The Challenging Behaviour* Strategy is a commissioning plan for services in Gloucestershire to support individuals of all ages and disabilities who exhibit challenging behaviour.

Local evidence indicates that outcomes for people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviours are frequently poor. Too often, children and adolescents ended up being excluded from special schools. While the individual was sent to a residential out-of-area school, family members experienced significant stress and difficulty. The individual's return to the community was difficult, with placement breakdown (i.e. frequent moves) and eventual placement in an inpatient assessment and treatment unit (i.e. residential care). This frequently resulted in the medicalization of the individuals' issues, a "label" about them being very complex and challenging, extremely expensive care packages, and limited outcomes in terms of community inclusion.

To try to prevent this trend, the Clinical Commissioning Group* and the County Council collaborated with families and service users to coproduce, pilot, and then implement a solution. The strategy (and its now-commissioned components) encompasses the entire county. The main takeaways are: co-production yields better results; The experts are those who use services; Successful co-production is less about skills and expertise (professionalising participation and turning it into an industry, or producing accessible documents, is a waste of time), and more about the values and ethos of those driving the agenda.

Project aim: To improve outcomes for students with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour by:

• Preventing isolation/exclusion from school

• Placement in a special school, an inpatient unit, or a residential facility
• Assisting families in overcoming stress and difficulties