Writing Child's Plan actions that say who, what and by when

"Continue to support Ellie's literacy." It is well meant, but it does not say who will do what, how often, or when anyone will check whether it worked. This guide covers what the Scottish Government's GIRFEC guidance asks of a Child's Plan, and how to write actions that can be delivered and reviewed.

First, what is statutory and what is not

• The Child's Plan is not statutory. The Scottish Government's practice statement (October 2023) describes "a personalised child's plan within GIRFEC" as "a non-statutory plan". It complements the GIRFEC practice guidance series published in September 2022. Both are practice guidance, not law.
• Acceptance is voluntary. The practice statement says "Acceptance of a child's plan within GIRFEC along with the advice, information and support which are offered is voluntary", unless compulsory measures are otherwise justified.
• Education duties are statutory. Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, each education authority must "make adequate and efficient provision for such additional support as is required" by a child or young person with additional support needs, and must make arrangements for "keeping under consideration" both those needs and "the adequacy of the additional support provided" (section 4(1)). The statutory guidance on the Act is 'Supporting children's learning' (third edition, 2017).
• A Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) is statutory. Where the tests in section 2 of the 2004 Act are met, the education authority must prepare one (section 9(1)). A CSP must state, among other things, "the additional support required by the child or young person to achieve those objectives" and "the persons by whom the support should be provided" (section 9(2)(a)). The practice statement says a CSP "may form part of the child's plan".

So what follows is good practice from national guidance, not a legal test. Clear actions do make it easier to show that support is being kept under consideration, which the 2004 Act requires of education authorities.

What the guidance asks a plan to record

GIRFEC Practice Guidance 1 (section 11) says every plan, single-agency or multi-agency, "should include and record", among other things:

• "details of action to be taken"
• "resources to be provided"
• "timescales for action and for change"
• "contingency plans"
• "arrangements for reviewing the plan"

The Child's Plan practice statement adds that the plan "should be clear on which services or people will provide support, who is accountable for that support, and the way in which that support will be provided". It should also set out "the personalised actions to be taken and the expected improvement for the child or young person". Section 10 of Practice Guidance 1 says the discussion about what goes in a plan should include "who is going to carry out those actions".

Put simply, each action should answer:

1. Who will do it, by role, and who is accountable if that is someone else?
2. What exactly will they do, how often, and for how long?
3. By when will it start, when will it be reviewed, and when do you expect to see a change?
4. How will you know it is working?

Note the guidance's phrase "timescales for action and for change". These are two different dates: when the action happens, and when you expect improvement.

Before and after

All pupils below are fictional. Use roles rather than staff names, so the plan still makes sense if someone leaves.

Ellie, P4, literacy

Before: Continue to support Ellie's literacy.

After: Ellie's class teacher will run a phonics group for Ellie and up to three classmates, 20 minutes a day, four mornings a week, from 3 November until the review on 26 March. The support for learning teacher will check Ellie's progress against her reading targets every six weeks and share the results with Ellie and her parents. Expected change by the March review: Ellie reads the agreed P4 word list with at least 80% accuracy, up from 45% in October.

Rory, S2, attendance and wellbeing

Before: School to monitor Rory's attendance.

After: Rory's guidance teacher will meet him for 10 minutes every Monday at the start of period 1 to plan the week ahead, and will phone Rory's dad each Friday with that week's attendance, until the review on 5 February. If Rory's attendance is below 80% for two weeks in a row, the lead professional will arrange a review meeting within 10 school days.

The last sentence is a contingency plan, which Practice Guidance 1 lists as something every plan should record.

Maya, P7, multi-agency plan

Before: All agencies to work together to support Maya's wellbeing.

After: The lead professional (depute head teacher) will share an updated summary of the plan with all partners by 14 November. The school nurse will meet Maya and her mum to agree a toileting and medication routine for school by 28 November.

Maya, P7 to S1 transition

Before: Support Maya's transition to secondary school.

After: By 30 May, the P7 depute head and the S1 pupil support leader will hold a transition meeting with Maya and her mum. Maya will make three extra visits to the secondary school in June, accompanied by her pupil support assistant. Before the first day of term in August, the S1 guidance teacher will share Maya's one-page profile with all her subject teachers.

The practice statement says the Child's Plan "should be used to support good transitions" and that the views of the young person and family should "remain at the heart of the plan".

Keep the child's voice in it

The practice statement says the plan "should reflect the voice of the child or young person at every stage". A practical habit is to record, for each action, what the child said about it, in their words where possible: "Rory said Monday check-ins are fine but not in front of his class."

A short checklist

• Each action names a role responsible for doing it, and who is accountable.
• Each action says what will happen, how often and for how long.
• Each action has a start date and a review date.
• The expected change and its timescale are stated, with a starting point.
• Resources are named (time, staff, materials, programme).
• There is a contingency for what happens if it is not working.
• The child's and family's views are recorded.
• Any statutory plan, such as a CSP, is cross-referenced, not duplicated.

Sendix checks Child's Plans for wording that is too vague to deliver or review and cites the guidance it relies on; a practitioner then writes the revised wording.