To hear from Alasdair Whitelaw.

Alasdair Whitelaw, SEMH Coordinator, gave a presentation on SEMH programme impact within schools across RBWM. The social, emotional and mental health project had been running since 2019 and was due to end at Easter 2022. It was a statutory requirement for schools to make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of children with complex SEMH. The project was developed as there had been a rise in the number of exclusions, particularly at primary school. Alasdair Whitelaw had spent some time in different primary schools understanding the behavioural needs of some children and the communication links between teachers and parents. In total, the team had visited 21 schools which was 21 families who had received specialist support and help. Some funding had recently been secured which would allow for a secondary model to be trialled across six schools over 2021 and 2022. The most positive outcome of the trial was that no child involved was excluded. Exclusions had come down as a result of the project but had not been eliminated entirely. Looking at some of the feedback from headteachers on the project, 16 of the 21 said that the outcomes of the project were fully met, while 3 headteachers believed that the outcomes had been partly met, while the other two still had the project ongoing.

Judith Street, Headteacher at Queen Anne First School, explained that the project had helped a child who was a concern and had been excluded previously. As a result of the project, there had been a significant change in the child’s behaviour and also the schools strength and confidence in supporting children with their own individual needs. A really important aspect of the project was the link between the parents and the school which was guided by the coach, who was part of the project. Judith Street thanked Alasdair Whitelaw and his team for all their help and support with the project.

Alasdair Whitelaw said that the project had also allowed a license to be purchased for all schools in RBWM to have an online Boxall profile, which was an assessment tool that identified strengths and weaknesses for each child. Progress could be tracked and RBWM was the first borough in the country to be offering this to all its schools. An SEMH email had been set up which allowed headteachers to email the team directly for any children who were at risk of exclusion, within 24 hours advice could be offered. Alasdair Whitelaw concluded by explaining that a paper would be taken to the Schools Forum in November 2021 with recommendations derived from the working group of headteachers which would outline the potential ongoing services to be agreed and funded.

The Chairman said that he was pleased to hear about the positive feedback from headteachers, the project had made a positive difference and it continued to do so. He thanked Alasdair Whitelaw for his leadership on the project. The Chairman asked what the challenges were of integrating services together and asked if more services could be integrated going forward.

Alasdair Whitelaw said that the ability to discuss cases virtually had proved to be beneficial. The Early Help hub was able to pick up cases, but there was always more that could be done. Data protection was an issue and often it could be hard to get the detail from the wealth of information that was available. Alasdair Whitelaw said that he would like to see communication improved further across different services.

Helen Huntley, SEND Consultant, said that there was more cross service discussion now then there had been previously. Governance was also much improved and issues were discussed at various meetings which involved multiple teams.

The Chairman suggested that Alasdair Whitelaw and Judith Street could be invited to one of his Cabinet Member briefings to discuss the detail further.

ACTION – Clive Haines to invite Alasdair Whitelaw and Judith Street to the next Cabinet Member briefing.

Councillor Del Campo said that it was good that children were being given extra support from an early age. She asked how behaviour could be evaluated that did not meet the behaviour threshold.

Alasdair Whitelaw said the difference could be made on those children in younger age groups. There were performance indicators which were reported back on, with suspensions in schools something that would be considered.

Helen Huntley said that the Boxall profile would be useful as it would identify the areas of need and evaluate the data using the profile. The team would have access to this data, with the schools permission, which would help inform development going forward.

Councillor Del Campo asked what happened from here, after the paper went to the Schools Forum.

The Chairman explained that the paper would be considered by the Schools Forum and would also come through to the Cabinet Member briefing. A decision would then be made on whether a Cabinet paper was needed. A report could also either be brought back to the School Improvement Forum or the Adults, Children and Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

Councillor Hunt, as Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel, said it would be good to have the report considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Panel. The next meeting was considering the Budget but an additional meeting could be required to consider this and other items on the work programme.

ACTION – Clive Haines and Councillor Carroll to discuss the report and see whether something can be added to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel work programme.