Education welfare officer - ask me anything

[sheepplayhideandseek]

Ask me anything.

@bluefoxmug illegal schools. Yes it would be our work... and other areas of the local authority too. Fortunately not really an issue in the area I work in but yes it's an ongoing concern

@Feellikedancingyeah I don't work in SEN but where I work we consider all alternative provision need on a case by case basis. How do you know yours is somewhere to be avoided? By reputation only? They work with a challenging cohort by nature of their existence, and often do a great job. Many places get an unfair bad rap. There's issues in all schools and behaviour issues in all schools as well.

@Feellikedancingyeah You should write to the Local Authority and ask that they make an EHC needs assessment if your child has SEN and has been excluded as the exclusion indicates that your child's needs have not been met within the resources of the school. Template letters and support available from IPSEA and SOSSEN.

My 7 year old had a lot of time in hospital and medical appointments when he was younger and we frequently got those generic letters from school that said if his attendance didn't improve the EWO would get involved (his attendance was 88% in reception). Thankfully his medical issues have improved as he has got older but just curious about what an EWO would do if they got involved in a situation like this?

@elliejjtiny it's not particularly great of the school to be honest. If it's genuine medical and evidenced then why write to you! Some schools will say that they have a duty to inform you your children's attendance is X%, which is true, they do need to tell you - but then change the letter!!! If there is a genuine medical issue affecting school attendance then we very often ask parents permission to speak to the medical professional involved which can help speed up referrals, procedures, medication reviews and also ask if there is anything school can put in place to support the child to attend more often etc, so that's a supportive thing really, but there is an element of bringing the child's attendance to the attention of the medical professional and asking if they feel it warrants the level of absence. This sounds like we are trying to catch people out, but this is our job and often a consultant will be surprised that a child is missing quite so much school. Then of course there are the cases where there is suspected fabricated illness, this is something that we are often the first professional to spot, so that communication with medical professionals is really important from a safeguarding point of view

Thankyou. That's really reassuring. Just before he started school we had someone (I think she was called an area senco) who told me that I needed to reduce the number of operations ds was having when he started school because of his attendance levels. And then she did that patronising tinkly laugh. So I was kind of expecting more of that. His consultant paediatrician has been really good at keeping in person appointments to once a year and then we update her by email every couple of months.

Hi op. Interesting post!

I have 2 questions both relating to the same thing.

Is it really true that the parents of children who are being homeschooled can simply refuse the offer of an ofsted visit? If this is the case then surely that should give those in charge more reason to think something might be wrong if the visit is refused? Or is a refusal accepted on face value?

I ask as I have close friends with 3 DC who have never been to school and are home educated by their v religious parents. The oldest DD should now be at secondary school and they aren't following any sort of curriculum. (Though they are learning maths and English). I think yhAt the oldest daughter may need a diagnosis for autism which would have been picked up on by now at a mainstream school.

I'm not curtain twitching. The parents are v close friends of mine but I worry about the 3 DC. They are well cared for and looked after but it's the socialisation, extreme views and lack of any sen needs being recognised I worry about.. thanks!

@sheepplayhideandseek sorry didn't tag you in my post!

@Lemonsaretheonlyfruit Ofsted never visit parents, they are not a school. The LEA offers to visit but it’s as it should be, optional.