Outreach

Links Multi Academy Trust Outreach Team serve schools in the St. Albans, Harpenden, Welwyn, Hatfield and Hertsmere area. The team supports children and young people who are experiencing social, emotional, mental health and behaviour difficulties with planned intervention and training for staff.

The aim of the team is to enable children and young people to experience success in all elements of their school life, particularly where challenging behaviour is preventing them from accessing learning or places them at risk of exclusion from school. Challenging behaviours may include refusal to follow instructions, defiance, verbal or physical aggression, attention seeking behaviours and persistent disruption to learning.

Emotional wellbeing is a key component of our interventions; we work therapeutically to explore, identify and improve children’s and young people’s sense of self which includes self-esteem, self-worth, anxiety and withdrawal.

Referrals to the team for behaviour management support are made by schools, with consent and input from parent(s) or carer(s) by completing a Single Service Request form and an Assessment and Progress form (please see referrals on website).

Targeted interventions for children and young people are individualised for their particular needs. Alongside our intervention, we work very closely with other agencies and the team will be represented at any agency meeting that relates to the needs of the child or young person and their family. This approach ensures appropriate information sharing and promotes positive outcomes.

We are a short term intervention service and we measure our success through assessment and progress data provided by schools and regular reviews with staff, families or agencies. Occasionally, we will signpost schools and families to other services that we feel can work alongside us or better support the child or young person’s needs.

What do we offer?

When we receive a referral, a variety of options may be offered. Each intervention is personalised for the student and may include;

  • 1:1 support
  • Group work: social skills, friendship groups (bespoke)
  • Transition Programme (KS1, KS2, KS3)
  • Staff training
  • Solution cluster meetings
  • Behaviour Lead support meetings
  • Reintegration support
  • Managed move support
  • Signposting / advice and strategies
  • Support with statutory assessment paperwork
  • Observation, advice and strategies for school staff
  • Support for school staff through regular communication, planning and discussion
  • Support for parents to facilitate consistency between school and home
  • Training / delivery of Zones of Regulation

This is not an exhaustive list and we are continually developing our work with schools and professional partners.

Primary (St. Albans & Harpenden)

Our universal services can be successfully used to support groups or a whole class as an early intervention strategy. Equally, an individual child’s needs can be supported in this way for difficulties such as self-esteem, friendships, bullying, social skills, communication and coping with big emotions.

Children who present with challenging behaviour that is affecting their learning are supported individually in the classroom and 1:1 out of the classroom. The Team will normally spend around half the session in the classroom engaging the child and modelling positive behaviour and communication, as well as classroom and learning skills. The frequency of sessions is assessed at referral and will vary, but typically we see a child once or twice a week. As part of our intervention, staff are skilled with strategies that promote successful reduction, de-escalation and management of challenging behaviour.

In the summer term, we offer a whole class transition programme for Year 6. This benefits all children, but can be particularly beneficial for children who are very anxious about the move to secondary. Further bespoke support can be offered to individuals if it is felt appropriate.

Secondary (St. Albans & Harpenden)

We provide Secondary Surgery as part of our commitment to early intervention for young people. Within the team, we have a dedicated Outreach Worker who manages this role and provides solution focused mentoring, skills and strategies and signposting for additional support for a variety of issues.

Targeted support for young people is offered through 1:1 sessions once or twice a week when challenging behaviour is affecting their learning. We might see a student more often if they are at risk of permanent exclusion, or are experiencing a traumatic or transitional event, such as a managed move. Occasionally, it is appropriate to work with very small groups on challenging behaviour issues.

We can also deliver short interventions, such as a return from exclusion programme or a managed move programme.

At the start of Year 7, we work with all of our secondary schools to support small groups of young people who have been identified as needing additional intervention during their move to secondary.

Referral Forms

Referrals to the Outreach Team can be made by completing the Single Service Request form and the Assessment and Progress form relevant to your setting.

All referrals for targeted support must be fully completed and include a parent’s/carer’s signature.

To contact our School’s Outreach Team: