What is TASS

Team Around the School and Settings is a collaborative way of working across services, schools, colleges, and early years settings with children and young people at the centre of all we do.

This multi-agency approach brings together key partners who have the skills and expertise to help address the priorities identified in each locality.

The TASS geographical areas with their allocated Education Partnership Officers (EPOs) are detailed in the contacts section. The LA strategic lead for TASS is Aby Hardy (Head of Service for Education Improvement), the EPO line manager is Suzanne Fish, the EPOs work to deliver the TASS way of working in their area.

EPO role

The role of Education Partnership Officers (EPOs) is to:

  • build effective relationships with schools and settings, services, and key partners in their locality.
  • co-ordinate a multi-agency response to a locally raised issue that requires a TASS response
  • support key partners and their agendas to avoid duplication of work and link services and agencies together to ensure effective and timely outcomes.
  • encourage partners to 'think school/college/early years' in terms of their service delivery.
  • listen and act as a conduit to support connectivity and coproduction between settings and partners.
  • represent education in strategic fora to raise issues on behalf of schools and settings and ensure that information is shared with them
  • be an ambassador for the Family Hubs networks and share local intelligence in and out/align priorities where appropriate

Role of Locality Group

Each Locality Group meets termly. They provide a forum for schools, settings and partners to raise local issues where a co-ordinated response from key partners is required.

Locality Groups foster effective collaboration with partners to drive progress and secure sustainable, working solutions that sit with the right services and partners in the long term, aligning with existing priorities and workstreams where possible.

They ensure effective communication between schools and settings and key partners so that everyone is aware of what support is available locally.

Locality Groups will monitor the progress of current priorities and agree robust exit strategies for those closing.

Communication

We update our web site termly with:

  • our Highlight Reports – summary documents of the Locality Group meeting held that term
  • Our EPOs attend LASSH, PHIL, cluster meetings and wider partnership forums including, but not limited to:
    • Community Safety Partnership
    • Community Alcohol Partnership
    • CSAP
    • Health and Wellbeing Board
    • District and City Council meetings
    • Voluntary and Faith Sector meetings
      to update and inform about the TASS priorities and seek appropriate support from services

Contribution to the Education Strategy

Our work contributes to improving outcomes for children without being specifically aligned to an individual priority.

We will engage as required by the lead service.

Where an issue is shared with us that does not require a TASS response, we will signpost schools to the relevant team or strategy.

Key partners

  • Schools, colleges, early years settings
  • Children and Family Well Being
  • Children's Social Care
  • Public Health
  • Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner
  • District and City Councils
  • SEND and Inclusion Service
  • Equalities Team
  • Virtual School
  • Early Years Team
  • Targeted Youth Support
  • Attendance Team
  • Inclusion Hubs
  • Youth Futures Team
  • Commissioned services
  • Wider Health services (such as 0-19 service, CASHER, CAMHS etc)
  • VCFS partner agencies