Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Report

1. Purpose of Report

1.1. To brief Members on successful innovation in identifying, promoting and supporting strategies to tackle factors leading to and arising from school exclusions in relation to the School Exclusions Review undertaken in 2008 by the committee.

IMPACT ASSESSMENTS:

1. Equalities Impact Assessment:

1.1. None

2. Impact on Crime and Disorder:

2.1. N/A

3. Climate Change:

3.1. How does what is being proposed impact on our carbon footprint / energy consumption?

N/A

a) How does what is being proposed consider the need to adapt to climate change, and be resilient to its longer term impacts?

N/A

PROGRESS REVIEW OF HAMPSHIRE'S APPROACH TO IDENTIFYING PROMOTING AND SUPPORTING STRATEGIES TO TACKLE KEY FACTORS LEADING TO AND ARISING FROM SCHOOL EXCLUSIONS

John Clarke, Deputy Director (Education and Inclusion), Children's Services

Colin Diaper, Area Strategic Manager for Alternative Education, Western Area

June 2009

Introduction

The purpose of this report is to set out ways in which thinking and work is developing, so that children and young people are helped to remain in mainstream education and thus avoid permanent exclusion. This was at the heart of the Select Committee's original inquiry and while progress has been made on the detailed recommendations set out in its report (and these appear at Appendix 1) members will also wish to know of the more fundamental systemic changes that are being made and planned for the future, in part prompted by their work.

Effective partnership working, with a sound distribution of roles and responsibilities, is the key to reducing permanent exclusions and there are many examples of this across the county. This paper focuses on new ways of working in the north of Test Valley but other areas could have been selected. All have the potential to improve outcomes significantly for some of the most vulnerable children and young people. They show how collaborative working between schools - and other partners - is impacting positively on the lives of children and young people who previously, in all likelihood, would have been permanently excluded.

The work centred on Andover is a model of practice which the Children's Services department is promoting across the county. As part of the further development of local children's partnerships all local groupings of schools, working with their partners, will be encouraged to take this, or a similar approach: an approach which tackles many of the underlying issues that were raised by the Select Committee's report.

These are the principles that underpin the model:

· Local schools, working together and with other agencies, see themselves as collectively responsible for the development and education of all the children and young people within the local area.

· Together they make provision to include all children and young people within that provision.

· Education centres are seen as an integral part of local provision, not as destinations for children and young people. On-site and off-site, they undertake focussed intervention work with children and young people with the specific aim of ensuring that they can continue with their learning in mainstream settings. Increasingly, education centres work with children and young people who have not been permanently excluded.

· Local partners aspire to a situation where no child or young person is permanently excluded from school.

· There is early identification of children who are likely to develop issues that previously would have led them eventually towards permanent exclusion.

· Interventions are made and their impact measured; progress is tracked. Staff continually search for approaches that work.

· Resources are pooled, including some of those of the Local Authority, and staff are appointed to work across the collaboration.

· No one assumes that a curriculum that is suitable for most children and young people is suitable for all, and the right curricular mix is sought to keep young people engaged and in learning.

Evidence from Andover suggests that a remarkable shift in culture and working practices can be effected very quickly if the local leadership is clear, committed and effective.

As Building Schools for the Future comes to Hampshire, further models are being developed within the county that see education centres being fully integrated into local 21^st century schools, not as separate institutions. Changes of designation may, in time, be needed.

CASE STUDY

PARTNERSHIP WORKING IN NORTH TEST VALLEY - KEY FEATURES

Central to the work is the view that a child's education is delivered within the community of schools and is adapted and personalised where this presents challenges. Alternative provision is of high quality, children remaining jointly on their home school roll as well as that of the Education Inclusion Service - temporarily or for a longer term. A transparent protocol involving the rights of parents and children is being developed so that alternative and individual programmes do not become `permanent exclusion by another name'.

Headteachers retain the right to exclude because that is enshrined in law, but choose not to exercise that right.

Impact

These are the main impacts achieved through working differently.

· There have been no permanent exclusions since April 2008. By September 2009 the Andover Education Centre will have only 6 students who have been permanently excluded. The remaining 36 places will be taken by young people who are not excluded - but in all probability previously would have been.

· Schools have been working together and `managing' moves of young people across the schools, making sure that they remain as engaged as possible. There have been 10 such moves, to May 2009.

· 12 young people have been placed, to May 2009, using the Fair Access Protocol.

· 70 young people have been supported by outreach work by staff from Andover Education Centre, to May 2009.

· There have been more short-term interventions at the Andover Education Centre. Since December 2008, 15 students have attended an agreed intervention programme of 6-9 weeks before returning to mainstream schools.

· Intervention programmes has been provided at the Education Centre and six students in 2008-2009 have followed it there and returned to schools.

· 10 primary aged children have been supported with individual packages by the Education Centre to tackle issues that might lead to permanent exclusion.

Processes

· Area wide responsibility for all children and young people was agreed by the North Hampshire Partnership of Secondary Headteachers.

· A Partnership Manager has been appointed by the Partnership on a fixed term contract to Jan 2010.

· An Intervention Panel meets regularly - each half term - consisting of all behaviour and inclusion senior leaders from partnership schools, to agree common and consistent levels of intervention for students causing concern.

· There has been greater multi-agency working, involving social care leaders within the Partnership's Executive meetings and ensuring that appropriate support is available for students.

· There have been continuing professional development and training opportunities for all staff within the partnership and shared activities across it.

· A support group for special educational needs co-ordinators is hosted by the Education Centre and chaired by an officer from the county's SEN team to spread good practice across the partnership.

· The staff of the Education Centre have been closely involved with the 14-19 Consortium's plans for diploma development.

· A primary support panel has been established that links services offered by local special schools, the behaviour support team and the Education Centre. It is chaired by the Education Centre Manager and develops the individual support packages for children in local primary schools who are at risk of permanent exclusion.

Future Work

In addition to everything that is already happening, and further to all that has been achieved so far, there are aspirations and outline plans to:

· Increase primary provision across the Test Valley district to include more nurture groups and an early intervention unit. This would have to be funded from within the total resources available to the local children's partnerships.

· Develop a document for parents and other stakeholders which explains how the Partnership operates and how parents are actively involved.

· Extend partnership working models to the Romsey area and develop resources to support the Romsey schools across all phases of provision.

· Identify greater support for students who are on the autistic spectrum within the Partnership.

· Identify greater opportunities for the Partnership to develop and manage its own support services, with funding negotiated from budgets that are currently held centrally within the Children's Services department.

APPENDIX 1

DETAILS OF PROGRESS ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS SET OUT IN THE SELECT COMMITTEE'S REPORT

Set out below is the progress that has been made on the various detailed recommendations of the Select Committee's original report.

The rate of exclusion

Permanent and fixed period exclusions show a continuing downward trend since 2005-2006 of 13%. This academic year, although incomplete, demonstrates a further downward profile on the figures to date. The pattern across the county is uneven. The effects of different ways of working in places like Andover - but not just Andover - are hugely significant. Where this has not happened, exclusion rates are higher and this, in its turn, makes it more difficult to establish new ways of working. The Children's Services Department will continue to provide as much support as possible - and as much challenge as is needed - to collaborations of schools working with their partners, as well as to individual institutions.

Provision for 6 day provision

In November 2008 Ofsted inspected Hampshire's provision for permanent and fixed period exclusions in regard to day 6 provision. Two secondary schools and an education centre were visited, and an Inclusion Officer and the Inclusion Managers were interviewed. Following September 2007 and the statutory requirement for provision during exclusion of more than five days, Hampshire saw a reduction of 85% for six day plus exclusions.

The outcomes of the inspection were favourable. Ofsted found the education centre provision for pupils was good and that the schools were making good local provision. Relationships between schools and the local authority were highly regarded. There were recommendations for developing partnership working, increasing the monitoring of provision, and providing feedback about effective provision and practice. The Area Directors (Education and Inclusion) have established an inspection programme to monitor the quality of six day provision.

Partnership working to reduce exclusions and improve outcomes

Accommodation (Education Centres)

In September 2008 new premises at Andover Education Centre were completed: a significant event in the development of new ways of working but far from the only one. A contract for the complete refurbishment of Bridge Education Centre in Eastleigh has recently been let and the date for completion is Spring 2010. A high priority is the relocation and improvement of Quayside Education Centre where the accommodation is not fit for purpose. An alternative location for the centre is actively being sought.

Improvements have been made to the temporary accommodation housing Forest Education Centre and Ashwood Education Centre, Basingstoke, but any major upgrading will probably have to await the roll out of Building Schools for the Future to these districts and consideration given to where else, on these sites or on or close to the sites of existing schools, additional provision might be needed.

Transport

Better planning to meet the transport requirements for excluded pupils is providing far greater coherence and success in establishing and sustaining effective attendance.

Departmental Organisational changes

There have been a number of actions in response to the children's plan and related Back on Track consultation paper, as well as to the Select Committee's report. The three inclusion managers posts have been re-focused to reflect statutory requirements of `Back on Track' with additional responsibility for commissioning and quality assurance in the alternative education sector. They are now designated area strategic managers for alternative education (ASMs). An important aspect of their role is to work with others for the further development of partnerships and to drive forward different roles for education centres.

A senior inspector for the education of vulnerable children, including all those children and young people in care, was appointed in January 2009. Currently there is an appointment process to secure three area managers who will work to the Area Strategic Managers, with a specific responsibility in each of the three areas for ensuring children in care have successful school places. A fourth appointment will be responsible for professional leadership and hold central resources. This local focus will build on the effective impact of area CLASP panels which have sought to ensure rapid and appropriate placement for children in care and relate to the `Care Matters' implementation group.

Data Systems

Recent developments have established a more sophisticated data management information system for recording exclusions throughout the county. This allows data to be accessed more quickly and networked for enhanced inclusive practices. The next stage of the developments will give further direct interfaces with school and county IT systems. Similar IT improvements are in process within the EIS and behaviour support services.