Childrens Services Case Studies

Purchasing Services for Looked After Children and Children with Complex Needs

Bath and North East Somerset Unitary Authority conducts a review of purchasing of services for Looked After Children and Children with Complex Needs.

Peninsula Tendering - The First Year

A sub-regional collaborative commissioning process for children in care in the South West is making substantial savings whilst improving quality, choice and outcomes for young people.

Achieving Better Value by evolving Collaborative Commissioning in Childrens Services

A Collaborative Commissioning Support Unit (CCSU) for Children’s Services in the South West is enabling local authorities to work together to achieve value for money and quality from providers. A pilot project has already led to savings of more than £500,000 for two local authorities.

Foster care tendering

Bristol City Council has introduced a new tendering scheme with independent fostering agencies and providers to formalise the purchasing of care placements for children. The aim is to reduce spot purchasing and costs while, at the same time, building positive ongoing relationships with a select group of providers to improve care.

Changing Childrens Services

Bournemouth’s decision to apply a whole system approach to reviewing Children in Care services has led to a reduction in the number of children in care from 204 in 2003 to 150 in 2007. There has also been marked improvement in the outcomes for children in care. This has been achieved by adopting an approach which shifts resources from acute to family/preventative services - as promoted by the Audit Commission’s: ‘Making Ends Meet’.

South West Better Placement Commissioning Case Study (Devon/Peninsula Project) (4.02 mb)

A sub-regional commissioning process is being set up across three local areas for children in care placements. The process is based on a tried and tested method developed in Devon that is already saving money and improving outcomes.

Useful links to other case studies