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ITEM EX10

EXECUTIVE – 6 FEBRUARY 2002

PUPIL BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT PLAN

1. Local Educational Authorities are required by Section 527A of the 1996 Education Act to publish a Behaviour Support Plan (BSP). Oxfordshire’s first plan was published in December 1998 and the new plan described in this report is the result of the review and development of the original plan. The review of the plan is in line with further guidance from the Department for Education and Science (DfES) in 2001.

Background

2. Oxfordshire submitted a draft BSP in April 2001 to the DfES to comply with regulation timescales. However, as the LEA had been subject to a District Audit review of Behaviour Attendance and Exclusions and was itself currently carrying out a Best Value Review (BVR) of the same areas the draft was not a final document. This was agreed with the DfES.
3. The BSP is a dynamic document which should evolve and change over its life. To this end, the original BSP has been subject to ongoing review in regular consultation and dialogue with the Educational and Behavioural Difficulties Monitoring and Advisory Group, Officers, Headteacher organisations, Trades Unions and others. There has been no one single consultation on the BSP as each component part is the result of consultation, planning and review at a number of levels.

New Plan

4. The new BSP covers the period April 2001 to March 2004 and is already evolving. It details the children covered by the plan and these include those who have already demonstrated behavioural difficulties and those who are particularly vulnerable. The former include pupils who have been excluded permanently, those who are repeatedly absent and those with challenging behaviour. The latter group include children who are in Public Care, those with significant trauma histories such as refugees and young carers. All of these, and the other groups of children on whom the BSP is focussed, are at risk of social exclusion and underachievement.
5. The BSP is directly linked to the Education Development Plan, the Medium Term Plan and the Early Years Development and Childcare Plan and takes into account various other plans within the LEA such as development plans for the Youth Service, EBD Outreach Service and EMAG Service. It also considers relevant aspects of plans not directly linked with the LEA such as Social Services Quality Protects Management Action Plan, the Youth Justice Plan and the Drug Advisory Team Strategy. There are direct links to the development of the work of the Connexions Service in Oxfordshire and in due course the Children’s Fund programme from April 2003.
6. There are four main Activity areas and an information section about services. The latter section is currently being updated. The BSP and associated information is available in the Members Resource Centre.

Strategic Developments

7. These include the major recommendations made by the BVR concerning the reconfiguration of Pupil Referral Units, the further development of the Rapid Response to Exclusions project, the development of multi agency strategic planning and integration of services for children at risk of social exclusion and the initiatives to address attendance issues across the LEA. Other areas included in the plan focus on multi agency planning for children at risk of social exclusion, and the identification and support of schools requiring additional support to improve standards of behaviour.

Support to Schools

8. This section focuses on actions intended to better support schools in their responses to pupils with behavioural difficulties in order to raise overall attainment, reduce exclusion from school and to improve attendance. It includes recommendations from the BVR including activities agreed with teacher unions intended to address recruitment and retention issues linked with pupil behaviour. It also emphasises the dissemination of best practice such as the Drayton Partnership Behaviour Strategy and the Integrated Support Services model of work piloted in Education Action Zone Schools and adopted by Connexions in schools.

Support to Pupils

9. Schools are concerned about the lack of access to multi agency support for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, particularly child and adolescent mental health services, counselling services and the youth service. The LEA is required to provide a full time offer of education to any pupil excluded for more than 15 days, with effect from September 2002. The reorganisation of the PRUs to provide a coherent countywide service for pupils is a major task for 2002. Activities to address these and other issues are outlined in this section of the BSP.

Support to Pupils Outside Mainstream

10. The BVR detailed a continuum of support to pupils and schools and this section of the BSP contributes to the further development of the seamless transition of pupils across the continuum. It emphasises that the continuum should enable pupils to move in either direction and a core activity is the promotion of inclusion through reintegration from either Pupil Referral Units or Special Schools into mainstream schools. Other areas of concern include provision for pupils in Public Care and the establishment of a pupils out of school panel which will promote inclusion and consequently attainment.

Financial Implications

11. The financial implications of some of the activities associated with the BSP have been discussed at the Executive associated with other initiatives such as the Best Value Review and the Reconfiguration of Pupil Referral Units. Most activities can be funded from existing resources or from Standards Fund or other funding sources. Those that require additional resourcing will be subject to funding being allocated during the normal education budget process.

Implications for Staff

12. There are implications for staff arising from the reconfiguration of PRUs but these have been discussed previously with the Executive. There are no other major issues for staff associated with the adoption of the Behaviour Support Plan.

RECOMMENDATIONS

13. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to receive the Behaviour Support Plan, and to approve the actions proposed within it and summarised in the report, subject to the necessary funding being available.

January 2001

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