Services for schools: Education Support Officers (ESOs)
Some of this service is statutory, and thus free of charge.
Education Support Officers work to support pupils, families and schools where there is a barrier to educational engagement. Whether this is due to:
- Poor attendance
- Medical need
- Challenging behaviour
We work in partnership with the family, educational setting and any other involved professionals to minimise disaffection. This is to ensure that pupils are able to make the best possible use of the educational opportunities which are available to them. So pupils can maximise their future potential.
Extra services, such as Education Support Officer time, can be purchased by either maintained or academy schools.
Purchased services could include:
- Early intervention and reducing barriers to engagement meetings in schools
- Individual casework management on engagement issues not in the statutory process
- Unannounced visits where there is a non-attendance or safeguarding concern. Or unannounced visits for a young person due to prolonged non-attendance
- Support in developing whole school plans and policies around attendance, challenging behaviour and medical need
- Support in developing engagement improvement plans, which may include Individual Healthcare Plans (IHPs)
