The process
Commissioning in children's services takes a variety of forms, ranging from setting up a children's centre on behalf of the whole children's trust or helping a young person with a disability to access the services they need. The diverse and unique needs of a local population means every children's trust has to undertake "multi-level commissioning" to meet each level of services and the people likely to be using them. However, the process itself remains broadly the same across the four tiers of commissioning:
Regional commissioning happens when two or more children's trusts commission services jointly to meet the needs of a wider population. These might include provision such as secure units, placements for looked-after children and services for people with mental health problems. Regional commissioning is appropriate for services which are highcost, but low-incidence.
Strategic commissioning occurs at children's trust board level, by people such as directors of children's services, and others who have a designated or joint commissioning role. Commissioners must take a long-term view of what services are required, and what outcomes are expected to be achieved.
Operational commissioning focuses on a particular locality or group of children within a children's trust, for example, pupils who have special educational needs or are vulnerable and at risk of offending. The responsibility
for commissioning at this level rests with bodies such as multi-agency partnerships, school clusters or school improvement partnerships, or local GPs.
Individual commissioning involves providing services that offer an individually tailored package of support. Lead professionals who are budgetholders, usually of a relatively small sum of money, purchase services for an individual child or their family. These might include childcare, counselling or escorting the child to school.