Stockton-on-Tees Local Area SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy 2025 to 2030

Commissioning is the process of identifying the needs of an individual or community and planning services to meet those needs. As this is a continuous process it is known as the commissioning cycle.

Joint Commissioning is where the assessment of need and planning of services is undertaken by two or more agencies working together. The purpose of joint commissioning for Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is to ensure the best possible response to a child's or young person's needs.

Joint Commissioning can reduce unnecessary duplication of, or barriers between provision and the development of more efficient and cost-effective service provision. Through working together and joint decision-making processes, Joint Commissioning can support early identification of needs, prevention and outcome focused service delivery and improve the experiences of services that children, young people and their families have. In Stockton-on-Tees the local area partnership works together across the commissioning cycle to assess need, review and plan services, both on an individual and strategic level.

The local area partnership has worked together to produce our Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) for Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND), which considers the needs of children and young people aged 0 to 25 years with SEND, and sets out the key themes and priorities for the local area, which underpin all areas of our strategy. Our approach to Joint Commissioning supports us as a local partnership to:

• make decisions based on a clear understanding of need and rationale for improving outcomes
• develop and support integrated approaches to service provision
• work towards simplified funding streams where it brings added benefit across partners via pooled or aligned budgets
• be committed to prevention, early identification and intervention