A collaboration of London boroughs beyond political boundaries establishes better, lower-cost special educational needs services.
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS IN LONDON
With more than 380,000 inhabitants, the South London Borough of Croydon is London’s most populous. In September 2013, Croydon launched the South London Commissioning Programme, to drive fundamental change in the way boroughs in South London commission and deliver Special Educational Needs (SEN) services.
child-focused, efficient services
The aim is to work beyond borough and political boundaries towards a common goal – achieving the best outcomes for children with SEN, delivered in the most efficient way. Initially launched with four boroughs, the partnership now extends to ten boroughs, has worked with four County Councils and one City Council, and is sharing good practice across the country. Its collaborative work has saved the participating London boroughs over GBP 4 million and provided an average return on investment of 1,700%.
A TRANSPARENT SYSTEM DELIVERS QUALITY
Through proactive thinking, collaboration, and engagement of users and agencies, the boroughs now have a system in place that manages quality and cost, is sustainable and transparent, and uses technology to help find and manage the delivery of services for children with SEN.
