Who‘s involved in helping you and your child?

If your child is having problems at school it can be very stressful. Not only are you worried about your child, but you may have to meet with teachers and a raft of education and other professionals. This can be intimidating, particularly when professionals use lots of jargon.

But the professionals are there to help, although sometimes it can feel like you're judged to be a bad parent. If you want to just let off steam, or to talk to someone in confidence, try calling Parentline, the 24-hour advice line for parents, on 0808 800 2222. You can phone free at any time to speak to a counsellor.

Some of the professionals you will come across will be based in the school; others are based in the local authority, and cover some or all schools.

Education Welfare Officer

The Education Welfare Officer (EWO) works with parents to improve children’s attendance. If a child is truanting, the EWO will contact the parent and discuss a plan of action. The EWO might also be part of a truancy patrol – pairs of police officers and EWOs who patrol town centres and places out of school, and who have the legal right to return truanting students to school.

Home School Liaison Officer

This person is similar to an EWO, but they are employed by the school to work with parents to improve their child’s attendance. They also help parents get involved in the school and make sure there is good communication between parents and schools.

Parent support advisers (PSAs)

Schools in England now have a Parent Support adviser. PSAs work either with individual schools or groups of schools to provide parenting support and swift and easy access to specialist services. Children with all types of additional needs should benefit from the PSAs’ help to identify the right support. The parent support adviser might be based in an after-school club, in the community, or in the school itself.

Education psychologist

Education psychologists are employed to assess, help and support children who have challenging and troubled behaviour, and to advise schools and local authorities on their mental health needs. Education psychologists will, for example, be asked to attend meetings to advise on the best course of action for a particular pupil.

Learning mentor

Learning mentors are based at the school, to help pupils with their education and their behaviour. That might be in the Learning Support Unit, or in their usual class. Learning mentors can be volunteers or paid workers. There is now specific training and standards for this role.

Connexions adviser

Connexions is a national service based in local authorities combining the old careers service with more personal mentoring, advice and counselling. All 13- to 19-year-olds should have access to a Connexions personal adviser, and most students with challenging behaviour will be offered support from Connexions. Connexions also run local drop-in youth centres in town centres or high streets.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

If there are concerns about a student’s mental health, it is likely that the local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) will be involved. These services are based at the local primary care trust (the local part of the NHS, including doctors’ surgeries), and will be able to recommend counselling or other mental health services if they are needed.

Youth Offending Team

If a pupil has been involved in criminal behaviour in or out of school, the Youth Offending Team may be involved in meetings with the school about their behaviour. Many teams offer activities such as summer sports programs, and run parenting courses for parents of young people who have committed an offence.

Behaviour and Education Support Team (Best)

You might hear the word ’Best’ in discussions about your child. This is a government-funded program to help all these agencies to work together to help challenging and disaffected pupils.

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO)

The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is employed by the school, and is responsible for organising the assessment and support of students with disabilities and special needs. The SENCO will also liaise with parents of children with special needs.

Parent Partnership Service

Every local authority in England and Wales has a service to support parents of children with special educational needs. The level of support varies from area to area but as a minimum, you should be able to get impartial information about how special provision is made in your area. The Parent Partnership Service will help you when your child is undergoing assessment for a statement, and should advise you how to sort out difficulties with schools and local authorities.

Parent support

In every local area, there is a range of help and support available to parents. There will be parenting groups, often organised by parents themselves, and more structured parenting education courses. If you want to find some support for yourself to help you cope with your child’s difficult behaviour, ask the school for information on parent support. You can also phone Parentline, on 0808 800 2222.

September 2009