How does The Place2Be fit in with the school? Who benefits from having The Place2Be? What do professionals say about The Place2Be? Why does The Place2Be believe in early intervention? How can schools promote early intervention? Could having The Place2Be in your school help reduce the exclusion rate? How does The Place2Be fit in with the school?
When a new Place2Be service becomes operational in the school we work to ensure it becomes part of the whole school community.
Back to top Who benefits from having The Place2Be?
Children - School staff - Parents/Carers - School Community
Back to top What do professionals say about The Place2Be?
- Right Hon Beverley Hughes MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, wrote to The Place2Be in December 2005 saying "Childrens' mental health and emotional well-being is a high priority for my Department and I welcome the contribution made by The Place2Be, its partners and volunteers to our programme for improving outcomes for children, young people and their families set out in the green paper 'Every Child Matters'."
- A SENCO & Deputy Head of a Southwark Place2Be school was asked what she would do without The Place2Be in her school: “My answer is simple – I’d leave. Without The Place2Be my job would be extremely hard.”
- An Ofsted Inspection in a Croydon Primary School 2002 surmised that "relations between school staff and The Place2Be staff were good, harbouring mutual professional respect. Services were well delivered, supervised and monitored, and children valued the way The Place2Be helped them ‘sort out’ their problems."
Back to top Why does The Place2Be believe in early intervention?
Children need to develop the social and emotional competence that will help them to understand the rules that govern relationships between people. There is evidence that intervening early can help children develop these competencies so that skills of interaction can be acquired. Where children have formed positive relationships in the schools and communities this has provided them with an element of protection against involvement in offending and other anti-social behaviour.
Back to top How can schools promote early intervention?
"Schools can make a difference by introducing experiences, activities and support systems that can help children cope with difficulties and enable them to profit from their school experience. By intervening at an early stage, schools can help prevent the downward spiral where difficulties get worse, become harder to address, and lead to failure. Even in schools that provide a calm, supportive environment there may be some children who do not flourish. It is difficult for schools to do the job they want to do when children are unable to learn for personal, social, and health reasons. Many teachers are aware when children need help but they may not always have the time, skills, or resources, to respond.” – "Intervening Early, 2002," a DfES publication
Back to top Could having The Place2Be in your school help reduce the exclusion rate?
The Place2Be promotes social inclusion and believes in providing appropriate support to counter unacceptable or challenging behaviour. LEAs should have preventative programmes in place to enable them to refer pupils identified as being at risk of exclusion to appropriate support. In 'School's Out?', a recently published report by New Philanthropy Capital into truancy and exclusion, The Place2Be has been recognised as a leader in providing support services which prevent exclusions:
"The change in children referred to The Place2Be services is monitored using the SDQ, and data collected indicates that children are better able to cope with issues that are challenging their well-being. Providing practical support to students can directly prevent exclusions and reduce the risk of truancy, as several studies have shown.In practice, the charity reaches a large number of people (including parents and educational professionals). Outcomes for parents include a better understanding of their children, improved parenting skills and increased confidence. Schools have also noted improved relations with parents as a result of the sessions. The reduction in challenging behaviour means that classrooms are more conducive to learning. Staff report improved morale, increased retention and reduced stress. This type of work in schools is also felt to reduce the likelihood of inappropriate referrals to local authority services where capacity is already limited. The reduced strain on schools is a valuable outcome of projects of this type." - Extract from 'School’s Out? - Truancy and Exclusion', a report by New Philanthropy Capital, September 2005.
Back to top