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Education Welfare Service

Contact the Education Welfare Service

First floor,
Regal House,
London Road,
Twickenham,
TW1 3QB

Telephone: 020 8487 5479
Fax: 020 8487 5480

About us

The Education Welfare Service has the statutory responsibility for monitoring the attendance of all pupils who attend schools within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

All schools receive the support of an allocated officer. A range of indicators that reflect the needs of each school determines the identified allocation of time available from the service. The aim of the service is to identify personal and/or social issues that may affect the attendance, progress, and well being of children and young people.

The service works alongside schools and a variety of agencies to support families to overcome such difficulties to ensure children and young people are able to access their education provision.

Our services

  • Regular meetings with key school staff to agree referrals and intervention for pupils causing concern.
  • Advice, contact and support to parents and pupils regarding education matters.
  • Regular register checks.
  • Provide in-service training, advice and guidance to school staff on issues impacting on individual pupil’s attendance and behaviour, including school policies.
  • Liaison with neighbouring authorities in order to secure appropriate support services for improving pupil’s attendance and personal welfare.
  • Contribute to the multi-agency forums in supporting children and families.
  • Provide in-service training, advice and guidance for school staff on child protection and child safeguarding matters.
  • Undertake appropriate prosecutions and implement new legislative measures under the advice of the legal services.
  • Monitoring and evaluating of education otherwise than at school.
  • Specialist support for travellers and asylum seekers.
  • Monitoring of children who are looked after by the Local Authority.
  • Licensing related to child employment and children in entertainment.
  • Issuing Chaperone Licenses.

Service entitlement

  • Every school has a named attached Education Welfare Officer (EWO). A range of indicators determines the allocation of time from the service, to each particular school. These are: numbers of referrals to the service, number of free school meals, number on roll, attendance statistics, exclusions and numbers on the special educational needs (SEN) register.
  • Access to a specialist EWO working with asylum seekers and travellers

Statutory duties

The Education Welfare Service fulfils the statutory legal functions invested in the local authority that relate to school attendance, child employment and children in entertainment.

Quality of service and evaluation

In establishing criteria to determine the successful intervention of the service, the following indicators will normally be taken to monitor the effective involvement of the Education Welfare Service:

  • Improvements in pupils’ individual attendance figures.
  • Overall reductions in schools’ absence.
  • Compliance with the borough’s customer care standards.
  • The EWS operates with the Council’s complaints procedures

Quality assurance

The EWS is committed to monitoring the standard of service delivery and its performance is regularly evaluated.

The Service also operates within the framework of the borough’s equal opportunities and customer care policies.

Complaints

Any complaint relating to the EWS should initially be directed to the Senior Education Welfare Officers (address above). This service operates within the framework of the borough’s Complaints Procedure.