At DESC our aim is to be the continuum of behaviour support 4-16 for young people in Dacorum. Our philosophy centres around a holistic approach to supporting young people and their families. We therefore see our mission to be the “One Stop Shop” for Social Emotional Mental Health and Wellbeing for our 67 Dacorum primary and secondary schools in DSPL8 and be the Single Point of Access.

Our work supports the Hertfordshire emotional wellbeing and behaviour strategy, which promotes a holistic approach to understanding and supporting the emotional wellbeing, engagement and behaviour of learners.

Our work centres around the Tiered Approach as outlined in Appendix 4 of the strategy.

Tier 1 – Prevention and early identification (Universal) - We provide advice, guidance, signposting and training

Tier 2 – Getting Advice and Signposting (Universal Plus) – We provide outreach and therapeutic support in schools

Tier 3 – Getting Help (Targeted) – We provide intensive outreach and therapeutic support in schools

Tier 4 – Getting More Help (Targeted Plus) – We provide inreach support and provision at our 3 centres – The Haven (KS1/2), Tenzing Road (KS3)                     and Barncroft Campus (KS4)

Tier 5 – Getting Risk Support (Specialist) – We provide short and medium term provision at our 3 centres

Our own Behaviour Policy places relationships, mutual respect and trust at the heart of what we do. We take a holistic view of a young person’s situation and look at the bigger picture of their needs.

Key elements of our philosophy are developing internal control and self-regulation, being able to empathise with others and building emotional resilience and capacity. Understanding choices and accepting the consequences, together with learning from these underpin this philosophy.

Reflection and restorative approaches are used to facilitate change. Interventions are highly personalised and we are able as a Centre to draw on appropriate therapeutic support swiftly and effectively.

As a result young people are empowered to take ownership of their behaviour and are then able to re-engage with their learning whether in a school setting or in Centre.

Each Key Stage and Site has specific operational guidance. In addition, the DESC Staged Behaviour and Consequence Guide encapsulates our approach to dealing with varying levels of behaviour throughout the Centre.