What does the term “Previously Looked after- PLAC” mean?

The term is applied to children who have previously been looked after by the Local Authority in England and Wales.  The children need to have left care of the Local Authority through:

an Adoption Order (AO)
Special Guardianship Order (SGO)
Child Arrangements Order (CAO)
or has been adopted from ‘state care’ outside England and Wales

Parents, carers and guardians would need to self-declare if their child or children were previously in care and provide evidence of their previously in care status.  Evidence could be a copy of the relevant order made by the court or a confirmation from a senior social worker on an appropriate letter head.