Service Description

The Social Inclusion Service (SIS) is one part of the Education Support Services within the local authority, the other two areas being Educational Psychology and Education Welfare Service. The Social Inclusion Service consists of the following professionals:

  • Principal Officer, Education Support Services
  • Inclusion Development Teacher
  • Inclusion Development Caseworker
  • Social Inclusion Caseworkers
  • Exclusions Caseworker
  • Engagement Caseworker (formerly Education Welfare Officer)

SIS is responsible for the co-ordination and delivery of the local authority Fair Access Protocols (FAP) and Children Missing Education (CME) duties as defined by the amendments to the 1996 Education Act.

FAP protocols exist to ensure that access to education is secured quickly for young people who have no school place but for whom a place at a mainstream school, PRU or alternative provision is appropriate, and to ensure that all schools and Academies in Waltham Forest admit their fair share of young people with challenging behaviour, including young people excluded from other schools.

FAP operating protocols, policies and procedures have been praised for the quality of its work by Sir Alan Steer in 2008 and more recently (2011) by Professor Carl Parsons, a leading authority and author on school exclusions.

The CME duty states that all young people of compulsory school age who are not on a school roll, and who are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at school need to be identified. Responsibility with the local authority is with the Engagement Caseworker.

The Waltham Forest FAP/CME protocols effectively are a safety net for young people promoting welfare and safeguarding.

Professionals

Principal Officer

  • Lead on the Social Inclusion Service strategic vision within Children and Young People Services.
  • Chair the Primary and Secondary FAP panels.
  • Chair the Behaviour, Attendance, Safety Strategy group.
  • Strategic work with Social Care in relation to Safeguarding.
  • Responsibility for SEN resource provision budget monitoring.

Inclusion Development Teacher

Develop the capacity of schools to provide intervention and support for students experiencing BESD. Staff engagement is determined through the processes of FAP. There is also the opportunity of service intervention provided on a Traded Service basis (as of June 2011 - £40.00 per hour).

Inclusion Development Caseworker

Along with the Inclusion Development Teacher the operational priorities for the work are:

  • Preventative - based on partnership work with schools to provide appropriate early intervention, differentiation and structured behaviour support programmes.
  • Transition Support – Working alongside Social Inclusion Caseworkers and PRU staff to develop a programme to support students making transitions between schools and from PRUs to mainstream schools.
  • Case consultation – Provide advice and guidance to schools about individual cases.
  • Training – Termly training offered to schools/professionals focused on effective support for BESB.
  • Training – To schools using cascade model where school staff are trained to provide in-house training to pastoral or department groups.

Social Inclusion Caseworkers

  • Work alongside schools and parents of students at risk permanent exclusion.
  • Attend FAP/CME panels to monitor the data regarding the allocation and tracking of student placements.
  • Attend Pastoral Support Plan (PSP) meetings in schools in line with Government guidance documents, particularly the 2008 Exclusion Guidance
  • Attend PRU Transition Programmes to support the young person’s integration/reintegration into school.
  • Attend Governor Disciplinary Committee meetings as the local authority representative for young people permanently excluded, those on longer fixed term exclusions and the more complex cases.

Exclusions Caseworker

  • Work alongside schools and parents of students at risk permanent exclusion.
  • Lead the co-ordination on all aspects of the FAP/CME panel for both Primary and Secondary panels.
  • Manage the database recording of the local authority fixed term and permanent exclusions.
  • Liaise with cross-borough local authorities developing partnership solutions to exclusions and placements.
  • Provide exclusion statistics to the Fair Access Panel on a regular basis.
  • Attend the Behaviour, Attendance, Safety Strategy Group (BASS).
  • Provide local authority exclusion statistics to relevant local authority forums and nationally where relevant.
  • Attend Governor Disciplinary Committee meetings as the local authority representative for young people permanently excluded, those on longer fixed term exclusions and the more complex cases.

Engagement Caseworker

  • Work as part of multi-disciplinary team providing an integrated approach in delivery of services to achieve principle aims of the FAP/CME panels
  • Manage individual cases associated with the operational CME criteria and report to FAP
  • To investigate and action accordingly children’s absence from schools and promote good attendance and where necessary initiate legal proceedings, for statutory attendance at school.
  • Work directly with young people, parents, carers and the wider community to help overcome obstacles to education and enable regular attendance
  • Liaise and link with the EWO officer responsible for YOT and Children in Care

How to contact us

Education Support Services
Social Inclusion Service
Summerfield Centre
99 Leyton Green Road
Leyton E10 6DB

Tel 020 8496 1731/1782