each key stage as this gives the young person a goal to work towards.

For KS2 and complex and profound learners, there are an additional series of questions shown below:

  • Is young person on engagement model?
  • If yes, please provide an update on the progress section
  • Is young person on pre key stage model?
  • If yes, please provide an update on the progress section

For KS4 learners, the attainment 8 questions must be completed:

  • Predicted to achieve 5+ in English and Maths (yes or no)
  • Predicted to achieve 4+ in English and Maths (yes or no)
  • Predicted to achieve 4+ in English language at end of ks4 (yes or no)
  • Predicted to achieve 4+ in Maths at end of KS4 (yes or no)
Screenshot of attainment 8 questions, which are as follows: predicted to achieve 5+ in English and Maths yes or no, Predicted to achieve in 4+ English and Maths, yes or no, Predicted to achieve 4 + in English language at end of KS4 yes or no, Predicted to achieve 4+ in Maths at end of KS4, input attaintment 8 score and progress 8 score then save

In the complex and profound PEP, the attainment is shown as below:

Screenshot of year 10 progress report

Subjects and qualifications are all selected by drop down menu. See the images below for a key stage 1-2 development.

Screenshot of create new attainment

Current and Target Level is where you can say where you think the child is achieving. You can use any level/type/style of attainment you wish. Attainment is where you select how the child is doing now.

Progress is to show what progress they have made since they were last monitored (last exam or test, key stage result, PEP meeting). Click the save button when the data has been entered correctly.

Screenshot of attainment screen with fields current attainment, grade and on track to meet target drop downs

Show historic attainment data

This can be done by clicking the show button to see all recorded progress. Clicking the show button again will hide the details.

End of key stage results

End of key stage results can also be added to this section, click the view all button to record end of key stage results.

Screenshot of end of keystage results

New results can be added by using the drop-down menus. Click the save button when the results have been entered correctly.

Screenshot of add a new result

SEND

If a young person has special educational needs or disabilities, this information can be completed in this section. You may need to contact the SENDCo in your school to help with entering this data.

SEND status screenshot

Associated SEND information can be uploaded to ePEP by clicking the add an attachment button. This document will be visible in the documents section of the PEP which is accessed by clicking the documents button at the bottom of the young person’s core record.

Screenshot of documents button

Click the save settings button when the information has been entered correctly. To add a document, please follow the instructions below:

Select a document from your computer to upload it into the attachment section (screenshot below), your upload should be less than 5MB. The following file formats are allowed: Microsoft Word Document (doc and docx), Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet (xls and xlsx), Microsoft PowerPoint presentations (ppt and pptx), Adobe Portable Document format (pdf), Images (jpeg,bmp and png).

Click the update button to add the document.

Screenshot of create new document

Part-time timetables and alternative arrangements

If your child does not have a part time timetable, you will not be required to fill this section in. Any details about existing part time timetables should be added here.

Please be aware that the first point regarding a full 25 hours of education please ensure you click Yes if the young person is receiving full time education.

However, if the young person is on a part time timetable, please ensure you complete an Annex R form.

Screenshot of parttime timetables

Exclusions

You will not have to fill in this section for each child unless they have been excluded from school. If you need to add a new exclusion, click add an entry. The Virtual School will be notified if an exclusion has been added.

Screenshot of exclusions and how to add a new entry

Enter the exclusion information and click the submit button when the data has been entered correctly.

Screenshot of create new exclusion

14-19 + Plan for education, employment and training

This section will only apply if the child falls within this age range. You will need to put as much information as possible into this section to assist with the allocation of further education, employment or training.

SMART Targets

This section is essential to monitoring and improving the child’s achievement at school. It is good practice to fill this section in before the PEP meeting if you are aware of any targets that are going to be discussed. As you are about to learn, creating targets can be time consuming. Of course, new targets may be discussed at the PEP that need to be added there and then.

To add a new Target, click add SMART target.

Screenshot of SMART targets

A new window will appear titled edit SMART target.

The area of focus for the target is selected first. All the focus areas should, in the end, lead to improving academic progress.

Screenshot of area of focus drop down selections consisting of: Wider achievement (e.g. gifted and talented area), attendance, emotional health and wellbeing, English, inclusion (by reducing internal and external exclusion), learning and development, Maths, Science, Transition, Young persons target

You must then describe the target. Put as much information as you can into this section, as the Virtual School will read this when looking at your funding request should you require funding. If the target is a SMART target, describe that here also.

Please ensure you include an English and Maths SMART target in each PEP plus a Science target where applicable. The young persons target gives the opportunity for the young person to set a target that they would like to achieve this can be termly or on a longer timescale. Please note this is not mandatory.

Select the key contacts who will be responsible for helping the child to achieve this target. Not everyone has to be included. Whoever has been selected to help the child will receive a message on their homepage.

For example: James’ reading level is low. His target is to spend 10 minutes every evening reading with his foster-carer.

The next section is improvements expected. If the target is attendance related, select attendance. If it related to schoolwork, select subjects. If the target is to help avoid further exclusions, select an exclusion type.

You will then need to comment further on how the target will benefit the child. List the relevant area for improvement, the child’s current level and expected level after the target has been achieved.

The target will have an on-going review process, where it can be in a state of ‘In progress’, ‘achieved’ or ‘not achieved’. Comments can be added at this stage. Click the save target button when all the data has been entered correctly.

Screenshot of on going review of target

Targets can be edited by clicking the view button and deleted by clicking the delete button.

Designated Teachers section completed

Once all the elements of the Designated Teacher section have been completed and checked, and enough relevant detail has been added, the section can be signed off by clicking the mark completed button.

Screenshot of PEP sign off

The PEP Meeting

Meeting administration

A PEP meeting must occur each term and will need to have mandatory attendees of the social worker and designated teacher associated with the young person.

Fill out the boxes with the current meeting date and time of the meeting. You can then tick the boxes against the names of all who attended the meeting and write the names of anyone else that attended in the appropriate box.

Should you need to re-schedule a meeting, click the Here button to change the date and time. Whoever has taken the lead of the PEP Meeting must sign off with their name at the end of this page.

Once all the information has been correctly entered, click the confirmation of PEP meeting button. Click the save button at the bottom of the screen before moving on to the next section of the PEP Meeting.

Screenshot of the current PEP meeting

The PEP meeting

The designated teacher or key worker (EYFS only) will lead the PEP meeting. In this section you have two sets of summary boxes where you can discuss the achievements the child has made since the last PEP meeting and what support they might need from here to the next PEP meeting.

The adults views will be collected and entered by the designated teacher at the meeting If for any reason the social worker cannot attend they are responsible for entering their views in this section within 5 days of the meeting click the save button at the bottom of the screen before moving on to the next section of the PEP meeting.

Pupil premium or additional funding

Part of the PEP process involves funding requests. Not all targets will require funding. For example, James’ target to read with the foster-carer will not require funding. However, buying James some new books to help with his reading may require funding.

For any target where funding has been requested, you must fully describe how this will benefit the child and justify the cost that has been put forward.

The general source of funding will be Pupil Premium. Click the add funding request button to create a funding request.

If you wish to request additional funding, you can do this in the second section, where a secondary funding source must be selected. If you do not require additional funding on top of Pupil Premium, leave this section blank.

Screenshot of pupil premium additional funding screen

The funding request screen allows you to enter details and importantly, the amount requested. There is a value per term that the virtual school will pay dependent on the PEP being rated as ‘Approved’ or

‘Approved with actions in the next PEP’. This can be up to £600 per term – claims need to be made via ePEP. Please note: Pupil Premium + is not automatically paid to schools.

Please note that you now have the facility to request ‘x’ amount of funding to support the education development of the young person subject to PEP quality, Pupil Premium Plus allocation or additional funding (ALA request) or both.

Screenshot of create funding request screen

You may come back to the target later and update the progress, writing any comments in the comments box.

At the bottom of the screen, click the save button to save the funding request.

Screenshot of pupil premium additional funding screen

Your target will then be saved onto the target screen in the correct area. Once funding has been approved by the Virtual School you will be notified.

Schedule next meeting

Whilst the current PEP meeting is in progress, an essential aspect is to agree the date of the next PEP meeting for the following term. The date and time for the next meeting must be set. A PEP cannot be signed off until the next meeting has been arranged.

The date, time and location, plus the reason for the meeting can be recorded. To invite the attendees, tick the boxes on the right-hand side. Please take care when inviting the parents to the meeting as this may not be appropriate. Contact the relevant social worker associated with the young person if you are unsure.

Click the Save button when the data has been entered correctly. This date is transferred to the new PEP once the current PEP has been signed off by the Virtual School.

Quality assurance

This role is performed by the area learning advocate for young people of secondary school age, and by quality assurance for young people of primary school age. This task scores the PEP according to whether the PEP has been approved, approved with suggested changes, or not approved with immediate action required.

The associated professionals and the Virtual School can add their comments, and these must be saved using the save and send comments button. Click the save button at the bottom of the screen to save all data entered.

PEP Meeting section completed

The social worker, designated teacher or key worker (EYFS Only) and young person must all mark that they have completed their section of the PEP by clicking mark completed. The PEP meeting section must also be marked complete by the person who organised the PEP meeting.

Once all four sections are marked as completed, the PEP will be sent to the Virtual School for approval. Once the Virtual School has reviewed the PEP Meeting, they will be able to add their own comments and mark the PEP as completed by clicking the final signoff button.

Screenshot of PEP sign off screen

The PEP will then show as completed in the child’s overview page, and the new PEP that was organized will show as the current formal PEP. The PEP will have a RAG Rating and any PEP with an ‘approved’ or ‘approved with actions in the Next PEP’ result will have had any funding approved.

When a new PEP is made, it will create a carbon copy of the previous PEP. This
means that you will not have to add in the same targets and attainments again, you will be able to add to them.

There is a final section relating to the PEP meeting for the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) to complete. And this must be done prior to the PEP meeting.


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