Education Welfare Service
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Local Authorities (LAs) are responsible, by law, for making sure parents fulfil their responsibility of ensuring that their child receives an education either by regular attendance at school, or otherwise. In Shropshire the Education Welfare Service (EWS) undertakes this responsibility. We exist to help parents and the LA meet the obligations and duties placed upon them by successive Education Acts and Child Care legislation.
Every school in Shropshire has a named Education Welfare Officer (EWO) allocated to their school. EWOs work on a patch basis and have a responsibility for a number of schools where they assess and advise in the managing of whole school attendance.
EWOs in Shropshire will monitor whole school attendance on a regular basis and request information on all children with less than 87% attendance. This early intervention is proven to ensure that attendance remains a high priority by school staff and parents and helps to identify and resolve issues before they become entrenched.
EWOs work closely with parents, pupils, school staff, education support staff, psychologists, social workers, police and health personnel, and many other agencies in both the statutory and voluntary fields in order to ensure that children in Shropshire are able to benefit from the education to which they are entitled.
In addition to the role of school attendance, the EWS will also intervene in welfare related issues, administer Child Employment and Performance licences and undertake Elective Home Education and Children Missing Education LA responsibilities.