EssexCounty Council SENCO Manual 2011

EssexCounty Council

SEN and Children with

Additional Needs

An introduction to

The Education Welfare Service (EWS)

The Education Welfare Service (EWS)

Attendance is a fundamental issue for schools, which impacts on every facet of school life, including safeguarding. Ofsted continue to scrutinise all aspects of attendance data and the processes that schools have in place for ensuring good or improved levels of attendance.

Robust and rigorous whole school approaches towards improving attendance are vital in order to maximise school outcomes, and Essex EWS has extensive experience of working with schools and their communities in a variety of ways, to further develop school systems and ultimately improve levels of attendance. Evaluations of our work clearly show the input of specialist EWS work is valued by schools and provides an objective overview of the school’s current practice and suggestions for improvements. Processes developed by the Essex team have been commended by National Strategies, OFSTED and DFE officials as have the radical improvements in attendance and the reduction in the number of persistent absentees.

The EWS is divided into 4 quadrants and is centrally managed by the CountyManagerwho is basedin County Hall.The EWS also consists of Children Missing Education (CME) and Child Employment. The CME named officer is responsible for monitoring and tracking children missing from education and ensuring they return to a suitable form of educational provision as soon as possible. The Child Employment Team are responsible for issuing work permits and entertainment licenses for children in Essex.

As from September 2011 school attendance statutory work and register reviews which are undertaken by the EWS will continue to be free of charge to all schools. All other non statutory work will be subject to a charge. The EWS offer schools a range of services such as consultations, training courses, awareness sessions and attendance and punctuality initiatives. Further information and details of how to book can be found on this page of the Infolink. The EWS can also offer bespoke attendance packages suited to your school. All of the sessions that EWS offer can be delivered as twilight sessions or as an integral part of training days. Schools may find these sessions particularly useful for pre Ofsted or post Ofsted support.

Contact Details;

1

Ref: SM1/5.13

EssexCounty Council SENCO Manual 2011

Education Welfare Service

E2, Core 4

County Hall,

Market Road

Chelmsford,

Essex, CM1 1QH

Telephone: 01245 436740

Fax: 01245 436588

Email:

1

Ref: SM1/5.13

EssexCounty Council SENCO Manual 2011

1

Ref: SM1/5.13