Behaviour and Education Support Teams (BESTs) are multi-agency teams, which bring together a range of professionals, working to support schools, families and children (aged 5 to 18) who present or are at risk of developing emotional, behavioural and/or attendance problems. Teams include professionals from the fields of education, social care, health and other. The focus of BEST work is identification, prevention and early intervention, to promote emotional well-being, positive behaviour and school attendance. In order to provide further evidence and understanding of the effectiveness of BESTs, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) was commissioned to undertake a two-stage evaluation. The initial stage of research entailed telephone interviews with 20 BEST coordinators/BIP managers, with a focus on operational features and associated issues. This was followed by fieldwork visits to a sample of 12 case-study BESTs (selected from the original 20) during which other team members and school representatives were interviewed. The evaluation sought to gather evidence of impact and factors which contributed towards the effectiveness of each BEST. In total 92 interviews were conducted for the second part of study. The report combines key findings from both stages of the evaluation. The evaluation pointed to the value-added contribution of BESTs (pooling of skills, streamlined referrals systems and holistic support). It is recognized that multi-agency teams are complex structures to set up and operate: evidence suggests that considerable groundwork had already been undertaken to ensure that the necessary foundations are in place for the teams to function effectively. Local authorities will need to consider how this initial development work can be built upon, in order to reap the benefits of the resources invested in BESTs so far. With the termination of dedicated funding in 2006, local areas will also need to consider how the working practices, impacts and ethos of BESTs can be perpetuated, for the benefit of children, families and schools. Four appendixes are included: (1) Research Aims and Questions; (2) LEA Information; (3) Overview of BEST Impact; (4) Factors which Affect the Development and Operation of BESTs. (Contains 4 footnotes, 1 figure and 7 tables.) [Produced by the Department for Education and Skills.]