Every Child Deserves To Thrive.
EFWS exists for one reason, and one reason only: every child deserves the support they need to thrive, no matter how complex their challenges.
We provide a community-based education service for children, young people and their families.
What makes us different? We don’t just tutor. We transform.
About Us
We provide community-based education tutoring and holistic support for children, young people, and families navigating complex needs within the education system.
Our strength-based, co-production approach recognizes that domestic abuse, poverty, adverse childhood experiences, racism, and trauma profoundly impact development and wellbeing.
We work alongside families to break negative cycles and create pathways to empowerment and belonging.
Our Approach
Engagement
Through a student-centred therapeutic model that draws upon coaching and choice, reflective practice, co-production and positive affirmation.
Enablement
An integrated approach to re-engaging young people with learning and their community through authentic dialogue and enhancing knowledge, skills, and understanding.
Empowerment
Through exposure to greater choice, enhanced self-regulation, understanding of themselves, and their experience. We celebrate empowerment.
What Can We Help With?
We work in a multi-disciplinary way and are committed to innovative, evidence-based research and practice from the growing field of trauma informed attachment, neuroscience and social justice models. We have specialist safeguarding and contextual safeguarding senior strategic level expertise and experience.
Our service is set up to support children, young people and families with a range of multi interacting difficulties and disadvantages including:
Referral Assessment & Delivery Model
1. Referral & Assessment
Local Authority SEND commissioning team and we will then formulate a service level agreement. We will review the paperwork, draws out the strengths and barriers to learning for the student and family in an initial pen portrait. We will have a home visit with the family and student contact, which informs our planning meeting to design the Therapeutic Individual Education Plan (TIEP), staffing, risk assessment, and personalised time table in agreement with the family and SEND commissioner.
2. Deliver TIEP with Base Line Assessments & Progress Tracking
This includes daily monitoring of wellbeing, weekly tracking of progress e.g. academic, social and emotional, half termly review of provision, engagement and opportunities for joining group learning programmes.
3. Progress Reports
- Daily feedback to student
- Student reviews of TIEP and the group learning
- Parent/Carer review meetings
- Engagement with co-production activities
- Half term and termly progress reports against base line assessments and agreed expectations
- Review TIEP and set new objective for next term
- Regularly reporting to SEND commissioners
4. Family Empowerment & Student Leadership Activities
- Co-production initiatives
- Student Leadership programme
- Careers education, development, and independent advice
- Opportunity for family therapy
- Advocacy support
Who Are We?
Meet the team behind EFWS
Michael Wigington
Founding Director
Prior to setting up EFWS, Michael founded three recruitment businesses that currently have over 300 children's mental health clinicians working nationally. At 15, growing up in Dagenham, Essex, Michael was forced to leave school before completing his GCSEs due to his own mental health challenges. Michael is now passionate about helping young people to have better access to mental health and education support.
Valerie Dennis
Education Consultant
Valerie is a highly experienced headteacher, senior leader, and teacher with a commitment to inclusion and raising standards for all young people. She has developed a strong working knowledge of governance, strategic leadership, financial management, curriculum development, and improving education and wellbeing for young people.
Lianne Watson
Head Teacher
Lianne is an experienced education professional with 17 years’ experience spanning mainstream secondary education, hospital education, and specialist SEN settings. She began her career in mainstream secondary schools, developing strong practice in curriculum delivery, behaviour management, and inclusive teaching for diverse learners. She has extensive leadership experience within SEN and specialist schools, working with pupils with ASD, ADHD, SEMH, PDA, trauma-related needs, and other complex presentations.