Gloucestershire Outreach Service Supporting Children s Educational Needs. A Handbook for Schools

Transcription

1 Gloucestershire Outreach Service Supporting Children s Educational Needs A Handbook for Schools

2 2 Gloucestershire Outreach Service

3 Foreword 3 Partnership working between special and mainstream schools is a key strand within the national strategy for SEN Removing Barriers to Achievement (2004). It expresses clearly the need for work to be done that fosters the creation of a county-wide community of schools, to their mutual benefit, and to the undoubted improvement to the educational experience of our most vulnerable children and young people. It is in this spirit that Gloucestershire is developing its Outreach Service. We are seeking to build on the pockets of previous good practice, developed by an energetic and committed group of Special School staff during the life of the Inclusive Opportunities Project, into a coherent, cohesive, cooperative service that is widely available across the county. The vision is for specialist providers in Gloucestershire, whether in a special school or mainstream setting, to support their colleagues in successfully meeting the needs of children and young people with SEN. This is a service which will complement that offered by the Local Authority s Advisory Teaching Service, Behaviour Support Service and Educational Psychology Service. The Outreach Providers will work in liaison with staff within those services to enhance the ability of staff in all our educational settings, to meet the special educational needs of our children and young people in the most appropriate and flexible ways. The role of the Outreach Providers will usually be consultative, but, as they will all be experienced practitioners, there will also be scope for inviting colleagues to observe a range of good practice in their own schools and classrooms, and to model specific teaching approaches or use of specialist resources. This is a strategy that is seeking to augment the considerable skills already so obvious in the staff of the county s schools and early years settings. In this way, no matter what their need, Gloucestershire youngsters will benefit as we seek to help them to achieve the five outcomes of the national strategy on Change for Children: To be healthy To stay safe To enjoy and achieve To make a positive contribution To achieve economic well-being The first phase of development of the Gloucestershire Outreach Service begins this Autumn (2006) with outreach being offered by staff from the county s network of Special Schools. It is anticipated that future development will involve staff from mainstream settings, and hoped that there may be opportunities to widen the scope still further to include the expertise of professionals from other fields. We hope that, in this handbook, you will find all the information you need about how to access the service and, indeed that you will find the service a valuable supplement to the current levels of provision for special educational needs in Gloucestershire. September 2006

4 ContentsTitle here 4 Our Commitment The role and structure of the Outreach Service The range of support available How do we request Outreach Support? Outreach Service Request Form Outreach Service Service Level Agreement Form Who will provide the Outreach Support? How will the work of the Outreach Service be monitored and developed? Form 1 Analysis of Outreach Provision Form 2 Analysis of Outreach Provision Evaluation criteria for use with Form 1 Analysis of Outreach Provision

5 Our Commitment 5 In Gloucestershire we believe that the education of all young people, including those with special educational needs, is improved by strong partnership between everyone involved with them. The county Outreach Service will provide support for teachers and teaching assistants in all educational settings to help each child and young person achieve their full potential, and the Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes: To be healthy To stay safe To enjoy and achieve To make a positive contribution To achieve economic well-being The reasons for doing this are: To support effective provision and improve the outcomes for children and young people To build the capacity of all educational settings to meet the diverse needs of children and young people appropriately To enable teachers, teaching assistants, support staff and other practitioners to develop and share their expertise To ensure equity of access to Outreach Provision for all children, young people, and educational settings To improve information for, and communication with, parents and carers To involve parents and carers in evaluating provision To complement and enhance the network of support for children and young people in Gloucestershire To promote partnership working between special and mainstream educational settings and the local authority The purpose of doing this is: To impact positively upon the achievement of children and young people and the quality of provision made by all settings involved To meet the DfES standards for SEN support and Outreach in an organised, co-ordinated, and cost-effective way.

6 The role and structure of the Outreach Service 6 Schools and early years settings require different types of support at different times, in order to meet the needs of the youngsters in their care. The county already provides a strong network of support for its educational settings through the Advisory Teaching Service, Behaviour Support Service and Educational Psychology Service. However, the Outreach Service supplements this by coordinating the work of a range of highly experienced teachers and teaching assistants, responding to requests from colleagues for help in dealing with particular aspects of their day-today work. It is structured to ensure that: standardised and monitored Service Level Agreements exist between providing and receiving educational settings monitoring and evaluation procedures are rigorous and robust, focussing upon ECM outcomes in each providing educational setting there will be a person acting as the Outreach Manager, as nominated by their Headteacher in each educational setting making a request for Outreach Provision, there will be a person acting as the Outreach Coordinator, as agreed by their Headteacher. It is centrally co-ordinated, advertised and commissioned, resulting in coherent, equitable provision across the county delivered by experienced, registered providers a collaborative partnership between the providing and receiving educational settings available through sending a completed Outreach Service request form (See pages 9-11) to: specialedsupport@gloucestershire.gov.uk or by post to: Special Education Support Team Gloucestershire County Council Shire Hall Westgate Street Gloucester GL1 2TP

7 Outreach Service Provision 7 The Gloucestershire Outreach Service offers a wide range of support to staff in educational settings. It may include one or more of the following: Contribution to the assessment of an individual s learning needs Advising on planning appropriate interventions Observation of youngsters in teaching and learning situations Input to individual programmes (including direct teaching; development of learning targets; advice about teaching and learning strategies; specialist resources) Professional development of teachers, teaching assistants and support staff in individual settings or clusters e.g.: One-off training Contribution to a programme of training Modelling lessons Team teaching Shadowing Outreach providers may also, in liaison with the school/setting or other of the county s support services, work with groups of parents in a training or support group context. They may, likewise, work with parents to involve them in planning and implementing individual programmes. Each request will be treated on an individual basis and the actual activities undertaken will be agreed between the provider and the requesting school/setting. N.B. The above activities are only indicative of the various types of support that may be available. In Phase 1, effective from September 2006, provision will be made by staff in special schools for mainstream early years, primary and secondary schools and settings. In subsequent phases of the development, mainstream schools, early years settings and other agencies will be involved as Outreach Providers.

8 The range of support available 8 Following an audit of the expertise of current Outreach Providers, for the Outreach Service is able to offer the following: A Support for children and young people working (well) below expectations in mainstream schools/settings Primary literacy/numeracy support for pupils working two to three years below their chronological age Support for secondary school pupils below level 3 on entry Support for pupils with severe learning difficulties in mainstream schools B Focussed support for particular intervention programmes, learning difficulties and disabilities including: Autistic spectrum disorder Down Syndrome Pupils with specific learning difficulties in secondary schools Pupils with physical difficulties Moving & Handling issues Social Use of Language Programme Augmentative communication e.g. Makaton, Widget Total Communication Thinking Skills Basic Skills Vocational Programmes ICT resources Physical education C Support for early years settings and practitioners including: Advice and guidance about special needs training opportunities Assessment, planning, targeting, strategies Resources Integration/Transition D Behaviour, emotional and social development Training in de-escalation and positive handling techniques Observation and assessment of specific pupils Advice in respect of managing individual pupils Training in assertive discipline methods Counselling E Assessment Using P-scales to assess the achievement of pupils working at the lower levels or W in the National Curriculum F Teacher/teaching assistant partnerships Sharing knowledge, skills & resources observation & work-shadowing

9 How do we request Outreach Support? 9 Requests are initiated by the educational setting, using the appropriate form (see overleaf). This form may also be downloaded from Before making a request, the educational setting will either have had discussions with, or received support from, relevant agencies and services within the county. Occasionally a suggestion to contact the Outreach Service may be made by the school s link adviser or school improvement partner, perhaps as a result of a discussion about priorities for development. This is the procedure to be followed: Possible need for Outreach Support identified by educational setting Discussions held by school/setting with appropriate services, agencies, advisers, consultants and parents/carers Decision to request Outreach Support agreed Head of educational setting, or designated representative, completes request form and submits it to Outreach Service via Special Education Support Team Special Education Support team processes request and contacts prospective provider Prospective provider meets with representative(s) from requesting school/setting Service Level Agreement is written and copied to Special Education Support Team

10 Outreach Service Request Form 10 Please complete this form and return to: Special Education Support Team Gloucestershire County Council Shire Hall Westgate Street Gloucester GL1 2TP Tel Section A (To be completed in all cases) Date: Person making request: Contact address; and telephone number for above person: Primary focus of request: The needs of an individual child or young person A group of children or young people with like needs Ways to support the work of staff Name of parent/carer Date of parent/carer s consent Section B (To be completed if request described in Section A is to support an individual child or young person) Individual s Name D.O.B. Yr Group M/F UPN Baseline Data: (Attach copies of information, or fill in box, whichever is easier) SATs scores RA SA Other data:(please specify) Level of SEN intervention None SA+ SA Statement Brief description of needs

11 Section C (To be completed if request described in Section A is to support a group of children or young people with like needs) Children s Names NCY Brief description of needs (Please include levels of SEN intervention as appropriate) 11 Section D (To be completed if request described in Section A is to support the work of staff involved with the child/children causing concern) Brief description of staff needs (Please specify numbers involved and ratio of teachers or equivalent to teaching assistants or equivalent) Please indicate involvement/use of any of the following prior to this referral: ATS BSS EPS SALT Common Assessment Others (Please specify) Date Name of contact For Office Use Only Date received Date SLA commissioned Date SLA completed Date Programme completed Date Analysis Form One monitoring Date Analysis Form Two monitoring By:

12 Outreach Service Service Level Agreement Form 12 This form will be completed by the provider assigned to the particular piece of outreach work, during the initial meeting with the contact from the requesting educational setting. A completed form will be signed and a copy retained by each party. A further copy will be sent to the Special Education Support team. (See contact details on page 2 of Outreach Service handbook) Section A Date: Focus of request Contact address; and telephone number of provider Contact address; and telephone number of contact from requesting setting List of background information collected and attached (This should include: Pupil Focus Common Assessment; IEP; relevant reports from external agency involvement; parental consent and views; pupil views etc. Staff Focus Links to SIP, OfSTED, SEF etc) Section B Agreed outline of work to be done

13 13 Timescale Length of project: Specific Dates, Times and Days: Resources Outreach Provider will supply School/setting will supply: needed Personnel to be Outreach Service: School/setting involved: (with brief details of how) Agreed expected Outreach Service: School/setting outcomes/ success criteria including improved outcomes for children Agreed monitoring Analysis Form 1: Analysis Form 2: dates: Signed: Outreach Provider Receiving Educational Setting

14 Who will provide the Outreach Support? 14 Outreach Support is provided by a range of staff from the county s educational settings. They respond to requests from colleagues for help in dealing with particular aspects of their day-today work. Their role is usually consultative, but, as they are all experienced practitioners, there is scope for them to invite colleagues to observe a range of good practice in their own workplace. They may also model specific teaching approaches and/or use of specialist resources. The Core Qualities for staff providing Outreach Support for the Service are: Possessing a good level of specialist knowledge/expertise Understanding the nature of children s educational difficulties and having the ability to provide fresh insights to overcome them Having good understanding of the curriculum modifications and adaptations that secure broad, balanced and relevant opportunities for pupils Having the ability to promote strategies that can be used in other settings Understanding children s different learning styles and how they can be used effectively to promote achievement and well-being Having good interpersonal skills and the capacity to promote change Having the ability to observe situations analytically; present ideas clearly and write with precision Having good personal organisation and time management skills, including being able to prioritise appropriately.

15 How will the work of the Outreach Service be monitored and developed? 15 There will be two levels of monitoring and evaluation in order to determine the impact and effectiveness of the Outreach Service on the outcomes for the children and young people of Gloucestershire and for the educational settings who work with them. Level One At this level there are two forms for the providing and receiving settings to complete together. Analysis Form 1 (see page 16) is completed as an initial evaluation of the work undertaken. This will involve referring to the success criteria written in to the initial Service Level Agreement. Analysis Form 2 (see page 18) is completed at an agreed later date, as identified at the end of Form 1. This will ascertain the extent to which developments have been sustained or built on. All the providing settings are required to engage in this process as part of their commitment to the Outreach Service. Similarly, all the receiving settings will be required to undertake evaluation as part of the Service Level Agreement. Level Two At this level, nominated members of the Outreach Service, the AIMSS team, link advisers/school improvement partners and other local authority personnel, as appropriate, will undertake tabletop analysis of the work undertaken in the past academic year. This will be to establish: the nature of the requests being made, the capacity of the service to meet the requests a development plan to enable future provision. This level of evaluation will determine: the impact of the provision the efficiency of the service provided the economy of the input. That evaluation will identify: the more/less effective types of support the reasons for the above aspects of the provision to be improved/developed ways in which that improvement/development will occur. This process will result in evaluation reports being sent to: providing schools the Head of Specialist Services.

16 Form 1 Analysis of Outreach Provision 16 Outreach Manager Outreach Co-ordinator Staff receiving Outreach Timescale from to Intended outcomes (as set out in the Service Level Agreement) Input What When Resources Cost Impact (the extent to which the intended outcomes were met including the impact on the achievement of the child/children) What contributed to the achievement of the intended outcomes? Input (provider) Input (recipient)

17 17 Assessment of overall provision (See evaluation criteria on page 19 of Outreach Service handbook) Excellent Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory What would have made the provision more effective? Date of follow-up Signature (provider) Signature (recipient) Date

18 Form 2 Analysis of Outreach Provision 18 Outreach Manager Outreach Co-ordinator Staff receiving Outreach Have the previously agreed impacts been developed/sustained? Developed Sustained Not sustained Explain the reasons for your response Signature (provider) Signature (recipient) Date

19 Evaluation criteria for use with Form 1 Analysis of Outreach Provision 19 Excellent The objective(s) agreed in the Service Level Agreement were exceeded. Additional, unforeseen, benefits have accrued, and are having positive outcomes upon the achievements of the pupils concerned and/or the provision offered by the setting. The pupil(s), parent(s)/carer(s) and staff involved are very pleased with the results. Good The objective(s) agreed in the Service Level Agreement were achieved in full. There are definite, measurable improvements in the achievement of the pupils involved and/or the provision offered by the setting. The pupil(s), parent(s)/carer(s) and staff involved are satisfied with the outcomes. Satisfactory The objective(s) agreed in the Service Level Agreement were met to some extent. There are some improvements in the achievement of the pupils involved and/or the provision offered by the setting. The pupil(s), parent(s)/carer(s) and staff involved consider that further support is required. Unsatisfactory The objective(s) agreed in the Service Level Agreement were not met. There has been little or no improvement in the achievement of the pupils involved and/or the provision offered by the setting.

20 Gloucestershire Outreach Service CYP00009 Sept 06 Special Education Support Team Gloucestershire County Council Shire Hall Westgate Street Gloucester GL1 2TP