This week Show Me That I Matter were invited to York’s Designated Teacher Conference to share the voice of York’s young people in care. Lauren spoke passionately about the importance of involving young people in their Personal Educational Plan (PEP) and here is Lauren’s fantastic speech.
Hello, my name is Lauren and I am here on behalf of York’s Children in Care Council, Show me that I Matter, we represent all young people in York who are in care. PEP’s are a good opportunity for young people to see how they are doing in school/college. Some of the time young people don’t understand the purpose of a PEP. A good way to get past this is to ask the young people and make sure they understand what a PEP is and when they happen.
“PEP’s need to be more aspirational”
The main downside was that in some cases when a young person attends their PEP’s they never get a say, which shouldn’t be happening; the young person should be the first one to have a say on how well they are doing, then everyone else who attended. Many young people feel like their PEP’s are a waste of time because nothing comes out of them; goals should be set and long term plans should be made. In PEP’s when people believe that the young person need extra support they should be asked. They should be asked regularly whether they want some extra support in or out of school; especially when they are near to GCSE’s and exams in general. Alongside the extra support is pupil premium benefits, which not every young person understands the benefits of. PEP’s need to be more aspirational.
Aspire To More 