3.5.4 Education Support Team - Key Stage 4 Protocol

Looked after children have a right to expect the outcomes we want for every child - that they should be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution to society and achieve economic well-being. However, the educational outcomes for children who are looked after remain unacceptably low and this in turn has an impact on their future life chances. In 2007 only 14% of looked after children, nationally, achieved 5 A*-C compared with 62% of all children and this gap is widening. That is why the Children Act 2004 places a duty on local authorities to promote the educational achievement of looked after children. In order to ensure that children who are looked after achieve their full potential it is necessary to adopt a co-ordinated approach to support, particularly at the Key Stage 4 level. The Education Support Team (EST) will work closely with schools to monitor pupil performance and provide support for individuals to maximise their educational outcomes.

In order to maximise this support, the school will;

Provide information on Year 10 option choices at the end of Year 9
Forward Year 10 target data in November and at the end of June; pro-forma is sent to schools requesting the target grade for each subject, based on Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) and Fisher Family Trust (FFT) scores
Provide Year 11 target data at the end of January; including target and ‘working at’ grades, which will be based on teacher assessment of the standard and amount of work produced by the pupil

The Education support Team will;

Monitor completion of coursework half-termly, based on information provided by the school, in particular where identified that there are ‘gaps’ in progress
Where young people in KS4 are working below national target levels they may be entitled to apply for a Personal Education Allowance (PEA) to provide tuition. Where young people do not meet the criteria for a PEA consideration may be given to the provision of tuition by the Education Support Team
Provide each KS4 pupil with stationery for school
Where appropriate, assess learning styles with year 11 pupils
Provide study skills coaching where appropriate; including time management, motivation and revision techniques for year 11 pupils
Monitor attendance and make home visits where pupils are identified as a cause for concern

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