Project SEARCH

What Project SEARCH does

Project SEARCH is an employment-transition program operated within Cricket Green School, a state-funded special school and registered UK charity (No. 1144172) located in Mitcham, Surrey, within the London Borough of Merton. The program supports pupils aged 4-19 with special educational needs — including significant global learning difficulties, physical disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and language or social-emotional challenges — to move from education into paid employment through classroom preparation, job coaching, interview and workplace-behaviour training, travel training, and structured internships.

The program operates as a licensed participant in the national DFN Project Search initiative and partners with local employers to host work placements, giving students real-world settings in which to develop and demonstrate employability skills. Cricket Green School as a whole has been judged 'Outstanding' by Ofsted in four consecutive inspections (2010, 2013, 2017, 2023), and surrounds the program with an unusually broad ecosystem for a special school: occupational, speech and language, drama, and play therapies; a music school; the Orchard Café; a CPD/training school; and community partnerships including Mitcham Town Community Trust and Attain (Merton School Partnership).

Project SEARCH does not operate a commercial business model. It is a publicly funded, non-profit program with no pricing, no customers in the commercial sense, no revenue disclosure, and no technology product. Beneficiaries are referred through Merton SEN processes, and the program's reach is effectively bounded by a single commissioning borough, with the DFN affiliation providing optional national-network reach rather than an active expansion plan visible in the source data.

Name

Project SEARCH

Legal name

Cricket Green School

Website

https://cricketgreen.merton.sch.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Project SEARCH is a non-profit employment-transition program run by Cricket Green School in Merton, UK, preparing pupils aged 4-19 with special educational needs for paid work via job coaching, internships, and employer partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Education and Employment Transition Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Interagency Coordination & Case Management (VR, DD, Medicaid Waivers) (EDAKANAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Career Exploration & Job Shadowing Programs (EDAMAKAC), Internship/Apprenticeship Matching & Work-Based Learning Platforms (EDAFAMAL), Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN)

Keywords

• Special education transition
• Vocational training programs
• Disability employment services
• Work experience placements
• Employment coaching

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Project SEARCH is an employment-focused transition program operated within Cricket Green School that prepares students with special educational needs for paid employment. The program combines classroom-based employment preparation with real-world work experience placements at partner employer sites, supported by job coaching, interview preparation, workplace behavior training, and travel training. It is licensed through the DFN Project Search national initiative and is open to learners aged 4-19 with conditions including significant global learning difficulties, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and social/emotional challenges.

Product overview

Project SEARCH is an employment program and venture run by Cricket Green School to prepare students with special educational needs for work and help them transition into employment. The program provides job coaching, work experience placements, and support for young people with additional needs to find and maintain employment. It is not a technology product or software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Project SEARCH Transition Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple students have achieved employment outcomes following participation in Project SEARCH and work experience programs

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DFN Project SearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject SEARCH is affiliated with the DFN (Deborah Frances Daniels and Neil) Project Search national program, which supports young people with learning disabilities and autism to find meaningful employment through structured internship programs. Cricket Green School is a licensed participant in this program.
• Local Employers (various)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject SEARCH partners with local employers to provide work placement opportunities for students. Employers host students for internships and work experience, providing real-world employment settings where students can develop job skills and demonstrate their capabilities.
• Mitcham Town Community TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership supporting broader school initiatives and community integration for students with special educational needs.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• United Response: UK charity providing supported employment and personal development services for people with learning disabilities and autism. Comparable supported-employment model and target beneficiary cohort.
• Ambitious about Autism: UK charity running specialist education settings and employment preparation programs for children and young people with autism. Directly comparable as a charity-sector provider of education-to-employment transition pathways for autistic learners.
• Hft (learning disability): UK charity supporting people with learning disabilities, including employment support and transition services. Comparable as a specialist-sector provider focused on learning-disability employment outcomes.

Broad incumbents

• Mencap: Leading UK learning disability charity providing supported employment, education, and transition services. Comparable in serving the same beneficiary population with focus on employment outcomes for people with learning disabilities.
• National Autistic Society: Large UK charity serving people with autism, including post-16 education and employment support services. Comparable target population and overlapping employment-transition mission for young people with autism and learning disabilities.
• DFN Project Search: The national umbrella program of which Project SEARCH at Cricket Green is a licensed site. Directly comparable as both deliver structured internship-based transition-to-employment programs for young people with learning disabilities and autism across the UK.

Others

• NASEN: UK membership organisation for SEND professionals, providing training, resources, and policy advocacy. Comparable ecosystem participant supporting the broader special-education and transition-to-employment infrastructure in which Project SEARCH operates.

Regional players

• The Children's Trust: UK charity providing specialist education and rehabilitation for children with complex needs including brain injuries and neurodisability. Comparable as a specialist SEN provider with rehabilitation-to-independence focus, though serving a more medical-needs cohort.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cricketgreensch
• YouTubeyoutu.be/D1Lrr8v1GN4
• Facebookfacebook.com/cricketgreenschool
• Instagraminstagram.com/cgs_arts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/project-search

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Project SEARCH