Revised Behaviour Support Offer to Schools and

Academies

Nathan CaineHead of Education Support, Behaviour and Attendance Service (ESBAS)

Extensive Consultation

• 3 Breakfast meetings with primary schools

• 4 Working groups (1 secondary, 3 primary)

• 1 area secondary headteacher meeting

• Discussions with existing staff

• Maintained schools and academies

Key Messages from Consultation• Ongoing support for children with high-needs• Better access to support across all schools

(greater reach of service)• Need for more proactive/preventative work• Clearer, more transparent referral processes• Equity of access to support• Addressing the potential of a two-tier system

operating in support to academies c.f. maintained schools

Accepted Changes

• Time-limited interventions

• Some primary schools will receive less support

• Focus on helping schools to build capacity rather than providing 1:1 support for prolonged periods

• Move away from a referral-based system for all support

Allocation of Support

All funding is converted into ESBAS units:

• 40% - ‘Red Block’: high-end support

• 30% - ‘Green Block’: allocated to schools/school partnerships on basis of NOR/FSM/IDACI

• 20% - ‘Blue Block’: fixed allocation to all schools, per institution

• 10% - Service Overheads

What Are Units?

A unit is a way of simplifying an element of work within ESBAS that takes into account the variation of professionals within the team.

• All elements of work are broken down into units.

• Schools/academies can buy blocks of units which can be used against any intervention across the service

‘Red Block’

Support for children with the greatest needs

• Support is accessed by referral

• Screening process to allocate support

• School context is taken into account in determining level of support

• Agreed referrals are allocated a block of units for work on an individual child

• No additional cost to maintained schools

‘Green Block’

Support allocated based on the needs of individual schools/partnerships

• Creates parity between maintained schools and academies

• Aims to ensure the greatest support is directed at schools with the greatest need

• Complete flexibility over use of units• No need for referral; schools determine the

number of units allocated to a child• Can be used for more preventative work

‘Blue Block’

Support allocated per-school• Aims to ensure that all schools can access

some support, no matter what their overall level of need is

• Reduce impact on small, rural schools• Complete flexibility over use of units• No need for referral; schools determine the

number of units allocated to a child• Can be used for more preventative work

Important Points

• All ‘block’ funding is paid for by the pooled budget for maintained schools.– Not accessible to academies– Converting academies will need to re-negotiate

support at point of conversion• All schools/academies can purchase more units at any

point in the year.• Schools will receive a termly update on how many units

have been used and how many they have left• Principles of pooled budgets apply

Statutory Work

Schools/academies can also access statutory support at no additional cost to them, or the pooled budget:

• Statutory attendance interventions

• Reintegration support following permanent exclusion

Overview of Changes

Element of Support Academies Maintained Schools(Current)

Maintained Schools (New)

Support for children reintegrating following permanent exclusion

Full access to support without cost

Full access to support without cost

Full access to support without cost

High-level behaviour support to children at risk of permanent exclusion

No automatic access. Accessed via purchase of ESBAS units

By referral. Allocated on a needs-led basis

By referral. Allocated on a needs-led basis (red block)

ORFrom unit allocation (green and blue blocks) and ‘top-up’

Specialist earlier/preventative interventions

Accessed via purchase of ESBAS units

ONLY available from purchased units

From unit allocation (green and blue blocks) and ‘top-up’

Core offer of support (to mitigate issues of rural/small schools)

N/A No core entitlement to schools. Support allocated by referral on basis of child needs

Allocation of units to all schools, irrespective of size or population statistics