Service Description

The Social Inclusion Service works with schools, parents and pupils to support students who may be at risk of permanent exclusion. We attend Pastoral Support Plan and Education Statement review meetings, to help devise strategies and targets to support inclusion. We provide guidance on the implementation of legal requirements in relation to exclusion.

Headteachers, teachers in charge of a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU), governing bodies, local authorities (LAs) and Independent Appeal Panels (IAPs) must by law have regard to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) guidance: Improving Behaviour and Attendance: Guidance on Exclusion from Schools and Pupil Referral Units – September 2008.

The local authority is not required to send a representative to all governing body/management committee exclusion meetings in its area. However, in line with guidance the local authority sends a representative to all permanent exclusion meetings, longer fixed period exclusions and complex Day 6 fixed term exclusions.

The local authority has in accordance with School Admissions Code of Practice (2007) and section 40 of the Education and Inspections Act (2006) a Fair Access Panel (FAP) involving all schools and the Academy with a main purpose of ensuring that unplaced young people, especially the most vulnerable, are offered a school place or alternative provision as quickly as possible. It is the Social Inclusion in the local authority that is responsible for the coordination of FAP and the monitoring of panel allocations.

Where a young person is permanently excluded it is the responsibility of the Service on behalf of the local authority to ensure that the student accesses full-time education (off-site from the excluding school) from Day 6 of the exclusion.

We regularly monitor excluded pupils’ attendance and personal and academic progress in educational provision other than at schools. An important part of our role is to facilitate the reintegration of pupils into mainstream education; we work closely with schools in drawing-up reintegration plans and deployment of appropriate support staff. We work with a range of statutory and voluntary bodies involved in supporting children and young people and often act as a ‘conduit’ to relevant services for schools and parents. We maintain the data-base on excluded pupils and report the exclusions statistics to relevant bodies, inside and outside education on a monthly basis.

Our Service

  • Provides statistical information for theDCSF, Local Authority, Elected Members and other relevant organisations
  • Represents the local authority at Governors’ Disciplinary Committee Meetings and Independent Appeals
  • Offers attendance on request at school PSP and other professionals’ meetings
  • Holds membership of the SEN Panel
  • Holds membership of the Children Missing Education Panel
  • Ensures that educational provision for excluded pupils is in line with DCSF requirements
  • Monitors the quality of provision of external providers

Specific service standards, key performance indicators and evaluation systems

  • Permanently excluded pupils receiving full time educational provision from Day 6 of the exclusion, line with the 2006 Education Act
  • Placement of pupils in provision within 2 weeks of referral by Fair Access Panel
  • Reduction in number of pupils excluded from school, particularly groups which are over-represented
  • Number of excluded pupils re-integrated into mainstream schools

Schools

  • To give adequate notice - at least seven days - of meetings where attendance is requested
  • To review regularly any Pastoral Support Plans that are set up to support the inclusion of a pupil in school
  • To ensure that request for referrals to PRUs or other providers show evidence of other strategies employed and records of any assessments carried out
  • To involve the Service as early as possible where there are concerns in relation to behaviour which may at some time lead to an exclusion
  • Reduce fixed term and permanent exclusions year-on-year
  • Maintain an exclusions database
  • To inform the Exclusions Administrative Officer of all exclusions promptly

Contact us

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

Tel 020 8496 1779/ 020 8496 1782

The Social Inclusion Service is a statutory provision and available free of charge to all schools in Waltham Forest. Schools and parents may contact the service at any time.