Date: 28th May 2025
Time: 12noon - 1.30pm
Presented by Dr Patricia Nicholl of Queen’s University Belfast, this seminar presents the findings of a doctoral thesis which explored the views and experiences of primary school teachers in Northern Ireland regarding Personal Education Plans.
In response to ongoing concern regarding the poor educational outcomes of children in care the Department of Education introduced policy and guidance to support the educational needs of children in care; enhance multi-agency working and promote the voice of the child in the education planning process.
There is very little research that focuses on the experiences and views of professionals in the field of education tasked with the implementation of Personal Education Plans. This research study, informed in its design, implementation and dissemination by a Research Advisory Group, utilised an interpretive qualitative inquiry approach and through semi-structured interviews with 20 professional teachers, and an in-depth focus group with three teachers elicited their views regarding Personal Education Plans and their implementation in practice.
The findings highlight concerns regarding education planning practices and argue for an embedded children’s rights based PEP process to contribute to improvements in realising the education rights of children in care, and help inform the future role that might be played by PEPs in enhancing educational outcomes for children in care.
