Looked After Children (LAC) and Pupil Premium (PP)
Looked After Children (LAC)
A learner who is being looked after by their local authority may be known as ‘LAC’ or a child in care. A child may be taken into care for either child-related or parent/family related issues.
Child-related issues may include extreme behaviours that require expert help, severe mental health conditions or having an illness or disability that the parents cannot cope with.
Parent-related issues could be lack of money, terminal illness, violent or abusive behaviour or drug addiction. Sometimes parents see the problem and willingly place their own child in care.
Children in care usually live:
With foster parents
With their parents under the supervision of social services
In a children’s care home
When children in care are not living with their parents, they can be required to move from one foster carer or care home to another quite often – sometimes these moves can be to different parts of the country although the child always remains looked after by the same local authority. Siblings are not always placed with the same foster carer.
Naturally, moving regularly is disruptive to LAC learners’ schooling. Sometimes children have to move to a new carer’s home before a place at a school/college is available and they have to have a period when they are not in school when they may easily fall behind. Even if a place is available straight away there is the need to adjust to new routines and expectations of unfamiliar teachers.
Moving is also disruptive to personal relationships at home, at school or college, and with friends. LAC children may develop ‘attachment’ issues which means they are reluctant to form relationships which are liable to change.
A child will stop being ‘looked after’ when they are adopted, return home or turn 18.
Pupil Premium (PP)
You may work with learners that are eligible for Pupil Premium (PP) funding. The Pupil Premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England and institutions receive funding based on the number of learners on roll who are eligible for free school meals (FSM). Schools in Wales have similar funding called the Pupil Development Grant (PDG).
The PP and PDG are designed to help improve the outcomes of disadvantaged learners of all abilities and close the achievement gap between them and their non-disadvantaged peers. Schools have to show that the funding goes to benefit the learners for whom it is intended.
Pupil Premium funding is available to:
Schools maintained by the local authority, including:
schools for learners with special educational needs or disabilities;
pupil referral units (PRUs), for learners who can’t attend a mainstream school.
Academies and free schools, including:
academies for learners with special educational needs or disabilities;
alternative provision (AP) academies, for learners who can’t attend a mainstream school
Why Yipiyap?
Schools/colleges are required to give extra help and support to LAC and PP learners and this is where Yipiyap tuition is often introduced. Learners enjoy working with Yipiyaps because they are friendly, approachable and supportive, and schools and colleges love that we also informally help mentor and raise learners’ aspirations.
Practical advice for Yipiyaps working with LAC/PP learners
Do not directly refer to the learners as LAC/PP. They should not be made to feel like they are different from other students in school and you should not treat them differently in any way.
Bear in mind that a learner’s behaviour on any given day might be driven by events at home that they find upsetting. You may sometimes need to show lots of patience and understanding to create the right conditions for learning.
Do not assume LAC/PP learners are less able than other students in school/college because of their circumstances.
Remember our safeguarding training. If a learner discloses sensitive information then be prepared to listen and share that information with the school Safeguarding Officer and report the incident via the safeguarding form, as well as following the safeguarding procedures at your placement.
If you have any questions about working with LAC/PP learners, just ask your RD.