Service Description 

  • Works with children and their families to help ensure that all children of compulsory school age receive an education 
  • Works with other agencies to support families 
  • Works with schools to improve attendance and reduce persistent absence
  • Provides the Education Navigator to the MASH  

Core services offered

  • Core EWO time covers the statutory and  mandatory functions of the service and where time allows other non statutory activities that we view as good practice 
  • Schools are allocated core EWO time based on 2.5 terms attendance and persistent absence based on 10% 
  • Resources are allocated in proportion to need
  • The allocated EWO is trained, supervised and provided with professional training  

Services provided under Core for LA Schools 

  • The law around attendance, pupil registration and removing from roll 
  • Whole school attendance work 
  • Individual casework for open EWS level 3 cases
  • Facilitate communication between home and School for open level 3 cases 
  • Advise on welfare and child protection concerns 
  • Participate in a termly multi-agency networks meeting in conjunction with school staff 
  • Support of Specialist Nurse to target health related absence 
  • Register checks 
  • Collect and analyse attendance data regularly  
  • Support for the collection and submission of data to the LA or DfE 
  • Advise on the categorisation of absence taking into consideration  national guidance and local arrangements
  • Penalty Notices 
  • Parental prosecutions 
  • Children not  on roll 
  • Attendance Forums 
  • Children who are educated at home 
  • Children missing from education 
  • Issuing work permits for school age children 
  • Issuing performance licences for children 
  • Issuing licences for chaperones to children in entertainment 
  • Safeguarding in conjunction with schools and social care  

Buyback

  • Schools will be able to purchase additional hours of service from the authority to start at the beginning of each academic year.  The time can be purchased in hours, half-day's, full day's or 2 day slots for 39 weeks of the year.  

Services available as buyback for LA Schools 

  • Level 1 and 2 attendance and punctuality interventions 
  • Increased individual casework at level 3 
  • Work with those between 85% and 90%  that don't meet the EWS threshold for core service intervention 
  • Group-work with parents or pupils
  • Other targeted work that supports whole school attendance improvements 
  • Project-work conducted in response to school priorities   
  • Participate in multi-agency network meetings  in conjunction with school staff 
  • Attendance at parents evenings or mentoring sessions 
  • Truancy Patrols/unannounced visits with Schools Officer 
  • Support for the collection and submission of data to the LA or DfE 
  • Staff training and support (individual) 
  • Work with non-statutory school aged children in reception, years 12 and 13 (Not legal action)  

Services available for Academies at no cost 

Statutory functions including:

  • Legal action 
  • Children missing education 
  • Children in entertainment, employment and chaperones.  

Services available for Academies as buyback 

  • Full Education Welfare Service including all services offered under the LA Core and buyback sections.  

How do I buy back? 

  • Schools and Academies need to indicate to the EWS Manager that they wish to buy back the service by 25th May 2019 for the following academic year (Sept 2019 – July 2020).

This enables recruitment to take place during the summer term. There is slight reduction in price per hour to schools who buy ½ a day or more a week. 

  • It is not possible to purchase just for a term or to buy different hours for each term (E.g. 50 hour one term and 20 the following term) as a commitment for a specific number of hours across the whole of the academic year is required. 
  • The allocated EWO is trained, supervised and provided with professional training. 

SLA pricing 

Charge for 2nd September 2019  to  21st July 2020
1 hour of buyback
LA retained funding

39 weeks term time only 

£ 47:00 per hour 
Half day buy back (3.5 hours)
LA retained funding		 39 weeks term time only £164.50 per half day&nbsp
Full day by back (7 hours)
LA retained funding 		 39 weeks term time only £329 per day

Contact

Further information about the EWS core and buy back service may be obtained on the extranet or by contacting: 

Yvonne Wilkins
EWS and Ed Nav Manager
Tel: 020 8545 3271
Email: yvonne.wilkins@merton.gov.uk