Traded Services Options – Education Support Service of the Education Investigation Service
Introduction
Our officers specialise in working with schools to develop effective systems procedures and interventions and work in partnership with organisations to improve attendance and reduce absence. The service offers a range of products to support this of which we believe are effective and reasonably costed services in addition to statutory investigation services.
The following pages outline the services that we charge for of which we can bring experience and specialist knowledge. Schools, clusters, partnerships, townships may wish to appoint their own welfare/attendance worker. The EIS can provide a specialist package of support and wider casework support where schools do not have the capacity to complete this work. Our full range of chargeable services is outlined below; charges in other local authority areas may differ. However, we can build individual bespoke programmes to suit your needs.
Our Rates (local) NO upfront charges, our charges apply depending upon your requirements and are flexible to suit your needs
Please see below where other charges apply.
Case Work – Assessing need, engaging support
Welfare Support
Working with children and their families is a rewarding business however identifying the route causes of both systemic and individual difficulties can be challenging. We use a range of tools, skills and strategies to assess and identify the issues that impact upon the outcomes for example absence, pupils with challenging behaviour, complex developmental issues, and mental health and so on.
Where a referral is made to the service and it is identified that there are outstanding issues that should be undertaken before proceeding along a statutory route officers shall in the first instance refer the matter back to the school for them to assess and engage the support required, the officer will monitor parental engagement with the support offered but where this is lacking will intervene again to secure compliance.
If a school does not have the resources the Education Investigation Service will undertake the welfare elements of the case on their behalf at the hourly rate, for example undertaking the CAF and referring back or then arranging the TAC and so on. In this way schools can choose, statutory intervention aside, what work they want us to do.
Challenges
-
Parenting issues
-
Persistent absence
-
Poor behaviour
-
Limited capacity
-
Developmental needs
-
Welfare needs
-
Home/school issues
If you lack capacity you can commission our expertise to support a child/family either as a one off or to lead on your behalf or manage the case through the whole process of for example arranging a CAF and chairing the team around the child and acting as the lead practitioner. Rather than a block payment this is charged by the hour which helps to keep the cost down. Other services around the country typically charge £500 to complete a CAF. All of our involvement can be broken down further to 15 minute blocks of chargeable services
Management Support and Consultancy
Strategic planning is essential to maximise the impact of any intervention being implemented within the organisation. Our management support and consultancy services will provide you with the support you require to effect and manage change. We will help you to scrutinise your policies and embed the practice they represent. Your need might be for a professional with the right expertise to guide your senior staff through difficult times or unfamiliarity.
Challenges
-
On red alert for an OfSTED inspection
-
Inexperienced leadership team
-
Too much time spent on trying to find solutions
-
Too many interventions impacting upon staff
To develop a more strategic response to the planning and delivery of individual pupil need or approaches to managing attendance around children causing concern.
Specialised Management Support and Consultancy to Local Authorities
As a high performing service we can offer a range of support to local authorities where they feel that their attendance service can be improved or is in need of improving. We can provide time tested programmes and systems which bring about results in improving management and officer quality, knowledge, professionalism and longer term outcomes in improving attendance across an area through a more target streamlined service to that which you may already have.
All our services are available to organisations outside of our local authority area, however, charges may differ to take into account the scope of work required, travel and/or accommodation costs if and when required. Please contact us for a full range of services in improving service delivery within the LA organisation.
Strategic Support
Where a school is having significant difficulties in the management of attendance senior officers will meet with the school to consult and assess their needs charged at the hourly rate and provide a support package from one of our tools to support the school in managing change. All of the support tools can be undertaken in a total of 5 days over a period of time and charged at the weekly rate. Any work required beyond that time will be charged at the daily rate or the cost of any other programmes.
Attendance Policy Development
Schools are of course free to produce their own attendance policy alternatively they may commission the service to undertake this for them who will consult with the school and produce the finished article for them. This is charged at the weekly rate but schools do get three annual reviews of the policy free of charge.
Attendance Register Analysis
Register inspections are undertaken by the service as part of their statutory duties, however, at the request of the school officers can produce a report over a three year period as to the impact of the coding used upon the pupil population, trends in sickness, impact of alternative provision, the management of the registers and other trend and analysis data. This is charged at a set charge of £500 and is useful especially for new head teachers taking over a school so that they can be assured that what they inherit in terms of the registers has been fully audited by an independent body.
It is also useful where schools have been identified post OfSTED inspection has having particular concerns or where a school has been identified as a school causing concern under the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
We can also provide to other local authority areas an independent analysis of school registers through our very detailed audit and inspection programme. Charges in this respect may differ.
Challenges
-
You want your own attendance officer
-
You want access to professional supervision/performance development
-
You want an Induction programme for the officer to be trained to a high standard
-
They need access to briefings and training on updates in policy and practice and DfE guidance.
Schools do like the flexibility of employing their own officer the difficulty is ensuring that they are trained monitored and supervised to a professional level and that they can obtain independent advice and guidance.
Schools can utilise the services of the EIS to ensure that all staff across the borough operate standard operating procedures to ensure consistency and avoid a post code lottery approach to the quality of the attendance officer’s work.
By commissioning directly from the service school attendance officers can be appropriately supervised.
They can also undergo training enabling them to represent the school in any subsequent proceedings.
Support to School/Cluster/Township/Partnership Appointed Officers. Supervision and Performance Management and Review
Some schools will undertake this option and the service can be commissioned to provide a range of ongoing support to enable a school based officer to work within the school, cluster etc and receive ongoing professional independent supervision and performance management.
The service provides fully trained managers to support this process. School based officers can access the EIS supervision programme which enables officers to give independent and impartial advice as to the direction of a particular case. The programme requires a 3 hour supervision session charged at the hourly rate with a requirement of 6 supervision sessions per academic year with a Performance Management Review at the end reported directly to the head teacher with any advice and recommendations once per annum. This is good value and on current rates is £837.27 per annum.
Induction
The EIS can provide a full training package to newly appointed attendance officers this is charged at £1,993.50 thereafter the supervision programme applies if required. Please contact us for further details as to the content of the induction
Briefings
Schools may buy into this part of the service to enable the school based attendance officers to meet with colleagues and undertake briefings on the attendance agenda sharing good practice and knowledge and obtain up to date information on the dissemination of the various issues impacting upon the work of attendance officers. There are three briefings per academic year in the autumn, spring and summer term and a set charge will apply, this will include the costs of the room refreshments and lunch.
Training Days
From time to time when new issues are released pertaining to the work of an attendance officer it may be necessary to deliver specific training rather than a briefing (above) and again a set charge will apply.
Complaints Investigation/Independent Investigation Services
The service provides independent investigation services to schools charged at the management and consultancy hourly rate with a minimum two hour charge thereafter charged in fifteen minute blocks at a time, this could be such things as investigating complaints by a parent, school adjudicators, ombudsman, or investigation into incidents that have taken place within the school. Schools can of course undertake their own but this part of traded services allows a full “independent” investigation to be undertaken.
Free Services
School attendance reviews
Schools can upon request meet with a senior officer once each year and discuss in general what their data means in terms of the school overall attendance and absence rates.
Day to Day advice and guidance
The Education Investigation Service offers a FREE helpline service in relation to a number of areas including Education Law, changes in various regulations and guidance when released by the DfE, advice in relation to individual pupils and families etc
The traded element of our services is aimed at keeping us competitive as the market develops and provides for schools a “pay as you go” approach rather than a set annual fee where it is hard to measure what you get back over that period.
