Revised Behaviour Support
Offer to Schools and
Academies
Nathan Caine
Head of Education Support, Behaviour
and Attendance Service (ESBAS)
Extensive Consultation
• 3 Breakfast meetings with primary schools
• 4 Working groups (1 secondary, 3
primary)
• 1 area secondary headteacher meeting
• Discussions with existing staff
• Maintained schools and academies
Key Messages from
Consultation
• Ongoing support for children with high-needs
• Better access to support across all schools
(greater reach of service)
• Need for more proactive/preventative work
• Clearer, more transparent referral processes
• Equity of access to support
• Addressing the potential of a two-tier system
operating in support to academies c.f.
maintained schools
Accepted Changes
• Time-limited interventions
• Some primary schools will receive less
support
• Focus on helping schools to build capacity
rather than providing 1:1 support for
prolonged periods
• Move away from a referral-based system
for all support
Allocation of Support
All funding is converted into ESBAS units:
• 40% - ‘Red Block’: high-end support
• 30% - ‘Green Block’: allocated to
schools/school partnerships on basis of
NOR/FSM/IDACI
• 20% - ‘Blue Block’: fixed allocation to all
schools, per institution
• 10% - Service Overheads
What Are Units?
A unit is a way of simplifying an element of
work within ESBAS that takes into account
the variation of professionals within the
team.
• All elements of work are broken down into
units.
• Schools/academies can buy blocks of
units which can be used against any
intervention across the service
‘Red Block’
Support for children with the greatest needs
• Support is accessed by referral
• Screening process to allocate support
• School context is taken into account in
determining level of support
• Agreed referrals are allocated a block of
units for work on an individual child
• No additional cost to maintained schools
‘Green Block’
Support allocated based on the needs of individual
schools/partnerships
• Creates parity between maintained schools and
academies
• Aims to ensure the greatest support is directed
at schools with the greatest need
• Complete flexibility over use of units
• No need for referral; schools determine the
number of units allocated to a child
• Can be used for more preventative work
‘Blue Block’
Support allocated per-school
• Aims to ensure that all schools can access
some support, no matter what their overall
level of need is
• Reduce impact on small, rural schools
• Complete flexibility over use of units
• No need for referral; schools determine
the number of units allocated to a child
• Can be used for more preventative work
Important Points
• All ‘block’ funding is paid for by the pooled budget for
maintained schools.
– Not accessible to academies
– Converting academies will need to re-negotiate
support at point of conversion
• All schools/academies can purchase more units at any
point in the year.
• Schools will receive a termly update on how many units
have been used and how many they have left
• Principles of pooled budgets apply
Statutory Work
Schools/academies can also access
statutory support at no additional cost to
them, or the pooled budget:
• Statutory attendance interventions
• Reintegration support following permanent
exclusion
Overview of Changes
Element of Support
Academies
Maintained Schools
(Current)
Maintained Schools
(New)
Support for children
reintegrating following
permanent exclusion
Full access to support
without cost
Full access to support
without cost
Full access to support
without cost
High-level behaviour
support to children at
risk of permanent
exclusion
No automatic access.
Accessed via purchase
of ESBAS units
By referral. Allocated on
a needs-led basis
Specialist
earlier/preventative
interventions
Accessed via purchase
of ESBAS units
ONLY available from
purchased units
By referral. Allocated on
a needs-led basis (red
block)
OR
From unit allocation
(green and blue blocks)
and ‘top-up’
From unit allocation
(green and blue blocks)
and ‘top-up’
Core offer of support (to
mitigate issues of
rural/small schools)
N/A
No core entitlement to
schools. Support
allocated by referral on
basis of child needs
Allocation of units to all
schools, irrespective of
size or population
statistics