Pathways

 

“Building capacity in schools to better manage pupils with social, emotional and behaviour difficulties.”

Prevention, Early Intervention and Staged Intervention – a multi-tiered approach to social, emotional and behavioural support, offered by The Bridge

The pupils selected for Pathways intervention will clearly be mainstreamable and able to thrive in a mainstream school following intensive outreach support or an off-site intervention. They will have a McSherry Score between 60 and 70%. If a school feels that a pupil is not mainstreamable, then the school should commence an EHCP assessment.

The aim of the model is preventing the need for exclusion through early intervention and staged intervention. The multi-tiered approach to social, emotional and behavioural support covers a wide range of approaches and provision through stages of intervention from school-based support and intervention to extended enrichment provision delivered at The Bridge.

Support should be appropriate, proportionate and timely. Early and staged intervention provides a framework to schools for additional support where behaviour, for whatever reason, becomes more challenging and needs targeted support.

Each stage will include identification and assessment of learning need, appropriate planning mechanisms, and types of provision which may be put in place. Movement between the stages usually follows the exhaustion of the provisions at the level below. It is likely that evidence of such provisions will be required before moving to the next level, although in some cases acceleration through the stages, or intervention at a later stage may be required to meet the individual needs of the learner. The default model is that a pupil (if deemed eligible for Pathways support) will access outreach support in the first instance before moving onto an off-site package.

Outreach support in aimed at keeping pupils in their own schools. Referrals to the service are made through the Primary Behaviour Panel. This panel act as gatekeepers and decide which children should be allocated one of the enrichment programme places. Only if intensive outreach intervention fails to give pupils enough support in school are they given places on the enrichment programmes at The Bridge. This enables extended intervention and support to be targeted at those pupils with the highest level of need, but who are still capable of thriving in a mainstream school following the intensive support.

Pathways is a finite resource and there might occasionally be a waiting list for provision.

 Service description

Providing support, advice and training to mainstream schools to enhance schools’ capacity to promote inclusion, good behaviour and healthy emotional well-being for all pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental Health difficulties (SEMH).

The service aims to support schools to:

• Maintain a low percentage of permanent and fixed term exclusions compared to the national average.
• Maintain high levels of pupils with SEMH needs in mainstream schools.
• Ensure that all pupils referred are provided with support

The Bridge offers:

• a professional, qualified and experienced team of specialists
• experienced Team Teach trainers
• a wide range of intervention programmes to support pupils
• a wide range of training packages for staff
• a strong collaborative link with a range of services

Pathway 1 (Advice / Support)

In school support - preventing the development of problem behaviour.

Increasing levels of support and specialist help. The emphasis is on building capacity at local level to support learners rather than referring them on. This support tier would be free to schools pending whether they require further specialist support from The Bridge.

Pathway 2 (Outreach)

In school targeted individual support for pupils with a McSherry score of 60% plus – reducing the frequency, intensity and complexity of incidents of problem behaviour for pupils not responding to whole school behaviour policies – providing more focused, intensive outreach support for pupils within a multi-agency approach to tackling often complex problems.

Pathway 3 (Preventative Model)

Learners at risk of exclusion, with a McSherry Score between 60 and 70%, could be offered enrichment programmes at The Bridge. It is usual that a pupil accepted for off-site intervention has already been on Pathway 2 Outreach Programme.

The cost of a pupil attending the programme is dependent on whether a school subscribes to Pathways.

Pathways fees April 2024

The aim of these programmes is to raise self-esteem and reduce problem behaviour. This planned support enables the learner to work intensively towards specific goals, for example learning techniques which support improved behaviour.

The support provided helps the child or young person to remain on their school roll, hopefully reducing the likelihood of the move towards being permanently excluded. Support from staff can be planned and delivered through a team around the child model.

Staff delivering the enrichment programmes work closely with staff from the learner's mainstream school. Effective coordination between The Bridge and the mainstream school ensures that both can build effectively on the learner's prior achievements. An important measure of the enrichment programme is successfully supporting learners return to full-time mainstream education.

The underlying principle of the learning package is that learners should remain the responsibility of mainstream schools and that in most circumstances’ plans should include a full return to the mainstream school.

 This model needs to be operated along the principles of a preventative model rather than a last resort model. The Bridge Sub-Committee need to be the “gate keeper” panel into this provision.

What happens at the end of a placement if the child is not able to return to mainstream.

When a pupil is referred by the school to Pathways for 6 -12 week placement, which the school funds at a rate of £75 a day, payable as a block prior to admission to Pathways it is important that the school advises the family that should it be considered that it is not possible for the child to return to mainstream then the school will need to look at alternatives to support the pupil. However, pupils referred to Pathways will be selected on the premise that; following intensive support and intervention, they are able to return to a mainstream school and thrive.

Accounting notes:

Woodbridge Park Education Service engages with primary schools annually in April to see if they wish to subscribe to Pathways. There may be changes in the level of charges due to uptake.

The Outreach Service

Outreach had to be reduced over the last few years due to the large numbers of pupils admitted into the Bridge; prior to this there were 4 members of staff who were supporting schools on average 30 pupils each year. The impact of this was over 95% of these pupils successfully remaining in their mainstream placement and with no further referral to WPES. (March 2018).

Funding Pathways

Primary Partnerships in March 2018 made the following recommendation that there should be an annual charged based on approximately £8.34 per pupil and a daily charge of £75 for off-site in

 Support Package for Managed Moves

Where two Primary schools subscribe to Pathways, they can access a free advice and support service in relation to a managed move between the two schools. This means that they can contact The Bridge for advice with a transition programme.

A pupil will need to be dual registered with subscribing Pathways schools to be eligible.

Where capacity exists, a pupil who is being managed moved between two primary schools can access (without registration with WPES) up to 2 days on-site support for up to 4 weeks.

This is a free service where capacity allows.

 
Please click here for a Pathways referral form