Cost were rising

'You do what at the weekend!' Fostering independence

Insourcing an outsourced service

Outcomes of an improved system are happy service users

This is the story of how Stockport Council’s special education needs (SEN) transport service underwent a revolution in provision. It is a lesson in how a service can transform itself by understanding service users better, studying work and changing the thinking of everyone involved in the system. Their change in thinking has led to a service redesigned against demand. Not a single shared service centre, back-office or expensive self-service IT system in sight. In fact, counter to a national story, Stockport in-sourced a previously outsourced service (yes INSOURCED). The redesign has led to users singing praises for the new service and costs are decreasing. Ian Donegani Head of SEN transport tells me their story.

Special educational needs travel is a legal duty for councils to transport young people who meet needs criteria (e.g. autism, disabilities, social behavioural problems, etc) that make it difficult to travel to and from school independently. They must also meet distance criteria to be eligible. Once it was agreed that a child met the criteria their details were forwarded to an outsourced company to organise and provide taxis. There had been concern about the service for some time, costs were increasing every year and previous policy reviews and best value improvement plans had little or no impact. Before check Ian spent his time managing policies and budgets. Generally, no news was good news. Ian says that no matter the number of meetings held in ‘darkened rooms’, little improvement occurred. Vanguard had helped Stockport’s ICT service to improve (Computer says no! rethinking support services at Stockport Council) and it was therefore suggested that  this different approach might solve their problems.

The Vanguard Method begins by defining the purpose of the service from the customer’s perspective. Initial attempts at identifying the purpose often change as more is learnt about the system and the early definitions ran to half a side of A4. The process of ‘Check’ then moves to a thorough study of demand and ‘how the work works’. It is often a challenging experience for leaders. Being in the work means literally that, being in service users’ homes or being with workmen in the street. It requires us to see, touch and feel work rather than assume what is happening. It reconnects our assumptions with the reality of other people’s experiences. It can provide serious ‘light bulb’ moments. 

Fig. 1. Vanguard model for check

Following work through the system revealed some problems very quickly. Ian discovered that the decision to outsource the service had been taken in the belief that value for money is best delivered by a private sector company. In reality the move to outsource had fragmented this system, leading to duplication in IT which in turn increased the likelihood of errors.

The biggest shock for Ian was speaking to the children who actually used the service. The encounter with one child had a powerful  effect upon Ian. The girl first of all rebutted the title ‘special’, declaring that just because she was disabled did not mean that she was special (as in ‘special educational needs’). Secondly, she declared that at the weekend she used the bus and would prefer to travel to school with her friends during the week. It was an epiphany that caused Ian to begin to re-assess the purpose of the SEN travel service. The council were providing taxis for children for up-to 10 years of their life. This child took the bus at weekends. If she could use the bus, was the policy of providing taxis the right one? 

The second discovery was in discussion with a headmaster at a special needs school. He knew that if the children were able to independently travel to school it would have a positive impact upon their ability to learn. The impact of this insight was hammered home when Ian found that 13 out of 14 children who were about to stop receiving the service were not able to travel independently. What would they do if they had no ability to travel independently? The purpose of this service had been turned upon its head. The purpose was not just to provide a taxi: it was becoming clear that the service should foster independence where possible. Ian states that previously the statement of need ‘triggered the provision of transport and there was never any attempt at understanding the abilities of the children.’ It was a dramatic re-orientation of the system. 

The subsequent redesign of the service has removed the organisational split by in-sourcing the service. It was clear that ‘it wasn’t possible to run the service well as a commissioner passing details and information to an external contractor.’ This enabled Stockport to redesign end-to-end, removing duplication and error found in the previous system. Parents now deal with one person instead of multiple contacts. Now children who meet the criteria are assessed to understand what capability they have to enhance independence. Assessment includes the needs of the parents and not just the children. A taxi is now not the first option and many children just need a bus pass (others have required different solutions). Sometimes children need training to help them travel independently. To this end Stockport have brought-in the services of a local charity to assist with travel training for their children. People working in the service are now experimenting all of the time to find new ways of helping and improving the system for the children. The impact of these changes for those children assessed in the new system has been immediate (although not all children receive this service as yet). 

Parents have come forward to tell Ian and his team how this new system has been ‘life-changing’ for their children. Children who are able to become more independent no longer need the same level of support and are on their way to becoming independent adults. Individual cases already evidence savings of £20,000. Not all children can be helped to travel independently and some are too young for it to be clear now. Some will require significant support throughout their lives. Currently 227 out of the 344 children assessed to date have the potential for independent travel. Now that is radical change.