Driving Smarter Solutions: Insights from Peopletoo’s Home to School Transport Analysis
Home to School Transport is one of the most pressing challenges facing local government today. Services are under immense pressure due to rising demand and inflationary increases, with national spending soaring by half a billion pounds over the past four years.
Are We Ready for School Readiness?
Developing independence, curiosity, and communication skills are fundamental to engender readiness for starting school, as well as navigating the challenges and complexities involved in support a child to grow.
One Society – Rethinking our Approach to SEND and DSG Challenges
Recent estimates of deficits in councils’ DSG budgets suggest that the challenges faced by SEND services in balancing their books are becoming increasingly difficult. It is now not unusual to see projected deficits, based on a trend analysis if a council were to “do nothing”, reaching over £200 million by 2029/30.
Children’s Commissioning – it’s time to commit
Commissioning: understand, plan, do, review. It sounds simple – understand need, plan what to do to meet the needs, execute the plan and then make sure its working. What could go wrong?
‘Hard to Reach’ Groups & Partnership Working
The national policy landscape is in flux: the introduction of Family Hubs, the SEND and AP Improvement Plan, and the new children’s social care strategy, Stable Homes, Built on Love, all demand a shift in approach towards even greater family-focused working.
Whole-system solutions to supporting children with SEND
The national system of support for children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is in crisis.
Home to School Transport – A focus on inclusion
In our blogs in recent weeks, we have highlighted a recent report the increasing cost of Home to School Transport which showed a rise of 50% over the 4 years from 2019 to 2023, from c£1.08bn to c£1.5bn.
DPS or Framework
In the second of two blogs, we consider that, after reviewing the current operations and looking to maximise the existing contract, what factors a Council should consider when choosing between a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) and Framework.
Home to School Transport – Contract Management
The sympathetic words, the slightly pitying gaze, and the feelings of understanding which passes from one officer to the other.
The public/private parentship and the value it can bring
It’s been two weeks in my new post within Peopletoo as a Service Director, so what are my reflections?