Education, Welfare Service (including Child Employment)

About the Education Welfare Service

The Wokingham Education Welfare Service (EWS) principle aim is:

• To ensure that all children and young people have access to their statutory education and are able to achieve and sustain regular attendance at school.

Education Welfare Officers facilitate the principle aim by: 

• Identifying attendance problems and possible solutions
• Working with schools to develop strategic systems and procedures within schools to promote good attendance and reduce persistent absence
• Explaining to parents their legal responsibility to ensure their child receives efficient and full time education
• Taking action through the Magistrates' Court if necessary
• Referring to other agencies and professionals, such as children’s social services and educational psychologists, when necessary
• Offering support with home visits or meeting parents and pupils in school
• Supporting parents to build good relationships with the school

Links to our Vision, Values and Priorities:

• Improve educational attainment and focus on every child achieving their potential
• Improve the customer experience when accessing services.
• Look after the vulnerable
• Improve health, wellbeing and quality of life
• Deliver quality in all we do.

The main responsibilities of the service are: 

• Attendance advice and guidance 
• Penalty notices and prosecution
• Persistently absent pupils
• Child employment
• Elective home education
• Children missing education
• Attendance for looked after children
• Exclusions
• Statutory reporting to the DfE (Department for Education) and responding to freedom of information requests