By Julian Rose

I want to share the journey that led me from quietly trusting the financial systems behind children’s services to actively challenging them. It’s a story about what happens when public funding shrinks, private profit steps in, and vulnerable children fall through the cracks. More importantly, it’s about how that realisation sparked the creation of a new, fairer model for accessing therapeutic support for this and the next generation—one that puts children first, respects professionals, and removes the middlemen.

Why Finance Wasn’t My Focus — Until It Had to Be

If I could graph the attention and interest I paid to funding and finance during my career in education, it would follow a trajectory that bumped along close to zero until I became a head teacher. Even then, if there was enough money to keep things running well, I was happy for that area of school management to reside largely with the bursar while I focused on children and staff.

That graph took a decided upturn when school budgets started shrinking after 2010 and went vertical in 2019 when I realised that it wasn’t just miserly government funding that was squeezing our offer to children and families. Some of our most vulnerable were falling victim to greedy agencies which filled the void in services left by local government cuts.

Among the children in my care, two siblings occupied significant headspace. They had experienced significant loss and trauma. As well as the love and care, we could offer, they needed urgent and intensive therapeutic support. Because of the context and those needs, they were entitled to statutory funding, so a package was set up and a therapist began working with them. She was fantastic. With her support, the children began to make small but important steps in dealing with their life stories.

From Frustration to Action: A New Model Emerges

At the end of the Spring term, it became clear that funds were running low. There would be no new funding allocated until September, leaving the prospect of a four-month suspension in therapy. The therapist, by now a valued colleague and member of our school team, was as upset and concerned as we were. How could it be, that the pot was already empty?

We, and in this case, two children were the latest victims of outsourcing. The shrinkage in local authority services which followed the 2010 election saw agencies and, in some cases, charities taking on the role of providing and managing services to meet additional needs. Turns out, that this was a lucrative new business model for many. The therapist supporting our children was being paid less than £18 per hour. The agency through whom she was working charged us more than £60!

What Makes TAC Access Different?

Though we managed to scrape together the money to keep the therapy going, this realisation brought with it a very mixed set of emotions. Above all it made us angry. So when Ruth Simmonds, an old colleague and former parent at our school approached me with an idea for breaking this “Cartel” I didn’t have to think twice before joining her.

Ruth’s idea was to create an online platform specialising in therapists to meet the needs of children and young people by engaging directly with schools, colleges and parents rather than being mediated by agencies.

From the beginning, we were determined that the service should be free to users and that it should champion professionals- ensuring that they were properly paid for their expertise. We were also determined that children and young people should have a voice in choosing therapists which is why we ask professionals to include a video in the profiles we host.

Join the Movement: Help Us Put Children First

TAC Access now has more than 200 qualified and vetted therapists offering  services to more than 600 schools and colleges nationwide-online or face to face. True to its founding principles, the platform is free to its users and offers an end- to- end solution for finding, booking and hosting therapy.

In return for hosting their profiles, managing invoicing and payments and providing secure video conferencing facilities, therapists pay us a 6% fee for every session- usually between £2 and £3.

We specialise in mental health support but in the year ahead, we’ll be expanding our offer to include:

• Educational psychology;
• Speech and language therapy
• Occupational therapy.

Our experience showed us that when systems fail, we can build something better. TAC Access was born out of frustration—but it’s fuelled by hope, collaboration, and a commitment to doing right by children in this generation and the next, as well as those who care for them. If you’re a school leader, educator, parent, or therapist who shares that commitment, we’d love you to join us. Visit TAC Access to explore our platform, connect with qualified professionals, and be part of a growing movement that’s putting children’s needs back at the centre of support.

Thanks for reading!

Julian Rose

Co-founder, Head of Communications and On-boarding
A teacher, head and senior local authority leader of over 30 years’ experience, Julian built a career around child-centred learning where families and the community are both driving and supportive allies.

Ruth Simmonds

Co-founder and CYP Champion
An experienced educator, school governor, charity trustee and safeguarding trainer, Ruth brings over 25 years of energy and passion for improved outcomes across the full spectrum of education.

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