Behaviour and Attendance Proposal Resubmission

Schools Forum Meeting of Wednesday 2 July 2008 Agenda Item 2

1. Purpose of the report.

1.1 To review the Schools Forum view that the resource agreed to meet the government’s requirement of local authorities to establish behaviour and attendance partnerships for the secondary sector should be delivered through the Children and Young People Strategic Partnerships (CYPSPS).

1.2 A copy of the original report is attached as Annex A.

2. The need for the review.

2.1 Behaviour and attendance partnerships are “owned” by schools (DCFS guidance) not the LA. The focus this year needs to be on secondary with discussions as to how this can be extended to primary schools commencing in September 2008 as agreed with EPHA

herole of LA is to assist, facilitate and support development of partnership working and evaluate with ASHE and partner’s, value for money and effectiveness of strategy to identify priorities for development, further funding and target future resources and support.

2.3 Discussions with ASHE have established:

 Funding agreed by Forum from DSG personalisation grant (£600,000=7/12 of 1.3m) plus ‘hard to place ‘funding (7/12 of £500,000) previously held by Planning and Admissions will be allocated to the 4 secondary Area Development Groups who will decide how this money will be allocated to each partnership.

 Behaviour and Attendance Partnerships – based on existing ASHE partnerships

 Each partnership will elect its own chair and officers and will co-opt relevant officers and personnel from a range of providers agreed by individual partnerships

 ADGs will decide criteria for allocation to each partnership

 Each partnership will agree outcome measures which will be shared with ADG

 Performance of partnerships will be monitored and evaluated against agreed outcome measures by partnerships themselves

- 1 - Schools Forum Meeting of Wednesday 2 July 2008 Agenda Item 2

 Performance of partnerships in relation to agreed outcomes will be monitored by ADG

 ADGs will share performance with ASHE and LA, which will, for its part update the Schools Forum.

2.4 The Forum expressed a view at its meeting of 11 June that the Forum should restrict its views to strategic and monitoring issues; “It is for the LA to determine the most effectivce and appropriate delivery model”.

3. Recommendation.

3.1 The LA requests the support of the Schools Forum to deliver the resources made available for Behaviour and Attendance through the Area Development Groups.

Annex A Original Paper Proposal for SEN and Personalisation Funding January 2008

1. Proposal : To improve outcomes for pupils with behaviour and attendance difficulties by facilitating , empowering and strategically resourcing schools to create effective Behaviour and Attendance Partnerships with a shared commitment to tackling persistent truancy and absenteeism ,reducing exclusions, promoting positive behaviour and addressing disruptive behaviour and developing capacity within and across schools to provide a more skilled workforce, access to a wider and more flexible range of resources, provision, placements and expertise.

2. Context:

2.1 The New Relationship with Schools was designed to reshape the relationship between schools and central and local government and thereby release greater initiative and energy in schools to raise standards further and to give schools greater freedom and autonomy to identify and plan their own improvement.

2.2 From September 2007 ministers in the (DCSF) expected all secondary schools, including special schools, pupil referral units, academies, and city technology colleges (CTCs), to work in Behaviour and Attendance Partnerships to improve behaviour and tackle persistent absence.

2.3 Essex is currently behind in the establishment of this initiative which has been proven to bring significant results in schools in behaviour and attendance, with many additional benefits to schools, staff, pupils, families and the community.

2.4 Partnerships are proven to provide opportunities for schools to develop effective multi-agency approaches and work together with pupils and families and to share expertise and facilities and research shows that partnership facilitation is an area regularly stated by practitioners as a key ingredient in successful partnership working.

2.5 Existing effective commitment to and practice in Essex secondary schools working in ‘Partnerships’ will form a good base for the development of behaviour and attendance partnerships as described by the National Strategies and this model would be used to inform and replicate a similar model in primary schools , in advance of other authorities.

2.6 Essex headteachers, the LA and the National Strategies team have all identified Behaviour and Attendance in Essex as a priority area for development and Essex data reflects underperformance in these areas and in relation to our statistical neighbours. In addition headteachers across Essex have raised the need for more coherent, effective and rationalised support and direction from the Local Authority in relation to support and advice to schools around Behaviour and Attendance.

2.7 This proposal validates and acknowledges these concerns. In retaining some funding the Local Authority would provide the vision and direction, the resources, funding and tools to facilitate the initial set up of each partnership, support the servicing and implementation of partnerships in both primary and secondary phases linking with special schools, PRUS and TASCC s and assist schools and partnerships in the monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the impact of those strategies to ensure provision is effective and providing good value for money.

3. Objectives of proposal:

 Children and young people with BESD will have greater access to a larger range of opportunities where BESD provision and education can be delivered in new, alternative and effective ways.  More effective and accessible support for teachers in the classroom  Improved learning environments and conditions for learning for all pupils and especially those pupils with BESD SEN and additional needs  More flexible and effective school based provision , understanding and collaboration to meet needs  Focused , resourced and high quality collaboration, sharing of expertise , personnel , accommodation , programmes and provision between schools, TASCCS and other educational providers, along with other statutory and voluntary sector organisations,.  Flexible and collaborative approaches where schools have ownership and work together supported by the local authority, to commission provision and support for pupils with behaviour difficulties  Effective transition and managed moves where appropriate to reduce exclusion and keep pupils in fulltime , flexible mainstream provision where possible

Potential Benefits / outcome measures:

 Improved quality, availability and appropriateness of personalised learning and provision in and out of school which is purposeful and enhances rates of progress into FE, training and employment particularly for those at risk of disengagement.  Reduction in persistent low-level disruption in the classroom, leading to better levels of teaching and learning, and improved behaviour and attendance climate for school staff and pupils  Increase in attendance for all pupils inc those from specific vulnerable groups  Reductions in exclusion rates, permanent exclusions, fixed term exclusions – multiple fixed term exclusions etc and in rates of exclusion of children from vulnerable groups e.g. Looked after Children .SEN Children .Specific ethnic minority groups  Reduction in persistent absenteeism and in PA rates for specific groups of children  Provision of high-quality alternative provision for those who are excluded, or at risk of exclusion or of dropping out of the system  Increase in attainment in KS tests and GCSE outcomes for targeted groups of pupils  Improved Ofsted grades for Personal Development, Behaviour, Attendance, Links with Community, Partnership working.  Improved take up of study support and extended schools services by targeted groups  Improved levels of participation in targeted youth support provision  Improved community access to partnership school facilities including support for parents  Improved and enhanced work, support and advice to parents  Reduction in stress-related absences by school staff and numbers leaving the profession early  Ongoing pupil consultation indicating a reduction in bullying over time  An overall reduction in NEET figures for 16-18 year olds, leaving schools in the partnership, especially pupils in 'at risk' category and pupils registered in Prus  Improved access to mental health services ,drugs and sexual health advice  Improved capacity of schools to retain pupils in mainstream settings ,more managed moves , more effective transition arrangements and increased number of pupils successfully re-integrated from PRU provision  Reduced truancy, root causes tackled resulting in improved attendance levels  Effective mechanisms in place for identifying and re-engaging children going missing from school

4. How

4.1 Action so far : The commitment of the DCFS, the National Strategies, Ofsted and the LA to the development of these partnerships in Essex and the access to and improvement of provision for pupils with BESD is a high and key priority. The LA is working closely with and following advice from the DCFS and the National Strategies to ensure the development of these partnerships, the remodelling and restructure of PRUs and specialist provision for pupils with BESD follows models of best practice. It is proposed to have an effective PRU in each secondary behaviour and attendance partnership and to increase in the number of specialist schools and provision for BESD pupils across Essex. The LA is recruiting four behaviour and attendance advisors specifically to support and facilitate schools in the setting up of these partnerships and in the implementation of the anti Bullying Strategy . A high profile ‘Launch’ has been devised with the National Strategies to involve National leaders and speakers from the Behaviour and Attendance Partnership Unit at the DCFS , HMI , Senior Regional Advisers from the National Strategies and headteachers from Pathfinder and other successful Local Authorities . David Bell has agreed to visit the LA to discuss the development of the Partnerships with head teachers in September 2008.

4.2 In retaining funding the LA can:

 Ensure that each Area Development Groups would have access to £150,000 funding for partnership development to contribute to and enhance any pooled funding that schools agree, to enable flexibility and creativity in the setting up of alternative provisions, ‘cover’ and additional transport arrangements flexible placements, managed moves and support inter- school sharing of resources, accommodation and expertise during the implementation period and on an ongoing basis. . Provide, in consultation with schools, (building on existing structures), the vision and strategy for the setting up of Behaviour and Attendance Strategies . Assist in the setting up of and working principles and protocols of the partnership board . Agree /facilitate baseline measures and outcome targets between the schools within the partnership and between the partnership and the local authority. . Assist in and invest in the range of support and provision needed based on an audit of local pupil and schools needs . Facilitate protocols between collaborating schools . Create and share portfolios of provision and expertise within and across partnerships . Assist with communications with parents

. Identify links with local authority services and other local service providers including links with Youth Offending Team (YOT) and other relevant agencies . Assist the partnerships in the review and analysis of the effectiveness of the partnerships, impact of provision, value for money and progress towards identified and agreed targets.

5. Approximate Costs

September 2008 – April 2009 (£ 660,000) April 2009 –April 2010 (£1,300,000) £ 150,000 per ADG to fund £600,000 £ 150,000 per ADG to £600,000 secondary schools/ fund secondary schools / partnerships(to inc a special partnerships school and PRU to provide creative solutions, alternative provision and CPD ) ((ADG s to decide how this money will be allocated – could be enhanced by schools pooled contributions ) Initial set up of partnerships in £40,000 £160,000 per primary £,640,000 Primary schools quadrant (EPHA to decide Conference(s) to decide how this money Supply cover for consultation will be allocated – could be groups enhanced by schools pooled Tracking systems for monitoring contributions and any impact savings made on impact of Reporting systems on progress secondary partnerships in reduction of pupils supported by ISS ,CSS ,exclusions etc ) Marketing and Publicity – £10,000 Marketing and Publicity £60,000 Primary /Secondary /special and strategic development Conferences /events in line with National Securing courses guidance tracking systems for monitoring Primary /Secondary /special impact Sharing good practice

Total £660,000 £1,300,000

5.1 In presenting the provisional budget for 2008-09 at the meeting of 6 February 2008, a contingency was identified within the behaviour support services budget to meet these costs, subject to School Forum support.

6. Summary

6.1 A collaborative approach where schools have more autonomy to work creatively together, supported by the Local Authority, to commission the support they need to address Behaviour and Attendance difficulties at a locality level. Schools will have recourse to, control of and be involved in the creation of a more flexible, easily accessible range of alternative provision and strategies for pupils with BESD, to allow early intervention and identification , a more responsive and localised solution and be enabled to share expertise, facilities , resources and accommodation with other schools including Special Schools and PRUs. Through the facilitation of collaborative partnerships, whole school improvement across all phases of schools to develop increased autonomy, localised capacity and improved transition arrangements leading to more personalised approaches to learning and provision resulting in improved attendance and behaviour will be possible.

6.2 The Schools Forum is requested to support the approach set out in the report.

Author: Debbie Holmes – Senior Adviser – Vulnerable Children and Young People