ABSTRACT
Support services, by their very name, must now be seen to be in the 'market place' and therefore notice must be taken of several of the key stall holders in that market, such as the local education authorities (L.E.A.), the support service itself, the school, the parent and the most important consumer — the pupil. The reorganisation of support services under an area special school operating an outreach provision in a cost-effective manner is an option which is favoured by some. The logical extension of this approach could to be to gather together all the support services in the L.E.A. under one manager, e.g. customer services, thereby reducing separate provision and the related overhead costs. Several items of harsh fact should be faced in the beginning of support service audit but once that process is underway the realisation of what a quality service can offer begins to emerge and a 'value for money service' can be established.
