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Bookable sessions to discuss the context and needs of a child, young person or setting.

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A format to support the engagement in education for children who have experience of adverse childhood experiences.

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A letter to send to parents and carers to explain Pupil Premium Plus and why it is important to share previously looked after status with schools

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Surrey Virtual School - Pupil Premium Letter for Parents and Guardians - September 2025

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Surrey Virtual School Transition Guidance

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Surrey Virtual School Transition Guidance

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Detailing the types of SGO, how they may have come about with key terms explained.

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Produced alongside our adoption team and agreed with Adopt South East.Although written with the main audience of adoption professionals and parents, it is a useful reference document for DT's as it clearly outlines expectations around key school practices such as pupil premium and admissions. 

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Surrey Education Policy for Adopted Children 

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Surrey Education Policy for Adopted Children 

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Statutory guidance on the role of the DT for both LAC and PLAC children.

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Statutory guidance

Statutory guidance for local-authority-maintained schools carrying out duties for looked-after and previously looked-after children.

This statutory guidance is for:

governors

headteachers

teachers

local authorities

It applies to maintained schools.

It relates to the duty of governing bodies of all maintained schools to appoint a designated teacher for looked-after and previously looked-after children on the school roll.

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Designated teacher for looked-after and previously looked-after children

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Statutory guidance Statutory guidance for local-authority-maintained schools carrying out duties for looked-after and previously looked-after children. This statutory guidance is for: governors headteachers teachers local authorities It applies to maintained schools. It relates to the duty of governing bodies of all maintained schools to appoint a designated teacher for looked-after and previously looked-after children on the school roll.

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A free resource that has presentations and skills sessions to use with staff. Created with the NHS, it is focused on mental health and has several ACE based resources.

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Training for Secondary School staff in Surrey, many of these events target supporting children with trauma and attachment difficulties.

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The Hope Service is dedicated to supporting and empowering young people, their families, carers and networks to enable them to reach their potential by offering a collaborative and therapeutic learning environment.

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Some ideas for professionals and families on activities around transition times.

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Guide on the language of PACE and how to use it in schools.
PACE = Playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy

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Kinship care- explaining SGO role and support

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Kinship care- explaining SGO role and support

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Something to be proud of - a film by Kinship

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Many departments offer useful training to support children and especially those displaying challenging behaviour or may struggle with past trauma. STIPs particularly offer a range of these.

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Training & Events | Surrey Education Services

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Whether it's developing people's skills and knowledge through training or bringing colleagues together at an event, our teams deliver training and events that reflect your current needs.If you cannot

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The Adoption Support Fund funds therapeutic support for children, it is accessed through local authorities and regional adoption agencies. This is the outline of the fund and eligibility criteria.

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The adoption support fund ( ASF) provides funds to local authorities and regional adoption agencies ( RAAs) to pay for essential therapeutic services for eligible adoptive and special guardianship order ( SGO) families.

The ASF will continue to offer support to adoptive and eligible special guardianship families up to March 2025.

The ASF model is based on the existing statutory framework for the assessment of adoption support or SGO support needs and the provision of support services.

This guide is for local authorities and RAAs so they can apply for ASF funding.

For more information on support available to families, visit:

Apply to the adoption support fund

Contact the ASF fund manager or your adoption support service adviser if you:

need a new account

need to register someone new on the system

want to inform the ASF of any new staff or other changes

Funding eligibility

To be eligible for funding, local authorities and RAAs must apply to the ASF within 3 months of assessing a family's support needs.

The ASF is available for children and young people up to and including the age of 21, or 25 with an education, health and care plan, who:

are living (placed) with a family in England while waiting for adoption

were adopted from local authority care in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and live in England

were adopted from abroad and live in England with a recognised adoption status

were in care before an SGO was made

left care under a special guardianship order that was subsequently changed to an adoption order, or vice versa

are under a residency order or child arrangement order (CAO) and were previously looked after

were previously looked after but where the adoption, special guardianship, residency or CAO placement has broken down, irrespective of any reconciliation plans

You should make a funding application before therapy starts. We will only consider retrospective applications in exceptional circumstances. This includes:

the need for an urgent intervention due to the family situation

an unexpected absence of approving local authority staff when the funding is commissioned

We will not consider administrative and clerical errors, or delays caused by organisational restructuring as exceptional.

Further guidance for local authorities about the different care orders is available.

Maximum funding allocations for each child

Until the end of March 2025, the ASF will have 2 fair access limits:

£2,500 per child per year for specialist assessment

£5,000 per child per year for therapy

The majority of applications to the fund fall within these limits. In exceptional cases, where there is an urgent need for higher cost support, local authorities or RAAs are asked to match-fund applications.

Criteria for match-funding:

a high risk of adoption breakdown without high cost support

local authorities and RAAs dealing with an unusually high number of complex cases that they cannot afford to fund without additional support from the ASF

additional funding would help to progress hard to place adoptions

a lack of available, affordable therapeutic support means higher cost provision is required

The ASF can fund up to 50% of the amount above the fair access limits, up to a maximum of £30,000 per child including the fair access limits.

How families access ASF support

The local authority or RAA that places a child with a family is responsible for assessing that family's support needs for 3 years after the order is made. After 3 years, the responsibility lies with the local authority or RAA where the family lives, if they have moved.

Families apply to the relevant local authority or RAA, which will assess their needs.

Local authorities and RAAs will:

assess the family and consider if therapeutic support is needed

decide on the type required and if it is eligible for payments from the ASF

apply directly to the ASF

purchase the support from their own list of approved suppliers when the ASF approves funding

Complaints

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Local authorities and regional adoption agencies (RAAs) can apply for therapeutic funding for eligible adoptive and special guardianship order families.

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Includes some background explanation on attachment difficulties, what these may present as at school and some tips for teachers dealing with these difficulties. Useful to share with teachers.

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Understanding Why - Attachment and Education

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Children recorded on the census are eligible for PP+ funding, this includes those adopted from overseas.

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1. Introduction

The Secretary of State for Education lays down the following terms and conditions on which assistance is given in relation to the pupil premium grant (PPG) payable to local authorities for the financial year beginning 1 April 2022.

The pupil premium rates and detailed eligibility criteria for the financial year 2022 to 2023 are set out in the PPG technical note.

PPG funding is allocated to local authorities for two separate policies :

1.1 Raising the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities to help them reach their potential

PPG is allocated to local authorities, who must distribute it to each school they maintain based on the number of pupils in year groups reception to year 11, who are:

Recorded as eligible for free school meals, or have been recorded as eligible at any point in the last 6 years (FSM Ever 6). This includes eligible children of families who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF).

Previously looked-after children (PLAC): pupils who were looked after by an English or Welsh local authority immediately before being adopted, or who left local authority care on a special guardianship order or child arrangements order (previously known as a residence order).

PPG is also allocated to local authorities based on the number of looked-after children (LAC) supported by the authority. LAC are defined in the Children Act 1989 as one who is in the care of, or provided with accommodation by an English local authority.

Local authorities receive PPG for any pupils eligible for pupil premium in independent special schools where the authority pays full tuition fees.

In the case of funding based on LAC and eligible pupils in independent special schools, it is for the local authority to decide how much of that PPG funding to pass on to the child's school.

The portion of PPG funding for LAC and PLAC pupils is referred to as 'pupil premium plus' (PP+).

Local authorities should pay PPG to schools due to convert to academy status as per the proportions set out in the PPG technical note.

If a school closes during the financial year, the local authority should allocate PPG for the proportion of the financial year the school is open. See further details in the technical note.

1.2 Providing support for children and young people with parents in the regular armed forces

This portion of PPG is referred to as service pupil premium (SPP). Funding is allocated to local authorities to distribute to each school they maintain, based on the number of pupils who meet the eligibility criteria - see service pupil premium guidance for further details.

2. Permitted use of the PPG

The PPG can be spent:

for the benefit of pupils registered at the school that receives it

for the benefit of pupils registered at other maintained schools or academies

on community services whose provision furthers the benefit of pupils at the school.

The PPG must be spent to support eligible pupil cohorts as described in sections 2.1 to 2.5 Schools may wish to use a portion of PPG funding to support pupils who do not meet any of the PPG eligibility criteria but have other identified needs, where they deem it beneficial to do so.

2.1 Disadvantaged pupils

Schools must use PPG funding for the purpose of raising the educational attainment of PLAC, LAC and pupils who are eligible for FSM Ever 6.

In line with the 3-tiered approach in EEF's pupil premium guide, activities must be those that:

support the quality of teaching, such as staff professional development;

provide targeted academic support, such as tutoring; and

tackle non-academic barriers to academic success, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional support

To support schools to use PPG in line with the 3 tiers outlined above, DfE have published a 'menu of approaches', which has been informed by evidence of effective practice. Schools must use their PPG in line with this menu from the start of the 2022 to 2023 academic year. Schools are not required to allocate PPG to every approach on the menu, but any activity funded by PPG must fall under one of the approaches listed.

When diagnosing the targeted academic support needs of their disadvantaged pupils, schools should ensure they consider which pupils will benefit from tutoring, including through the National Tutoring Programme (NTP).

The menu of approaches is in the using pupil premium guidance.

2.2 Specific support for previously looked-after children (PLAC)

In order to achieve the purpose outlined in section 2.1 for PLAC, it is the responsibility of the school to ensure that their use of PPG addresses the specific needs of PLAC attending the school.

See the section on pupil premium plus in the using pupil premium guidance for further information.

2.3 Specific support for looked-after children (LAC)

In order to achieve the purpose outlined in section 2.1 for LAC, it is the responsibility of the Virtual School Head (VSH) in the local authority that looks after the child, in consultation with the child's educational setting, to ensure that PPG is used to support those children's educational needs in accordance with their personal education plans.

See the section on pupil premium plus in the using pupil premium guidance for further information.

The local authority can pool any amount of LAC PPG to fund activities that will benefit a group, or all, of the authority's looked-after children. Any pupil premium held centrally must not be used to fund services that the local authority is responsible for funding, such as support for foster carers, school uniforms or transport to get the child to school.

For any funding that is passed on to the child's education setting, processes for allocating the funds should be as simple as possible to avoid delay.

2.4 Eligible pupils in independent special schools

Local authorities may allocate PPG to independent special schools or spend the funding themselves on additional educational support to raise the attainment for the eligible pupils. Local authorities must consult the schools about how to use PPG to support eligible pupils.

2.5 Pupils eligible for SPP

The primary purpose of SPP is to enable schools to offer mainly pastoral support to eligible pupils during challenging times and to help mitigate the negative impact on service children of family mobility or parental deployment. It can also be used to help improve the academic progress of eligible pupils if schools deem this to be a priority.

See the section on SPP in the using pupil premium guidance for further information.

3. Use of evidence

Schools must be able to demonstrate how the activity they use their PPG to fund has been informed by research evidence, making reference to a range of sources, such as that published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).

Schools are required to cite this evidence in their pupil premium strategy statement - see section 4 for further information.

4. Accountability

To comply with school information regulations, maintained schools are required to publish an updated pupil premium strategy statement annually.

All schools must use the template available on the using pupil premium guidance page on GOV.UK to publish their 2022 to 2023 statement by the end of December 2022.

The template is designed to enable schools to present an overview of their pupil premium strategy, and to demonstrate that their use of the funding meets the requirements of these conditions of grant. For the purposes of the latter, the template requires schools to report on their use of pupil premium in line with the 3-tiered approach set out in section 2.1. As stated in section 2.1, all activity funded by the PPG must align with the published menu of approaches.

The Department for Education will undertake monitoring checks on a sample of schools' published statements.

Given their role in ensuring schools spend funding appropriately and in holding schools to account for educational performance, governors should scrutinise schools' statements, including their plans for use of their pupil premium funding and the outcomes achieved in the previous academic year. Schools are held accountable for the outcomes they achieve with all their funding, including through Ofsted inspections and by governors, and the PPG is no exception.

5. Allocation and payment arrangements

We will publish initial allocations in March 2022 for all schools that complete the October 2021 census. Allocations will be confirmed in June 2022, before the first payment. The June allocations will include PRUs, that complete the January 2022 census.

Allocations will include NRPF pupils once the data from schools' claims for those pupils has been validated. We will pay PPG to local authorities in quarterly instalments by:

30 June 2022

30 September 2022

30 December 2022

31 March 2023

Local authorities must make the grant available to their schools irrespective of any deficit relating to the expenditure of the school's budget share. PPG is not part of schools' budget shares and is not part of the individual schools budget. It is not to be counted for the purpose of calculating the minimum funding guarantee.

6. Carrying PPG forward

Schools are not required to spend all of the PPG they receive in the financial year beginning 1 April 2022; some or all of it may be carried forward to future financial years. Any funding that is carried forward must be used in accordance with the conditions of grant for pupil premium for the financial year in which the funding is spent. It must be accounted for in the school's pupil premium strategy statement for the academic year in which it is spent.

Local authorities must not carry forward funding held centrally into the financial year 2023 to 2024. Centrally-held LAC premium that has not been spent, or allocated to the child's education setting by 31 March 2023, will be recovered.

7. Certification

Local authorities will be required to certify that they have passed on the correct amount of funding to schools or, where funding has been spent centrally, that it has been spent in line with these conditions of grant. We will issue a certification form in April 2023.

8. Variation

The basis for allocation of PPG may be varied by the Secretary of State from those set out above, if so requested by the school or local authority.

9. Other terms

If the local authority or a school fails to comply with the terms set out in the paragraphs above, the Secretary of State may withhold the whole or any part of subsequent instalments of PPG paid to the authority or school.

This will be notified in writing to the authority or school. Any such sum shall be withheld from subsequent instalments of the PPG.

10. Overpayments

Any overpayment of PPG shall be repaid by the school or local authority.

11. Further information

Books and other documents and records relating to the recipient's accounts shall be open to inspection by the Secretary of State and by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The Comptroller and Auditor General may, under Section 6 of the National Audit Act 1983, carry out examinations into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the recipient has used its resources in discharging its grant-aided activities.

Schools and local authorities shall provide information as may be required by the Secretary of State to determine whether it has complied with these conditions.

Failure to provide this information may result in the Secretary of State withholding subsequent instalments of the PPG.

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Pupil premium 2022 to 2023: conditions of grant for local authorities

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The Secretary of State for Education lays down the following terms and conditions on which assistance is given in relation to the pupil premium grant (PPG) payable to local authorities for the financial year beginning 1 April 2022. The pupil premium rates and detailed eligibility criteria for the financial year 2022 to 2023 are set out in the PPG technical note.

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Promoting the Education of Looked- After and Previously Looked After Children

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Promoting the Education of Looked- After and Previously Looked After Children

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DT Peer Support & Reflection Group Flyer

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Beacon House is a therapeutic service with a special interest in trauma and attachment. They have many free resources that can be useful to both parents/carers and schools.

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Beacon House is passionate about developing freely available resources so that knowledge about the repair of trauma and adversity is in the hands of those who need it. Please feel free to use our resources in your home or work setting.
All we ask is that you credit our team for the information and design using this credit: Image or information courtesy of Beacon House Therapeutic Services & Trauma Team | 2022 | www.beaconhouse.org.uk
As a specialist trauma service, our resources are written using a 'trauma lens' and offer information, ideas and strategies from this perspective. We know that there are other perspectives and overlapping experiences, meaning that 'one size doesn't fit all'. We are working to be as inclusive as possible and alongside this acknowledge that not everything we produce will be relevant for everyone.

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Beacon House is passionate about developing freely available resources so that knowledge about the repair of trauma and adversity is in the hands of those who need it. Please feel free to use our resources in your home or work setting.

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PAC-UK offers adoption and permanency support. It has an Education Service that offers a range of services to enable schools, parents and guardians and education and social care professionals to meet the needs of children who have experienced early life trauma.

They have a page of free resources for educational settings that are very useful.

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Education Service

Children and young people who have experienced early life trauma can experience a range of challenges in school. The Department for Education is increasingly recognising the long term impact of trauma and loss.

PAC-UK's Education Service offers a range of services to enable schools, parents and guardians and education and social care professionals to meet the needs of children who have experienced difficult starts in life. As an education provider you can use Pupil Premium Plus to purchase any of our specialist education services:

Please note, all prices listed on this page are exclusive of VAT and travel costs. All information processed in relation to your enquiry and/or booking adheres to PAC-UK's Privacy Policy.

PAC-UK Education Service Presents: e-Learning

The online training for education professionals on attachment: a self-guided route to becoming an adoption friendly school

I would highly recommend this training to anyone interested in schools, trauma, attachment and loss or are working with adoption children. It's one of the best value for money bits of e-training I've undertaken! Stuart Guest, Headteacher at Colebourne Primary School in Birmingham

Stuart Guest published a detailed review of his PAC-UK e-Learning experience on his blog here.
Whilst PAC-UK's training is centred on the needs of previously looked after children, the e-learning is relevant in supporting and meeting the needs of all vulnerable children - a key focus area for Ofsted. The training is relevant for everyone who works in or alongside schools, early years and FE settings. Developed with funding from the Department of Education, the e-learning has three modules:

Module 1 Understanding attachment and trauma: Explores the needs of children that have experienced a difficult start in life

Module 2 Creating adoption friendly classrooms and schools: Provides strategies to support vulnerable children in the classroom

Module 3 Becoming an adoption friendly school: Delivers ideas on how to make whole school systems suitable for children that have experienced early life trauma

Our engaging videos and specialist trainers will guide you through each module, culminating in quizzes to consolidate your learning.

Upon successful completion of the final quiz for each module, this training counts as 3 hours CPD training.

Prices start at £35 plus VAT per licence with discounts available for purchases of over 10 group licences.

Online payments - Once payment is made you will receive instant access to the information you need to activate your e-Learning licences and access content:
For online payments - purchase your e-Learning licence/s here for instant access
Invoice and purchase order payments - If you unable to make an online payment for your e-Learning licence/s and/or require an invoice before making payment (please note, for invoice and purchase order payments you will not receive your e-Learning site access information until your order has been processed):
For invoice and purchase order payments - order your e-Learning licence/s here
The below video gives a taster of what you can expect from the training. You can also download our e-Learning Promotional Flyer. For further enquiries please contact us by emailing education@pac-uk.org

Training & Consultations for Education Providers

Our training helps participants to understand trauma, loss and attachment, and provides practical evidence-informed strategies to support children. Following our partnership with Adoption UK, PAC-UK's education training now encompasses elements of Adoption UK's 'Life in The Classroom' to offer a combined training product suitable for a wide range of education professionals, including teaching staff, ITT providers, teaching assistants, SENCo's and other professionals working with children in education.

Education providers can buy in sessions lasting 1.5 hours (£300), 2 hours (£350) and 3 hours (£450). PAC-UK also offer consultations which focus on specific children. These child-focused consultations support the team around the child to understand the child's strengths and difficulties in light of their early life experiences, and to agree to a support plan based on evidence-informed interventions. We also offer systemic consultations to schools, to develop whole-school good practice and policies.

We also offer adoption friendly schools consultations and reviews (£450). Our specialist advisers will guide senior leaders and key staff from your school to develop whole-school good practice. Focussing on your school's needs you will explore systemic change to support children who have experienced abuse, trauma and loss in their early lives. More information can be found on our (below) Education Service Overview Leaflet.

To make a provisional booking complete our online booking form. For further enquiries please contact us by emailing education@pac-uk.org

For more information on our full range of services for education providers, download our PAC-UK Education Service Overview Promotional Leaflet.

Intensive casework

If you are a school or local authority that would like to commission intensive casework, please email education@pac-uk.org. If you are a parent or guardian, please use our education advice line (Wednesdays from 10am - 12pm term time only), or email education@pac-uk.org

We also work jointly with our Child & Family Service in London and Leeds to provide educational assessments and consultations as part of our packages of therapeutic support for families.

Commissioned training days

We offer a range of training days which are commissioned by adoption services and virtual schools for adoptive parents, special guardians, school staff and education and social care professionals. Current training days include:

The adopted child in school: Understanding and meeting children's educational needs

All change: Supporting adopted and permanently placed children with transitions

Spending it wisely: Effective use of the Pupil Premium Plus

Becoming adoption friendly schools: Support on the journey

Developing children's executive functioning skills

Commissioned bespoke training

Designated Teacher training

To commission a training day or enquire about a bespoke training day, please complete our online booking form. For further enquiries please contact us by emailing education@pac-uk.org

In addition the commissioned training days listed above, we also put on specialist topic training events (open to all) which are delivered from our Leeds or London offices from time to time. Details of upcoming training events can be found below.

Therapeutic Services for Education Providers

We are pleased to announce that PAC-UK are able to provide therapeutic services to education providers in and around London and across the Yorkshire and Humber region to further support the needs of your pupils, staff and parents.

Our therapy (both Dramatherapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) aims to improve the experience of the child in education and will therefore include feedback and review sessions with the staff and parent/carers, including therapeutic recommendations. All our therapists are fully qualified (and registered with appropriate governing bodies e.g. HCPC/BACP), and experienced in working with adoption, looked-after children, trauma and families and staff experiencing difficulties at school.

Dramatherapy Groups for Children (London only)

We work in a joined up way with parents and staff to enable a developmental process that works towards increased Emotional Regulation, awareness of Executive Functioning and Self-Reflectivity.

The price is £535 per child, based on 4 children attending an 8 weekly dramatherapy programme (one session per week).

For one to one therapeutic work, the price is £795 for an 8 week programme (once a week) including feedback and review sessions.

Our 8 Week Dramatherapy Programme for Schools Brochure provides detailed information on course content and structure.

To make a provisional booking complete our online booking form.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy 1:1 for children and young people (Yorkshire and Humber only)

Our Education & Wellbeing Workers are able to provide short term therapy to support children who may be experiencing some of the following: anxiety, depression, problems with peer relationships, bullying, self-esteem or confidence issues, school or exam concerns (please note this list is not exhaustive, other difficulties can be discussed to assess their suitability for this therapy).

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is an approach to therapy that considers: how we think affects how we feel and what we do, and how these elements are all interlinked. CBT is based in the here and now and is goal focussed and client led, it is not trauma focussed therapy. For one to one therapeutic work, the price is £795 for an 8 week programme (once a week) including feedback and review sessions.

To make a provisional booking complete our online booking form.

Reflection and Consultation Groups for Staff (both regions)

Reflection and Consultation Groups provide a facilitated space for staff to share reflections, thoughts and strategies around the needs of a particular child, a group of children or a whole class.

It is a collaborative and practical process which draws from the principles of Attachment Theory. Action-plans and strategies emerging from the groups can lead to real change affected through relational, social and psychological ways.

An initial 1.5 hour consultation is followed by a one hour review approximately 4-6 weeks later (£450).

Regular groups which would meet every two weeks, for schools looking for more intensive support, can also be commissioned.

Please note, these can be co-facilitated with a member of staff as a CPD opportunity to develop their skills and enable them to hold future sessions independently.

To make a provisional booking complete our online booking form.

Reflective Groups for Parents (both regions)

Parental Reflective Groups provide collaborative opportunities to work with and support the parents/carers of vulnerable children.

Bridging home with school/other education provision is an effective way to bring consistency, safety and care for children needing additional support. Ideally these are co-facilitated by a member PAC-UK's Education Service and a member of staff, though PAC-UK can facilitate independently if needed (6x 1.5 hour sessions £1,500).

To make a provisional booking complete our online booking form.

For more information about our Therapeutic Services please contact us via phone 0113 264 6837 or email education@pac-uk.org

Our Therapeutic Services for Education Providers Flyer provides additional information.

Support for specific Local Authorities

PAC-UK has service level agreements with 76 local authorities in England, including education support in some areas. To find out what support you may be entitled to please contact your local authority post adoption support team or contact us.

Adoption-Friendly Schools Book and Toolkit

Between November 2015 and February 2016, more than 400 adoptive parents, special guardians, school staff, education and social care professionals took part in our online consultation about what it means to be an adoption friendly school. The result of this research culminated in our:

'Becoming an Adoption-Friendly School' book

A complete guide to support schools and other education providers in meeting the needs of children who have experienced trauma or loss. The book was published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers in April 2017 and can be purchased via Amazon here. For bulk orders please email education@pac-uk.org

Purchase of the book provides access to the online toolkit, a bank of resources, templates and policies to help schools on the way. The book's launch took place on 15 May 2017 at the Royal Society of Medicine.

Charter

Our charter is free to download and can be used by schools to communicate their efforts and journey towards becoming adoption friendly!

Adoption Friendly Schools Training Course

A six day training course delivered across the school year (£3,995). The six workshops will guide you through the steps towards become more adoption friendly by implementing whole school change, offering opportunities to share good practice with a wider school network and receive support in your journey from our Education Advisers.

Detailed information on course content and FAQ's can be found on our 'Becoming an Adoption Friendly School' - Course Flyer. To make a provisional booking complete our online booking form.

Enquires about the book, toolkit and course can be directed to education@pac-uk.org

Education Advice Line

Our Education Advice Line is open every Wednesday during school term times between 10am and 12pm (limited to 15 minutes per call). Staffed by our Education Advisers, this is an opportunity for adoptive parents, special guardians, school staff and social workers to talk through any school or educational concerns regarding adopted or special guardianship children, and receive advice and support. The telephone number is 0207 284 5879. You can also access support and advice by emailing education@pac-uk.org.

Should you require more time than the 15 minutes, we now offer 30 minute and 60 minute bookable consultations. You can request these via our education advice line e-mail education@pac-uk.org or via our online booking form. These can be funded privately or can sometimes be provided by your local authority if PAC-UK have been commissioned. We can advise you which options are available to you.

Education Resources

We have developed a range of resources to support families, schools and local authorities in meeting the educational needs of adopted and special guardianship children.

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Education Service Children and young people who have experienced early life trauma can experience a range of challenges in school. The Department for Education is increasingly recognising the long term impact of trauma and loss. PAC-UK's Education Service offers a range of services to enable schools, parents and guardians and education and social care professionals [...]

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PACS - Post Adoption CAMHS & Schools appointments

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PACS - Post Adoption CAMHS & Schools appointments

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Advice from Hants Virtual Schools on transition.

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The training available directly from the Virtual School for this academic year.

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SVS CPD Brochure - Autumn term 2024-2025 Academic Year Master 

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Adopt South East is the Regional Adoption Agency in which Surrey lies. Parents can access post adoption support from ASE.

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We have gathered a number of resources for adopters around education, including nursery education, primary, secondary and further education and home educating.

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Offer therapeutic assistance to children, young people, adoptive parents, guardians and the professional networks to reduce distress, increase resilience and attend to mental health problems that can get in the way of a child or young person’s ongoing healthy development.

We are a multi-disciplinary team of mental health professionals including nurses, arts therapists, social workers, assistant psychologists, psychologists and psychiatrists.

We provide:

Time to think and plan with parents, guardians and multi-agency networks about problematic behaviours and family situations that are having an adverse impact upon children, young people and their families

Comprehensive assessments of therapeutic need linked to mental health problems and difficulties

A range of therapies and support for children, young people and their families

Specialist advice, consultation and training for professionals, parents and guardians involved in the care of children and young people.

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The new service looks and feels different for families, children and young people receiving the service and for referral agencies, not only because of the additional investment in existing and new services, but also because:

A key driver for the new service is to provide far easier requests for support. Work is progressing on this important element of the service so that children, young people and families can request support (self-refer) into an increased number of services with more choice about their options leading to quicker access to the right treatments.

A "no wrong door" approach - all children, young people and families will be supported to find the right help at the right time

An alliance service, delivered through the combined skills and experience of a range of NHS and voluntary sector specialist organisations

A move away from 'referrals' towards 'requests for support'; this reflects the more holistic and less diagnosis-led approach

Clinical services for children and young people and the services delivered under the old model (tier 3 and 4 services) will continue to be available and delivered via our new iTHRIVE services: Getting More Help and Getting Risk Support.

We are working hard to improve the referral system, but for now please continue to make requests for support (referrals) through the portal or via the Access and Advice service (formerly CAMHS SPA) on 0300 222 5755

Services are more accessible and user friendly through more convenient locations and online services

A more managed model of care with clear outcome monitoring after every session.

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The new service looks and feels different for families, children and young people receiving the service and for referral agencies, not only because of the additional investment in existing and new services, but also because: A key driver for the new service is to provide far easier requests for support.

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Supporting Adopted children in schools article

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Supporting Adopted children in schools article

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Best Practice

Adoptive parent and education leader, Sean Harris, considers some of the strategies and language that can be helpful to teachers when teaching adopted children and working with adoptive families

Image: Adobe Stock -

Adopted children, regardless of the complexity of their background, are children - and each one is unique. It is important to acknowledge that some adopted children will have lived experience of hardship, trauma or turbulence.

School processes and routines might be difficult for students who have experienced significant trauma. While it is vital for schools to maintain positive expectations of all students, it is invaluable for teachers to remember that children are complex human beings and prone to making mistakes.

A sound understanding of adoption is important when serving children and families with lived experience of adoption.
Understanding adoption
Adoption is the legal process where a child or siblings who cannot be raised with their biological family become permanent and legal members of a new family.

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Vulnerable pupils: Supporting adopted children in school - Headteacher Update

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Adoptive parent and education leader, Sean Harris, considers some of the strategies and language that can be helpful to teachers when teaching adopted children and working with adoptive families

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SVS - Understanding Pupil Premium Funding for Previously Looked-After Children

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SVS - Understanding Pupil Premium Funding for Previously Looked-After Children

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SVS Frequently Asked Questions for PLAC - Pupil Premium

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SVS Frequently Asked Questions for PLAC - Pupil Premium

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Pupil Premium Funding - FAQ's for Education Providers

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Getting It Right For Every Child - Adoption UK

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Getting It Right For Every Child - Adoption UK

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AdoptionUK - Getting It Right For Every Child

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Self-Regulation Infographic - Stuart Shankers 

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Self-Regulation Infographic - Stuart Shankers 

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Ten Ways To See Signs And Develop The Habit Of Self Reg - Stuart Shankers

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Key Messages About Feelings - Safe Hands Thinking Minds

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Key Messages About Feelings - Safe Hands Thinking Minds

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Some Key Messages About Feelings - Safe Hands Thinking Minds

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Behaviour Is Communication - Infographic

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Behaviour Is Communication - Infographic

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Behaviour Is Communication - Inforgraphic

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Lets Learn Together - A Guide For Parents and Teachers 

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FASD Top tips for supporting individuals

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FASD Top tips for supporting individuals

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FASD Hub from Scotland. Includes strengths factsheet and video on how to support.

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Education can bring many challenges for children and young people with FASD or a history of prenatal alcohol exposure. However, with the right support, learners can achieve great things.

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Teaching a Child With Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

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Addressing Childhood Adversity and Trauma - Young Minds

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Addressing Childhood Adversity and Trauma - Young Minds

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Young Minds Addressing Childhood Adversity and Trauma - Inforgraphics

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Getting It Right For Every Child - Adoption UK

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Getting It Right For Every Child - Adoption UK

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AdoptionUK - Getting It Right For Every Child

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Understanding Why - Attachment and Education

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Understanding Attachment Difficulties - Adoption UK

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Understanding Attachment Difficulties - Adoption UK

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Understanding Attachment Difficulties - Adoption UK

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Meeting The Needs Of Adopted and Permanently Placed Children - Adoption UK

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Meeting The Needs Of Adopted and Permanently Placed Children - Adoption UK

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Meeting The Needs Of Adopted and Previously Looked After Children - Adoption UK

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Supporting Adopted and Permanently Placed Children In School

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Supporting Adopted and Permanently Placed Children In School

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Aspire Adoption Services - Supporting Adopted And Permanently Placed Children in School

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Early Help and the Locality Early Help Advisor

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AANT Information for target schools Nov 22

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Education Journey during the adoption process

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Education Journey during the adoption process

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Outlines the procedures necessary to transition into an education setting during the adoption process.

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'Breaking the barriers’ campaign document, produced by Adopt UK. An insight into the educational barriers for children that are adopted or living in kinship and how to address them.

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A list of the responsibilities from the statutory guidance along with even better ifs

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Wealth of resources put together by EPs.

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Back into school - Children's commissioner

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Back into school - Children's commissioner

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Resources for different stakeholders to support return to school

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Back into School | Children's Commissioner for England

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Back into school resources to ensure that children, schools, parents and professionals who work with children are confident for the return to school in September.

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Find support and information for parents and carers under the support at school heading.

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Information about education and training for children and young people with additional needs and disabilities in Surrey

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A information sheet for schools detailing how to declare a Previously Looked-After Child on the October school census.

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A summary of our role with education settings for children previously looked after.

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SVS support for schools (PLAC) DRAFT - DLG edits

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A resource to use with young people who are struggling to engage with others as well as school. It enables all progress, including small steps, to be recognised. 

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Charities working in Surrey to support children's mental health.

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Surrey Wellbeing Partnership - Improving Wellbeing for Young People

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Surrey Wellbeing Partnership is a joint venture of local and national charities working with children and young people in the community.

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An example of how the framework may be used.

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EBSNA Padlet from the EP service for parents and carers

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EBSNA Padlet from the EP service for parents and carers

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A bank of resources that can be shared to support parents and carers who have a child with EBSNA.

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EEF - Tide Project to improve attendance

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EEF - Tide Project to improve attendance

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A pilot that targeted children's attendance and well being. The impact of connection with adults and time in on attendance.

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Over a number of months, the school identified a small cohort of female pupils in Year 9 who were presenting with challenging and highly avoidant behaviours, including poor attendance to school, on-site truancy, and a high amount of behavioural incidents.

What felt like the greatest barrier for these pupils was that they appeared to have no sense of belonging in school, making the pupils' ability to sustain positive relationships difficult.

The knock-on impact of generational trauma on the young people we identified was that they found it hard to identify as learners in a school context, and didn't always get the support externally that other more advantaged pupils received.

For these pupils, coming into a school where their narrative doesn't fit with societal narrative was very difficult, and they presented as outliers to the vast majority of other pupils within the school.

Considering the effectiveness of existing interventions

As a school, it felt like we were inputting a high level of support for these pupils. However, there was no real impact seen on the pupils in school in regards to the key markers of attendance and behaviour, and we had to be really honest with ourselves to reflect why.

These pupils received multiple interventions which, on reflection, didn't seem to cohere with each other and were spread across a number of different professionals and services - this may have diluted the impact of them.

Additionally, the high level of need that the pupils presented with seemed to require something that was more regular and intensive in order to have any countering impact on the trauma they'd experienced.

Our solution

To better support these pupils, we devised a pilot project with our SEMH department: The Junction. The Tide Project is a 12-week programme designed to work with an identified small number of pupils and their families aimed at improving pupils' attendance, behaviour and wellbeing in school.

Specifically, the programme started with a home visit to families. This helps:

to get a sense of the pupil at home;

to explain to parents and carers the aims of the project (acknowledging that they may need some support as well); and

to build a positive bridge between home and school.

For the pupil, it involves them checking in with The Junction staff every morning. Pupils are on a monitoring report from Monday to Thursday every week where they collect positive points for successful lessons as well as for managing their social time appropriately.

The week at a glance

The Junction, one of our meeting spaces for The Tide Project

The morning check-ins at The Junction happen during tutor time and involve pupils sitting and eating breakfast together, whilst having discussions about the previous day at school and an emotional check-in, using strategies such as mood scaling.

The discussions about the previous day mean that there is a collective response in regards to potential useful strategies in specific situations, with celebration being a key part of the check-in as well.

Two mornings a week, there is a longer session which continues through the first lesson of the day with a workshop prepared and delivered around aspects such as:

emotional regulation skills;

understanding hypervigilance and how it impacts within daily settings;

problem-solving; and

effective communication.

Friday acts as a celebration day. If a pupil has accumulated enough positive points throughout the week, they can attend the reward-based session which was designed by the pupils themselves.

Interestingly, the reward sessions that the pupils chose were not financial: they wanted to play board games, do arts and crafts, take part in a cooking and fitness session. For the biggest reward at the end of the project reward session, they actually chose to go to the park for a picnic together.

It must also be noted that if a pupil did not get enough positive points, then they have a bespoke reflection space 1:1 to work out the reasons why they didn't achieve the high enough level of points.

What is the current impact on the pupils?

The data that we have at this stage is soft data, but is none-the-less very positive:

Pupils' attendance to school has improved;

Teachers have been making more positive comments about the individuals being more engaged with their learning, with improvements to attitude to school;

We have seen big reductions in the time that pupils are needing to be removed from classrooms due to poor behaviour.

What are the key ingredients that have made The Tide Project successful?

As a team including members of the SEMH department and the Senior Leadership Team we identified the key ingredients making The Tide Project a success:

A strategic approach from a leader who has a combined understanding of mental health and previous experience of implementing these kinds of projects;

High staff:pupil ratio (3:6) to ensure that the pupils receive a bespoke experience and immediate response to any safeguarding concerns if needed;

Staff expertise in supporting pupils with emotional wellbeing;

High level of planning and expert knowledge around the delivered sessions - but with the expertise to be flexible to adapt the sessions on the day if required;

Collective buy-in from the wider staff body and understanding of the impact of trauma on children.

Where does it go from here?

It may seem tempting to scale-up this approach - as in: we've seen this work for this small cohort, so why not a larger one?

Actually, we feel that this would be the wrong way to go and we would lose our ability to deliver on the active ingredients.

What feels successful is the smaller cohort and the ability to be more intensive with those pupils, which would be diluted if we were to attempt to have a wider reach.

More secure evaluation of the pupil progress is needed to better monitor the wider impact across the school. All the signs to-date show that The Tide Project has been a success, but we have more work to do in terms of evaluation - we already use the Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire with pupils and key staff and will add to this with further data.

The pilot project has been useful to better understand a targeted approach to supporting disadvantaged pupils - the clear progress we have seen with the pupils is something we will build on and evolve for the upcoming year.

Hannah Miles and Ro King

Hannah Miles is Senior Mental health and wellbeing lead at Greenshaw High School. Ro King is SENCo and Assistant Headteacher responsible for Inclusion at Greenshaw High School and Deputy Director of Greenshaw Research School.

Read more aboutHannah Miles and Ro King

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The Tide Project - piloting a programme to help improve pupils'...

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Our 12-week school-based intervention designed to support disadvantaged pupils and increase motivation and engagement

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Suggested classroom strategies grouped into common themes.

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Letter to share with parents and carers to explain the DT role and who your DT is.

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As a result of the reorganisation of Surrey County Council, the Education Welfare Service is now called the Inclusion Service.

The Inclusion Service provides support to schools, parents and young people in providing services on behalf of the Local Education Authority and deals with non-attendance (Truancy), Child Protection and making enquiries about children missing education.

The aim of Inclusion is for every child to have an equal opportunity to access educational provision and to ensure that parents meet their parental responsibilities under various Education Acts on our legal proceedings webpage.

Inclusion Officers

The Inclusion Officer's aim is to help children attend school full-time and support pupils and parents in resolving issues which may be affecting a child's wish to attend school. To bring this about, a plan is agreed in consultation with all the parties involved and the Inclusion Officer will stay involved until it has been achieved. If the aim is not achieved the Inclusion Service may have to consider legal proceedings.

All Surrey schools have an allocated Inclusion Officer to support schools and parents to ensure every child goes to school regularly. Inclusion Officers can accept referrals or enquiries from schools or other agencies, parents and members of the public if a child is not attending school.

Inclusion Officers can provide advice on:

resolving attendance problems

social and family problems

other services and useful resources available.

What we do - our service offering

We fulfil both statutory and non-statutory functions in relation to compulsory school-aged children and young people. The Surrey Inclusion Team offers all schools, including academies and free school, a statutory service as follows:

Investigation of causes for absence for cases meeting the criteria for legal intervention

Case work management for statutory cases

Regular consultation with key personnel to report and plan actions for open cases, including matters relating to safeguarding concerns, carrying out half-termly register checks and monitoring students whose attendance is below 90%

All aspects of legal intervention for school attendance offences

Advice and guidance on all matters relating to legislation and processes underpinning school attendance and pupil registration, including registration coding and off roll procedures

In addition, Surrey maintained schools will also be eligible to receive the following services which may be bought back by academies and free schools:

Regular consultation meetings with key personnel to advise on attendance concerns for pupils who do not yet meet the criteria for legal intervention

Support and casework for pupils with poor attendance who do not yet meet the criteria for legal intervention

Parenting courses and intervention

Strategic guidance and support to improve whole school attendance and reduce persistent absence

Data analysis

Ofsted preparation

Bespoke initiatives to improve attendance including attendance panels and late gates

Bespoke training for attendance managers, officers and NQTs including INSET days

Whole school audit of attendance processes and procedures

Addressing groups of students re attendance for example in assemblies, targeted groups and workshops

Help and contacts

If you need help in ensuring your child attends school regularly please contact the office in whose area your child's school is situated.

North East Inclusion Team

Epsom and Ewell, Elmbridge, Spelthorne Telephone: 01372 833588

South East Inclusion Team

Tandridge, Reigate and Banstead, Mole Valley Telephone: 01737 737777

South West Inclusion Team

Waverley and Guildford Telephone: 01483 517179

North West Inclusion Team

Woking, Surrey Heath and Runnymede Telephone: 01483 518130

If you are concerned that a statutory school age child (who lives in Surrey) is missing from education because they may not have a school place and are not receiving suitable alternative education provision, then please let us know by completing a children missing education form.

You can also send us your comments and compliments or complain about our services.

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Improving school attendance - the role of the Inclusion Service

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As a result of the reorganisation of Surrey County Council, the Education Welfare Service is now called the Inclusion Service. The Inclusion Service provides support to schools, parents and young people in providing services on behalf of the Local Education Authority and deals with non-attendance (Truancy), Child Protection and making enquiries about children missing education.