Information about Pastoral Support Programmes for children with behaviour problems in school.

What is a Pastoral Support Programme?

A Pastoral Support Programme (PSP) is a school-based intervention to help individual pupils manage their behaviour.

When should a Pastoral Support Programme be set up?

A Pastoral Support Programme should be automatically set up:

• if your child has had several fixed period exclusions;
• if your child has been identified as being at risk of failure at school;
• if you child has been permanently excluded from another school

A Pastoral Support Programme may be set up in addition to an Individual Education Plan. If your child has additional or special educational needs, the Individual Education Plan should include approaches to support s/he who may be at serious risk of exclusion or disaffection.

How is a Pastoral Support Programme set up?

The Headteacher (or another member of the Senior Management Team) should invite parents/carers and an LEA representative to a meeting to discuss the causes of concern and what is reasonably required of the pupil to put the situation right, both academically and socially.

The aim of the meeting is to formulate a programme, which supports your child in managing his/her behaviour satisfactorily in order to successfully complete his/her education.

The Headteacher would normally chair this meeting. In some cases it may be useful to involve the Special Needs Co-ordinator if there are behaviour and learning difficulties involved, or the class teacher particularly for a young child.

The LEA should agree with the school what monitoring and help it will offer.

A LEA representative should be invited. This may be the educational psychologist or someone from the behaviour support or educational welfare service.

Other agencies, such as social services, health, youth service, careers, housing department, voluntary organisations or ethnic minority community group may also be involved.

What should a Pastoral Support Programme provide?

It should:

• review any learning difficulties, particularly literacy which may affect your child's behaviour
• provide a remedial programme, which must be put in place immediately and which may include
• lunchtime or after school homework clubs
• other forms of study support
• consider/re-consider disapplying the National Curriculum to allow time for specific learning activities
• consider changing your child's teaching set, class and/or seating arrangements
• identify a "buddy" or adult mentor
• consider involving the Behaviour Support Service for in-school support for the pupil and staff
• consider jointly the possibility of 'time out' at a PRU as an additional behaviour management strategy
• consider a "managed move" to another school.

How is this achieved?

• short term achievable targets - reviewed at least fortnightly
• strategies should be agreed to help your child reach these targets
• date for review of what has been agreed

It is important that your child is aware of what is agreed.

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