Who to ask for help at the County Council

Admissions and Transport Team

Manage the processes by which school places are allocated and eligibility for free home-to-school transport is assessed.

Integration Team

Provides parents and schools with advice on exclusions guidance and performs the Local Authority role in any school exclusion process.

Attendance Improvement Team

Formerly known as Education Welfare Officers (EWOs)

Work with schools and pupils on attendance issues. Your school will have an allocated officer and you will most likely be aware if the Officer is involved in your child’s education.

Special Needs Team

The Special Needs Team monitors provision for pupils with Statements of Special Educational Needs. Parents are closely involved in the process by which a child is issued with a statement. Do not contact this team unless your child has a statement, in which case you should have a named officer overseeing your child’s case. If you think that your child has special needs that are not being addressed, then discuss this with the Special Needs Coordinator (SenCo) at your child’s school.

Parent Partnership

The Parent Partnership supports parents of children with statements or who need help understanding and making progress through the statutory assessment process by which a child’s special needs are assessed. May also, time permitting, help in other cases where a parent is concerned about their child’s special needs. Parents can contact direct through the County’s Customer Focus Team.

Educational Psychologist (EP)

Each school has an allocated EP. The school will arrange consultations with their EP to assess a young person’s educational needs. A school will decide on a referral to their EP and this is only normally agreed in serious cases.

Education Support Centre (ESC)

Also known as Pupil Referral Units (PRU), Hertfordshire’s ESCs provide education to children who have been permanently excluded. They also undertake a wide range of preventative work with children who are struggling in schools. This may include ‘nurture groups’ for primary-aged pupils, counselling, outreach work or even very occasionally respite. It is generally expected that every child at risk of permanent exclusion (a pupil who has received three or more fixed term exclusions) should receive support from the ESC via a referral from the pupil’s school.

Key Stage Four Centre

This is part of the ESC, which provides support for pupils in years 10 and 11 who are disaffected and have either been permanently excluded or are at risk of permanent exclusion. The centre will work with schools and pupils to provide a more flexible curriculum, sometimes in small groups and with the support of youth workers. Referrals can only be made by schools.

Behaviour Support Team (BST)

The BST is a multi-professional team of EPs, family workers and advisory teachers who will support schools to deal with serious behavioural issues following a referral by the school’s EP or the ESC.

Connexions

Connexions is an advisory service for young people that works with pupils over 13 in every school. Ask your child’s school. Your child’s school may also have its own counsellors, therapists, mentors or inclusion workers to support pupils who are struggling. Find out from your school SenCo what support may be available to your child.

Youth Inclusion Support Panel (YISP)

Works with young people identified as being at risk of youth offending. The intervention of a YISP worker is intended to support a young person to avoid youth offending. Any young person who has already offended is unlikely to be eligible, as they will be supported by the Youth Offending Team (YOT).

Specialist Adolescent Service

Provides an intensive support for young people experiencing extreme difficulties. Intervention will be by youth workers with a strong background in social care and referrals will usually be made by a social worker.

See also

Hertfordshire's A - Z of Children, Schools & Families (CSF) Acronyms and Glossary