Inclusion teams pupil support

In organising support for pupils at these three levels, schools and the Inclusion Team in particular will need to have ... 

Many schools are now using educational welfare officers in a variety of ways such as supporting attendance audits, working with groups of pupils and their families and delivering aspects of the PHSE curriculum. They need to be part of the Inclusion Team and to work flexibly across the school. Some schools have appointed their own welfare officers or share them between clusters of schools. 

Staff need to understand that the Inclusion Team are not miracle workers. There are pupils who have such deep-rooted problems which need such specialist support that they cannot survive in mainstream schools. Learning support units cannot change behaviour overnight. Some staff feel that there should be an immediate change on exit, rather like pupils taking a pill which makes them a different person. As inclusion is a process, so is the way which the services impact on pupils. Pupils difficulties could be as a result of a range of problems such as ... 

Therefore with many pupils, it may take some time to work through and solve problems. It will also take diplomatic tenacity on the part of the Inclusion Team to challenge certain members of staff whose reply about changing styles or ways of working is that I have always done it that way. This is why one of the most cmcial elements to making this happen is the support, vision and clout of the Senior Leadership Team. 

The Inclusion Team plays a key role in preparing both pupils and staff to receive pupils with a number of needs. Many schools use the learning support unit and learning mentor support as a half way house to preparing the pupils to enter school. Time invested in this planning is a key to success in the future. The use of LEA support services for pupils with particularly complex needs can be helpful. Resources and training may be available to prepare peers to help understand the complex problems of a new member of their community. ... 

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