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Unhappy2009  Asks...

Hi , im called unhappy2009 on your bulliten board , thank you for your help and advice me and my parents are going to try some of the sites you suggested and see if we can help from any of them .

Just a quick question i heard about this thing called (pru) people referal unit, and i wanted to now more information on it but i could not find any othe internet .

Whats the reasons to go to pru ?
who's involved ?
how can you get a place at pru ?
can you do pru for couple days then normal school ?
do school's have to refer you or can you ask to go there ?

if you have any information on the above questions , i would be very greatful if you could email me or put them on the bulletin board .

Many thanks
Unhappy2009

What we suggest...

Hi Unhappy2009, thanks for your email.

Thank you for your kind remarks. We're glad you and your parents are finding the information we've provided helpful.

We think what you're asking about is what is called a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU). PRUs are for pupils who cannot attend school because, for example:

# They have medical problems
# They have emotional and/or behavioural problems
# They are teenage mothers
# They are pregnant
# They have been assessed as being school phobic
# They are awaiting a school place
# They have been excluded
# They are at risk of being excluded

PRU's work in different ways depending on the pupil's circumstances. They may offer:

# Full-time education in the Unit
# Part-time education in the Unit
# Provide support to a pupil in their original school
# Provide dual registration where a pupil attends the Unit but remains registered
with their original school
# Arrange to provide education, training or employment in partnership with for example a further education college, a training provider, an employer, voluntary organisations etc.

PRUs are run by the same local education authority which runs the school you attend now: Surrey County Council. Local authorities usually have more than one PRU so they can cater for the different needs of pupils on separate sites. For example there are 3 main PRUs in your part of Surrey: Walton-on-Thames, Ashford and Epsom, and there may also be smaller units as well as these.

The process of admission to a PRU starts with the school referring a pupil's case to either an Educational Psychologist or Education Welfare Officer. The pupil and their parents are then invited to a meeting; other professionals who are involved with the pupil can be invited to attend if everyone agrees. In your own case this could be your psychologist and/or your CAMHS worker. If it's decided that a PRU would be the best solution the pupil's case is then referred to the Area Admissions Panel which meets to decide if it's appropriate for the pupil to attend the Unit.

If your school doesn't refer your case to the Education Welfare Service your parents can contact them directly by ringing the Contact Centre on 0300 200 1006 and asking to speak to the Education Welfare Service.

We hope that when you go back to school in September some suitable support will be arranged for you so that you're able to continue with your education, as well as helping you with your emotional distress. Please email us again if you think we can help. Take care.

Best wishes from q2a.

Expert advice and every precaution has been taken to ensure that the information on this page is trustworthy and reliable, but the publishers do not hold themselves responsible for any inaccuracy as information can go out of date very quickly. This page gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law. With regard to suggested weblinks given in this reply please note that Lancashire County Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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