What is a child in care?
A child who is being looked after by their local authority is known as a Child in Care (CiC).
Child in Care (CiC) may be living:
- with foster carers
- at home with their parents under supervision of social care
- in residential homes
- other residential settings like schools or secure units
They might have been placed in care voluntarily by parents struggling to cope, or children’s services may have intervened because a child was at significant risk of harm.
Looked-After Children and the law
In UK law, Children in Care are referred to as Looked-After Children (LAC). A child is ‘looked-after’ if they are in the care of the local authority for more than 24 hours. Legally, this could be when they are:
- living in accommodation provided by the local authority with the parents agreement
- the subject of an interim full care order
- the subject of an emergency legal order to remove them from immediate danger
- in a secure children’s home, secure training centre, or young offender institution
- unaccompanied asylum seeking children
What should we do if a child comes to the setting who is ‘CIC’ or ‘LAC’?
Find out which local authority is responsible for them. This will usually be the place they first became looked-after.
Contact their social worker, if they haven’t made contact with you. When you speak to the social worker:
- ask for information you may need to know as a provider i.e. any persons they are not to have contact with
- check when the PEP meeting will be held
- ask them to apply for the 2 year FEEE or 15/30 hours FEEE, if eligible
Please contact the Leicestershire Virtual School to inform us that you have a CIC in your setting.
What if the child doesn’t have a birth certificate?
Often CIC will not have a birth certificate initially, but this should not prevent them having a place in your setting. You'll need to get a letter from the social worker to say that they are looked-after, to show as evidence for FEEE.
What is a PEP?
A Personal Education Plan (PEP) meeting is a statutory requirement that takes place twice a year. See the statutory guidance for promoting the education of Looked-After and Previously Looked-After Children
The CIC should have a PEP meeting within 20 working days of coming into care if they are in a setting.
The meeting will usually take place by Teams and will last about an hour. The setting's Designated Key Person should attend the meeting along with the child's social worker, a Virtual School Senior Education Advisor or Casework Officer, and the child's foster carers. If there are any other services involved with the child, they may attend too. The child's birth parents may also be invited, at the social worker's discretion, depending on circumstances.
For the PEP meeting, you'll need to complete the PEP documents that will be emailed securely by Egress in advance of the meeting. Please also complete the 'All about me' section to reflect the child's voice, returning these securely to the Leicestershire Virtual School before the meeting.
We have produced a video guide on how to complete the initial Early Years PEP document (YouTube).
At the PEP meeting there will be:
- updates from everyone
- discussion and review on progress in the prime areas
- agreed new targets for the prime areas
- consideration of how EYPP will be used to support PEP targets
What do the acronyms mean?
- LAC - Looked-After Child
- CIC - Child in Care
- PEP - Personal Educational Plan
- SGO - Special Guardianship Order
- ICO - Interim Care Order
- CAO - Child Arrangement Order
- FCO - Full Care Order