Purpose

Approval to appoint LSEC as the preferred provider to operate the new Transition Learning Centre (TLC) for young people aged 19-25 with EHCP and award a one-off Pre-Development Grant of c.£219k and annual operational grant of c.£1.75m for 25 years following a competitive grant award process in which LSEC achieved the highest overall score.

Decision

1. Noted that, on 19 November 2025, Cabinet delegated authority to the Director of Place and Growth, Director of Legal and Democratic Services, Director of Children’s Services, and Director of Health and Adult Services to negotiate and agree the terms of all necessary agreements, including the lease and/or the contract with the appointed provider, to enable the delivery of the new Transition Learning Centre (TLC) at 77 Bexley Road, SE9.
2. Noted that, although authority was previously delegated by Cabinet and/or under the Council’s scheme of delegation to officers to negotiate and agree the terms of the necessary agreements for the delivery of the TLC, all executive functions are vested in the Leader. The Leader has determined to exercise the relevant executive decision-making functions personally in relation to the appointment of the provider, the award of grant funding and the approval of the grant of the lease. Any existing officer delegations will continue to apply only to the negotiation, finalisation and completion of the relevant agreements required to give effect to these decisions.
3. Approved the appointment of London South East Colleges (LSEC) as the selected provider for the TLC. This is following the outcome of the provider competition grant award process, in which LSEC achieved the highest overall score in accordance with the published evaluation criteria set out in the Guidance and Specification document in Appendix 1.
4. Further to paragraphs 1 to 3 above and subject to the detailed terms of the Grant Agreement to be negotiated and agreed between Royal Borough of Greenwich (RBG) and LSEC, approved the award of the following grants to LSEC as the appointed provider for the TLC:

·        Maximum annual operational grant of £1,747,890 for a period of 25 years; and

·        One-off Pre-Opening Development Grant (PDG) of £218,750,

1. Delegated to the Director of Children’s Services in consultation with the Director of Health and Adult Services, Director of Finance and Director of Legal Services, the authority to negotiate and vary the terms of the Grant Agreement in accordance with any future requirements to ensure value for money and continued quality provision delivery, including any required inflationary grant payment adjustments and potential future revisions to the SEND banding framework.
2. Approved the grant of a lease of the TLC premises to LSEC for a term co?terminus with the Funding Agreement, subject to the detailed terms to be finalised in accordance with the Heads of Terms set out in Appendix 3.