Telford & Wrekin Council’s work began in response to high suspension rates and increasing social and emotional need across mainstream schools. Leaders recognised that traditional behaviour support approaches were no longer sufficient and that a cultural shift was needed to strengthen early intervention and prevent escalation. The co‑produced Belonging Strategy provided the foundation for this shift, establishing shared principles – most notably that exclusion is rarely the right outcome – and creating a unified direction for mainstream schools and the local authority (LA). From this foundation, the LA developed a coordinated outreach model focused on early intervention and building capacity in mainstream schools.
The Key Stage 1 – 3 Alternative Provision outreach intervention model set out to achieve two main aims:
- Provide intervention to pupils at the earliest point possible to reduce escalation of need.
- Build capacity in schools to support pupils to remain in mainstream education.
Key elements of the Alternative Provision outreach intervention model include the pre‑suspension hotline, enhanced behaviour audits, the Seven Steps to Belonging Relational Practice Framework, and a school residency model.
The SEND Effective Practice Evidence Framework[1] considers that the “strength of evidence” of this case study is good – the model has been sustained for over five years, embedded across the system, with routine internal monitoring demonstrating impact. Although not independently evaluated, its longevity, replication and credible outcomes provide a strong evidence base. The “breadth of impact” of this case study is good – there is evidence of impact in three of the four impact areas: the lived experiences of children and young people with SEND[2], demonstrated through direct pupil voice; positive feedback from professionals, reflected in strong and consistent qualitative evidence from schools; and quantifiable education and wellbeing outcomes, demonstrated through suspension-prevention data and intervention scores.
[1] The SEND Effective Practice Evidence Framework uses two “signal strength” indicators to present the strength of evidence and the breadth of impact of a case study. Each indicator has four bars – emerging, promising, good and robust. The “strength of evidence” indicator is based on how the project has been evaluated and the length of time it has been sustained. The “breadth of impact” indicator is based on whether the case study can demonstrate impact in four broad areas – the more areas of impact, the higher the signal strength indicator.
[2] For ease of reading, we use the term ‘SEND’ to refer to disabled children and young people and children and young people with special educational needs.