FOI release

Council management of Pupil Referral Units

Case reference FOI2024/00272

Published 8 March 2024

Request

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I would like to request the following information:

1) In the academic years 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24 (so far), how much money was spent by the council on teaching and teaching assistant/support staff at pupil referral units within the council's remit that were hired via agencies on temporary contracts? Please separate these figures by school year, PRU and supplier.

2) Does the council have a written policy (or policies) that details an approach to mental and physical wellbeing for staff at pupil referral units? If the answer to this question is yes, please share the relevant documentation.

3) In the academic years 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24 (so far), how many times were there incidences of violence towards staff at PRUs under the council's remit? Please separate these figures by school year.

4) What counselling and psychological staff is available to teaching and support staff in the PRUs under your remit? Please detail their qualifications and how many days a week they work.

Response

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I would like to request the following information:

1) In the academic years 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24 (so far), how much money was spent by the council on teaching and teaching assistant/support staff at pupil referral units within the council's remit that were hired via agencies on temporary contracts? Please separate these figures by school year, PRU and supplier.

None - Herefordshire only has one Pupil Referral Unit and we can confirm staff are not hired via agencies.

2) Does the council have a written policy (or policies) that details an approach to mental and physical wellbeing for staff at pupil referral units? If the answer to this question is yes, please share the relevant documentation.

There is no specific policy detailing an approach to mental and physical wellbeing for staff at the Pupil Referral Unit in Herefordshire.

3) In the academic years 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24 (so far), how many times were there incidences of violence towards staff at PRUs under the council's remit? Please separate these figures by school year.

Incidents reported to the Health and Safety and Wellbeing Officer:

2021-22 = 0

2022-23 = 0

2023-24 = 2

4) What counselling and psychological staff is available to teaching and support staff in the PRUs under your remit? Please detail their qualifications and how many days a week they work.

There are no specific counselling and psychological staff appointed specifically to support staff at Herefordshire's Pupil Referral Unit. All local authority employed staff have access to an Employee Assistance Programme to help deal with personal and professional problems that might be affecting home or work life, health or general wellbeing.

Documents

There are no documents for this release.

This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.

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