Breaking Barriers to Learning in Primary Schools: An Integrated Approach to Children's Services

Breaking Barriers to Learning in Primary Schoolstakes an expert and informative look at the integrated children'¬"s services agenda in practice in today'¬"s primary schools. Examining the ways in which an increasing number of different professionals help to improve children'¬"s life chances, the author examines the roles of those employed directly by the schools themselves, for instance Learning Mentors, HLTAs and Teaching Assistants, and those employed by health/social and other agencies, such as school nurses, Educational social workers, study support workers, school attendance workers and Educational Psychologists. Through an exploration of how each individual helps break down barriers to children'¬"s learning, this book: examines the growth and development of the children'¬"s workforce provides a broad and integrated view of the wider school network explores the roles of individuals within the school workforce makes links to Every Child Matters and Extended Schools initiatives provides evidences of breaking down barriers, through interviews and studies with those working at the heart of integrated schools presents an analysis of recent statistics relating to children'¬"s lives gives practical advice for good practice throughout. An essential text for all those working in education and in training to become part of this wider school network, this book takes into account the findings of the recent Primary Reviews, government data and original research to fully explain how to build, maintain and successfully work with today'¬"s primary children. It is an excellent text for Foundation Degree students as well as those studying Education Studies and those training to be teachers.

Pat Hughes is Senior Lecturer at Liverpool Hope University, teaching on undergraduate and postgraduate initial teacher training courses, as well as more generic undergraduate and postgraduate Education Studies courses. She is a course leader for a Master's Level Course in Integrated Children's Services and is also a Non-Executive Director of a Primary Care Trust (NHS), which operates in a local authority where both health and social care share budgets. The authority is recognised nationally as a leader in this field of partnership.