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Child-Centred Planning – Beyond Box Ticking

Plans work better when they start from what the child cares about, use their words and are made with them in the room.

  • 11 minutes
  • 5 modules
  • 0.5 CPD hours
  • Certificate

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What you'll learn

  • Find out what a child enjoys, fears and is proud of, beyond their labels
  • Build goals around the child's own motivations, not only the adults'
  • Swap professional jargon for the child's own words in plans and meetings
  • Make meetings accessible to the child, or keep them present when they can't attend
  • Bring the team around a child back to common ground when adults disagree

About this course

Most of us have sat in a meeting about a child who isn't there, going through a plan full of acronyms they wouldn't recognise, towards goals that matter mainly to the adults. It's called child-centred planning, but the child has gone missing from it.

Five principles help you do it properly, especially with vulnerable learners. Get to know the child beyond their labels: what makes them laugh, what they'd do with a free Sunday afternoon. Build goals around their reasons for change, whether that's missing their friends or wanting to get back to Lego club, rather than the attendance figures. And if they can't be in the room, put their photo on the table and give someone the job of speaking up for them.

And when home, school and other agencies stop pulling in the same direction, there's advice on bringing everyone back to what's best for the child.

  • For governors, middle leaders and 2 other roles. All phases.

5 modules

Open in order

  1. Know the child

    3 min

  2. Set goals based on the child’s motivations

    3 min

  3. Use the child’s words

    2 min

  4. Make meetings accessible to the child

    3 min

  5. We are all on the child’s team

    3 min