Directory of Services
- Adoption Support Team
- Area SENCOs
- Children with Disabilities
- County Psychologist Service
- Education Welfare Service
- Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties Support Team
- Pupil Referral Unit
- Hospital and Home Tuition Service
- Looked After Children Education Services
- Parent Support Advisors
- Social Care
- Special Educational Needs
- Specialist Advisory Teaching Service
Introduction to Service/Eligibility Criteria
The EWS is a support service for pupils, parents and schools to address the following key issues:
- Improve School attendance
- Prevent exclusions from school
- Child employment
- Teenage Pregnancy
Each school has a named Education Welfare Officer who can be contacted through the school or at the local Children's Services Office. Support offered includes:
Support to pupils:
- Working with pupils at home or in school, to help find the causes of poor attendance and to support them on return to school.
- Working with other agencies to help safeguard children and young people from abuse.
- Regulating and safeguarding for children in employment/entertainment and prosecuting employers who employ children illegally.
- Issuing work permits to pupils who are entering part-time employment.
- Issuing entertainment licences for pupils involved in productions etc.
- Providing support and advice on problems relating to school attendance.
- Helping pupils who may have been, or are vulnerable to being, excluded from school.
- Helping pupils who are pregnant or are parents themselves to continue with education.
Support to parents:
- Informing parents of their legal responsibilities in relation to school attendance.
- Providing support and advice on fixed term and permanent exclusions.
- Attending exclusion meetings with the parent/carer if requested.
- Putting parents in touch with other support agencies who may be able to help.
- Encouraging good communications between home and school.
- Providing advice and information on child employment.
- Advising on provision of education and re-integration of pregnant teenagers and teenage parents.
- Providing parenting programmes in collaboration with the Youth Offending Service.
Support to schools:
- Responding to referrals of pupils with levels of unacceptable school attendance.
- Initiating legal proceedings against parents who fail to ensure their child attends school regularly.
- Annual Register Analysis and reports to head teachers and governors.
- Training/workshops for staff and governors on attendance and registration practice.
- Whole school approaches to attendance.
- Providing advice and training for staff and governors on safeguarding issues.
- Dealing with allegations of abuse against teaching and non-teaching staff.
- Providing support and advice on fixed term and permanent exclusion.
- Contributing to Discipline Committee meetings.
- Working with schools to develop strategies to avoid exclusions.
- Working with schools to ensure continuing education for pregnant teenagers and teenage parents.
Supporting Information Required
What supporting information is required beyond the CAF Pre-assessment Checklist and the standard Children's Services Single Referral Form?
Referrals will only be accepted from schools, with supporting evidence to show that they have sought to resolve the situation (e.g. Documented note of meeting with parent informing them of the issues; assessment of causes of the problem; details of school based interventions; confirmation that the parents/s and/or carer have been informed of this referral: etc.), and that they meet one of the four eligibility criteria below.
Absence
When recorded attendance for the preceding 6 weeks is less than 80% (87% for Children Looked After) Please note that the Local Authority cannot resort to legal enforcement where absence has been authorised by the school.
Exclusion/Disaffection
The EWS will attend Pastoral Support Programme or Individual Education Plan meetings as the Children's Services representative, as required by School Improvement Programme (SIPs) (DfEE 10/99 and 11/99) Where pupils are subject of more than 15 days exclusion or a Permanent Exclusion an automatic referral is generated from receipt of the exclusion letter to the authority's Reintegration Officer (RIO)
Child Employment
When pupils of compulsory school age are illegally employed or there employment is having a detrimental effect on their education. These referrals will be case worked by the authority’s Child Employment Officers.
Teenage Pregnancy
When a pupil's access to education is impaired because of pregnancy or parenthood. These referrals will be case worked by the EWS Area Team's Teenage Pregnancy Project Worker.
Access to up to date government guidance on managing pupil attendance, and pupils who are disaffected or excluded from school is available from the link below:
Contact Details
Where should referral forms and any additional information be sent?
Please select appropriate EWS office from those listed below:
Carlisle
Children's Services Office
Education Welfare Service
5 Portland Square
Carlisle
CA1 1PU
Phone (01228) 606789
Fax (01228 606787
Allerdale & Copeland
Children's Services Office
Education Welfare Service
Melbreak House
Main Street
Hensingham
CA28 8TH
Phone (01946) 595861
Fax (01946) 595860
Barrow
Children's Services Office
Education Welfare Service
Nan Tait Centre
Abbey Road
Barrow-in-Furness
LA14 1LG
Phone (01229) 894407
Fax (01229) 894473
South Lakes
Children's Services Office
Education Welfare Service
Busher Walk
Kendal
LA9 4RQ
Phone (01539) 773452
Fax (01539) 773169
Eden
Children's Services Office
Education Welfare Service
Friargate
Penrith
CA11 7NX
Phone (01768) 242070
Fax (01768) 242070