Behaviour and education support teams
Behaviour and education support teams (BESTs) are multi-agency teams bringing together a complementary mix of professionals from the fields of health, social care and education. The aim of a BEST is to promote emotional well-being, positive behaviour and school attendance, by identifying and supporting those with, or at risk of developing, emotional and behavioural problems.
BESTs work with children and young people aged 5-18, their families and schools to intervene early and prevent problems developing further. They are strategically placed in targeted primary and secondary schools, and in the community, alongside a range of other support structures and services.
Successful BESTs bring together the skills, perspectives and experience of a range of practitioners forming an effective multi-disciplinary team. A BEST typically contains a minimum of four to five staff members, who between them have a complementary mix of education, social care and health skills in order to meet the multi-faceted needs of children, young people and their parents. A typical team may include the following professionals:
- Behaviour support staff
- Clinical psychologists
- Education welfare officers
- Educational psychologists
- Health visitors
- Primary mental health workers
- School nurses
- Social workers/family workers
- Speech and language therapists
Schools with BESTs include those with high proportions of pupils with, or at risk of developing, behavioural problems, usually demonstrated in levels of exclusions and attendance.
This page was last updated on 05 May 2005
