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Latest News
Summer 2015
North East Area Education Office
Introduction from the Area Education Officer
Kerry Randle, Area Education Officer (North East)
The End of term is nearly in reach and at last we are enjoying some sunshine to compensate our
busy days with longer balmy evenings to give a little respite.
You would have heard by now that the Local Authority Inspection has been published and with it
comes a clear steer on what needs to improve to ensure children in need are best supported.
More on this will follow, but already there have been significant strides in moving forward in
engaging Headteachers’ expertise on relevant Safeguarding boards across the council.
I am delighted that we have Emma Smith from Epsom Primary School representing the NE on the
Education Safeguarding Board and following a request at the Primary Quadrant meeting,
Jonathan Roddick has offered to sit on the NE Area SSCB meeting to represent the primary
phase. For Secondary Schools, Denise Otter from Blenheim High School does a stirling job as co
chair for the NE Area SSCB and Sarah Ayres represents the Secondary phase on the Education
Safeguarding Group.
Ros Allen from Rosebery has rightly been asked to join the countywide CSE task and finish group
following her experiences and knowledge of the vulnerability and support needed for young
people at risk of sexual exploitation.
In addition, Mary Ellen McCarthy represents the primary phase council on the full SSCB, with
Rhona Barfield representing the Secondary phase council and David Monk the Special School
Phase council. Some key names and contacts should you wish to escalate any concern or raise
any issues to the Surrey Safeguarding Board.
As always, please also don’t hesitate to contact me or one of my team if you have any concerns,
questions or feedback – all of which is important to us.
Wishing you all a productive and positive remainder of term.
Kerry
Latest News
Contacting the Area Education Office:
If you would like to contact the Area Education Office, please call 01372 833412.
The Area Education Office aim to answer all of the calls received straight away. If however we
are engaged or away from our desks, your call will divert through to our voicemail. Please do
leave a message and a contact telephone number and we will respond to your message as soon
as possible.
Kerry Randle
Area Education Officer
Email: [email protected]
Anna Linehan
Senior Service Support Assisant
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01372 833413
Jane van den Broeke
Area Schools Officer
Email: [email protected]
Mariette Masters
Area Schools Assistant
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01372 833412
NE Education Teams:
Tel: 01372 833588
Out of hours:
Emergency Management Duty Officer mobile number: 07831 473039
North East Area Education Office
Elmbridge Civic Centre
High Street
Esher
Surrey
KT10 9SD
Tel: 01372 832501
Latest News
Welcome!
A very warm welcome to Linda Rainbow, who is the new Headteacher at St James CofE Primary
School; Katherine Russell, Acting Headteacher at Ashford Park; Nicola Morris, Head of School at
Saxon Primary and Jane O’Neill, Headteacher at Fordway Centre.
We hope the rest of the Summer term runs smoothly for all schools in the NE - but please do call
us if you need any help or advice.
NE Area Education Team
Latest News
School Support Service
Jane van den Broeke, Area Schools Officer
I joined the NE Education Team on the 2nd June as the new Area Schools Officer covering
Caroline Marden whilst she is on secondment.
I have many years experience in Education
Welfare, although I began my career as an English teacher.
Whilst I have spoken to some of you already I hope to meet more of you over the next few weeks
before schools break up for the summer holidays. I would be delighted to come and visit you
should you have time before the end of term or early next term and would ask that you contact
Mariette Masters to arrange if this if you feel it might be helpful.
Mariette will anyway be emailing you shortly to request that you update your emergency contact
details so that we are able to reach you over the summer holiday period if necessary and we look
forward to receiving this.
We hope to be able to offer the training to Deputy Head Teachers regarding ‘what to do in
emergency situations when the Head Teacher is not available’ again in the Autumn Term and we
will advise of dates nearer the time.
Our offer to Academies will be going out shortly and we hope that you will continue to buy back
the service or consider doing so if you don’t already. I would be very happy to come and talk to
you about what the service has to offer should you feel that this might help you to make a
decision.
Should you need to contact me, my phone number is 01372 833412
Education Welfare Officer (EWO) Team
Rowena Slater, Area Education Welfare Manager (Acting)
PA changes – have you amended your attendance policy for September 2015?
In this last half term of the academic year, along with the other end of year housekeeping jobs,
schools should check whether they have amended their Attendance Policies to reflect the change
in PA from under 85% to under 90% effective from September 2015. For ease of reference, the
table showing the sessions absence for both 15% and 10% is shown below:
Half term 1
Half term 1-2 (autumn term)
Half term 1-3
Half term 1-4 (and and spring
term combined
Half term 1-5
Half term 1-6 (full academic
year)
10% effective from Sept
2015
7 or more sessions
14 or more sessions
20 or more sessions
25 or more sessions
15% current PA rate)
31 or more sessions
38 or more sessions
46 or more sessions
56 or more sessions
10 or more sessions
22 or more sessions
30 or more sessions
38 or more sessions
Latest News
If you would like any help or guidance on the new PA thresholds, please call Education Welfare
on 01372 833588 or speak to your allocated Education Welfare Officer.
Permanent Exclusions
Senior Education Welfare Officers have been handling permanent exclusions within NE schools
since February 2015. If you would like advice on the procedure to handling a permanent
exclusion once that decision has been made to permanently exclude, please phone NE Education
and ask to speak to a member of the Exclusions advice team. Many primary schools may never
have had to make a permanent exclusion. Although online guidance is available from both the
DFE and Surrey websites, this can be difficult to follow. Training on best practice for how to
handle a permanent exclusion may be available from September 2015, depending on interest
expressed. If your school would be interested in training, please contact the Exclusions advice
team on 01372 833588.
Changes in school EWO allocations
If there is any change to your allocated EWO for the next academic year, we hope to notify you
before the end of this half term.
Specialist Teaching Team
Jo Kenyon, Senior Lead Specialist Teacher
The NE Area Specialist Teaching Team is delighted to welcome Emily Gaunt back to the team
following her interim Headship at the Fordway Centre. Emily is supporting schools within
Spelthorne. The team also welcomes Matthew Bennett and Jill Routledge to the team, they both
specialise in behaviour support. Matthew is supporting schools in Spelthorne and Jill is placed in
Elmbridge.
The final half term of the academic year is always a busy time of year in terms of supporting the
transition of vulnerable children to their next provision. Annie Webb is running a number of groups
which are now underway. As the term advances you may feel that you have additional children
who are indicating they are anxious about moving schools. Please make contact with Emily Gaunt
or Annie Webb to discuss possible support for these children.
Part of our work this term is to review our current individual cases and to review progress. Staff
will be discussing cases with you. Please ensure that any recently identified children who may
require support are referred early in this half term.
We will be arranging the circulation of our autumn term, new group training opportunities.
Sessions will be held in a central venue and allow schools to book individual places for specific
needs. In addition to this, opportunities for bespoke staff development continue to be available.
Please contact your allocated teachers, Maureen Fernandes or myself for further details.
Latest News
Access to Education (A2E) (Non-Medical)
Liane Coakes, Lead Specialist Teacher
Numbers of A2E referrals continue at a steady pace, resulting in our service still running over
capacity, and staff being kept busy.
If a pupil is on the roll of a school it is the responsibility of the school to source and fund any
additional provision and support. If A2E have capacity we may be able to offer support on a
commissioned basis following a discussion with Liane Coakes.
Reintegration of students who are placed via FAP are able to access support from A2E for up to 2
weeks following their start date. This can be negotiated with Liane, depending on the needs of
the student.
We welcome Helen Stanley as a teacher, and Emma Gill is also providing teaching on
secondment from the NESSS this term.
If you wish to make any enquiries regarding A2E, please contact Liane Coakes on 01483 519112,
email [email protected]
Education Psychology and Assessment
Sally Grimstone, Area Lead for Psychology and Assessment
The SEND 14 legislative changes since September have been challenging for schools and SEN
departments across the County. There are some positive aspects of the new processes including
the person centred approaches and Partnership Resource Forums which have been well
attended by partners and Headteachers. We are currently planning dates for the new academic
year and it would be really good to have secondary Headteacher representation at these forums.
Feedback from Headteachers has indicated that they really value the opportunity to be part of
these forums which give insight into the new systems and decision making. In relation to the
challenges SEN Teams are continuing to adapt and evolve to align themselves with the changes
and early learning has been gained from the work so far. As part of these activities, following a
period of consultation during the Spring Term a new role of SEND Case Worker has been
created, and the previous Case Officer role along with that of the Statement Writer and Lead
Case Officer have ceased to exist within the Teams from 1st April 2015.
The creation of the new role reflects the need for the SEN Team to be more visible under the new
legislation, and a move toward a more client facing model required to administer Surrey’s
business process for statutory assessments of Education Health and Care Needs, as well as the
process of Transferring existing Statements into Education, Health and Care Plans. This brings
with it capacity issues because we are currently running the old and new statutory SEN systems
with one team and whilst holding vacancies. As a consequence of this schools will be aware that
transfer reviews not already booked with a SEND Case Worker will now be a normal annual
review using the new paper work and person centred approaches.
continued/.....
Latest News
Within the North East, recognising capacity issues both within the SEN and Educational
Psychology departments and the need to embed these changes we are looking at how services
will be delivered by the SEN Team. There will now be ONE email box for all enquiries from
schools, families and professionals [email protected] and one telephone number 01737
737490. The SEN Team is aware of the need to be responsive to schools and families so the new
system will ensure emails and phone calls will be monitored on a daily basis with manager
oversight.
The SEND 14 processes are new to everyone and we continue to have a training programme in
place for staff members and schools to ensure processes are embedded. This term the SENCo
training will be on providing schools with exemplar paperwork and sharing good practice.
Members of the SEN and EP teams will be present at the training sessions which will be an
opportunity to further develop partnerships and answer any queries. The training sessions will
take place next term and are as follows:



Elmbridge Borough: 1/7/15 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm Silvermere Golf Club, Cobham
Epsom & Ewell Borough: 2/7/15 10 am to12 noon Epsom & Ewell Confederation
Spelthorne Borough: 14/7/15 10 am to 12 noon The Thames Club, Staines
Staff changes
Penny Easton will be leaving in June due to re-location. All four areas have been given additional
management capacity to support due to increased workloads.
The ASNM and Send
Implementation roles in the North East will now be shared by Anne Williams, previously Education
Welfare Manager, who has been in post for three months and Caroline Marden, previously Area
Schools Officer who is replacing Penny. Anne and Caroline both have significant experience of
working with North East schools.
Educational Psychology (EP) Team
Kirsty Quinn, Nadia Wilkinson & Tony Donovan
This year has been a challenge in striving to maintain an EP link to each school and prioritise key
areas of service delivery during a period of staffing shortfalls and maternity leaves. We are
delighted however to be welcoming back Ciara Close to the team. Ciara will be working once
again in the Epsom & Ewell area.
Mental health and emotional well-being
We continue to offer a range of interventions to schools aimed at building children’s resilience and
reducing anxiety. This has involved workshops, whole school projects as well as FRIENDS
resilience programme within whole class and targeted groups of children and young people. We
will also be running the third round of training for Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs)
in schools in the NE of Surrey, bringing the number of ELSAs in NE schools potentially to 90. We
are hosting a conference in June for ELSAs and school managers/SENCos interested and we
continue to offer half termly supervision groups for the ELSAs within areas on a half termly basis.
Please talk to your EP for further information.
continued/.....
Latest News
Working with parents/carers
This coming year, we are keen to build on our work with parents/carers and to work in partnership
with schools in building effective supportive relationships and interventions
 We’ve focused our efforts this year on our work in the early years and Pippa Rees and
Sue Kite have designed and delivered workshops for parents of 2 year olds in promoting
early emotional, social and cognitive development.
 We have run workshops for parents in enhancing children’s well-being and reducing
anxiety including running the FRIENDS programme.
 We’ve been exploring interventions for working with parents in schools including multifamily groups and hope to pilot some of this work in interested schools next academic
year.
Seeking your feedback
Despite our staffing shortfall we are interested to know what you have found helpful this year from
the EP service, what you would have liked more/less of, and your hopes for the year(s) ahead.
We will be sending round a questionnaire by email in the hope that Head teachers and SENCos
will spend a little time together in providing us with valuable feedback in planning our models of
service delivery for the year ahead.
NE Portage Team
Jackie Burford, Education Psychologist and NE Portage Coordinator
The NE Portage team have had a busy few months and our waiting list has continued to grow.
Hannah, who started with us in March, has made a good start in the team and is already
supporting a number of families.
Unfortunately Rachel Macauley, the Portage teacher in the team who also runs Earlybird training
sessions and supports the Down Syndrome Development Group, is leaving at the end of the
summer term. We will greatly miss her experience and contribution to the team. We hope she has
an exciting few years ahead as she and her family are move to abroad to new challenges and
adventures. An advertisement is currently out inviting applications from those interested in
becoming Portage Support Workers in our team.
We look forward to having a full, and somewhat expanded team in the autumn.
Latest News
Family Workforce Training and Support - supporting Home School Link
Workers & Children Centre Outreach Workers
Andrea Page
Dates for our next Suzy Lamplugh Lone Worker (personal safety) training
Tuesday 8th September at Park House, Leatherhead - £50 per delegate
Wednesday 25th November at Park House, Leatherhead £50 per delegate
Record keeping - Understanding the Family Story (UFS) & Caseload management training
The Family Workforce Training and Support Team evaluation reports have identified that there is
a need for a consistent approach across Surrey which will avoid duplication of work and provide a
method that is beneficial for new and experienced members of the home school link workforce
alike. Home School Link workers are responsible for providing accurate evidence of contact to
assist with safeguarding issues. This framework is designed as a thorough recording document
which will support HSLW to understand the families they are working with by supporting their
analytical thinking, judgement and decision making.
UFS documents can be used with one off and complex cases. Through using our record keeping
documents, HSLWs can evidence the impact and outcomes of their work.
Would you like me to come and provide training for your HSLW to use our UFS record keeping
documents? I can come to your school and provide a two hour training workshop free of charge.
After the training, I send out all UFS documents in word so you can add your school logo to them.
Supervision
The Family Workforce Training and Support Team co-ordinate professional supervision for all
HSLWs and ORWs and we deliver a 3 day training course to enable workers to deliver
supervision for their colleagues. We are currently looking at the model to see how it can be
adapted for use in schools with DCPLs.
Contact: [email protected]
Education and Early Help
Sarah Barrett

Early Help Partnership Service
The Early Help Partnership Service offers support and guidance on all aspects of the early help
process, they can provide support with the early help assessment, family action plan, lead
professional, and team around the family (TAF) approach. The Early Help Co-ordinators are
based in each quadrant and can provide support, training and guidance
Telephone: 0208 541 9282
Email: [email protected]
continued/.....
Latest News

New webpages
The Early Help webpages have been refreshed with new content and information to support
practitioners. You can find the new practitioners guide and families leaflet on the webpages
www.surreycc.gov.uk/earlyhelp

Early Help Networks
The Early Help Networks are organised by the Early Help Partnership Service.
They have been running for the past year, and bring together practitioners working in the
children’s workforce. In 2014, over 700 early help practitioners attended the networks. The Early
Help Network runs once a month in each quadrant. They have a range of practitioners who share
the work of their local services, identify gaps in local services and share expertise and good
practice to increase the confidence of staff who work with children in early intervention.
If you would like to be part of the mailing list, attend the networks or share your local resource at
the
meeting
please
email
[email protected]
or
visit
www.surreycc.gov.uk/earlyhelp for the 2015 network meeting dates

Successful multi-agency conference
On 5th March, over 100 practitioners attended an event to raise awareness of the impact on
children and young people affected by family imprisonment. The event was organised by the
multi-agency team from the Early Help Partnership Service, Prison Advice and Care Trust,
Education Support Service and Youth Support Service. The event mainly targeted Surrey
Schools, and helped to identify a range of strategies, local initiatives and resources available. The
most inspiring part of the event was to hear the audio recorded by a young person to share his
experiences, how agencies could have supported him differently and his aspirations for the future.
The delegates shared the importance of continuing this work, and would like the opportunity to
develop 'Hidden Sentence' champions and localise the PACT toolkit for school. We will continue
to take this work forward as part of our multi-agency Early Help approach.
Further resources from the event can be found at www.surreycc.gov.uk/earlyhelp
Early Help Partnership Service – Training and support
Following feedback from practitioners we will be launching a revised training course titled ‘team
around the family training’ this will replace the Lead Professional training.
The purpose for the team around the family training will be:
 To recognise the purpose of the Team Around the Family (TAF) and role of the Lead
Professional (LP) within it

To recognise the contribution of the TAF and its members to improving outcomes for
children, young people and families

To enhance the practical skills and confidence to undertake and embed this in your
working practice
Latest News
The learning outcomes for the team around the family training will be:

Have an understanding of all TAF member’s roles and responsibilities

Have clarity of the rationale for the Lead Professional (LP) and how it is central to early
help and intervention

Have the practical tools and confidence to have an effective TAF and be a Lead
Professional

Have an awareness of local help and support for TAF members and the Lead Professional
Further details will be supplied once the training is live.
Please note. You will have needed to complete the Early Help Assessment training prior to the
new ‘team around the family’ course.
In the meantime if you would like to book a current course you can do so by clicking on the below
link which will take you to the SSCB online booking system: On line booking system
Early help champions
Would you like to be an Early Help Champion?
Early Help Champions are practitioners who are advocates for the early help approach. They
have experience in using the Early Help Assessment, Family Action Plan and are able to support
colleagues in the same profession.
If you would like to be put forward to become an early help champion and have the support of
your line manager then please contact the Early Help Partnership Service on:
[email protected]
For more in depth detail of the early help champion role please click on: what is an early help
champion