Case studies are drawn from across different local areas provide you with practical examples of how effective commissioning benefits children. The case studies reflect current good practice based on real situations and cover different service areas, geographical areas, levels of commissioning and types of problem.

Browse by theme

Click on one of the themes below to take you to a list of all case studies related to that theme.

 Schools                            Child Health

 CAMHS                             14-19

All case studies:

• Next Practice in System Leadership – 3E’s Coalition of schools. (39 KB)

  3Es is a coalition of six secondary schools in the Midlands and Surrey, formed to implement and further develop the 3Es ethos; a set of beliefs and practices designed to address long term underachievement. Previously failing or underachieving participating schools, report a 20 – 30% improvement in student achievement during the period of their involvement.

• Addressing non-attendance to school with one family (Trafford) (27 KB)

  A single mother had been prosecuted several times for her children’s non-attendance at school, and her secondary-school age daughter was behind her peers in literacy, numeracy and social skills. Although the mother was co-operative and had good relationships with her two children, the different agencies had failed to make any difference.

• Addressing the Needs of a Teenage Girl (Bournemouth) (27 KB)

  A 16-year-old girl living with her older brother and her divorced mother was experiencing suicidal thoughts. She was in a very low mood, had problems with her body image and had been losing weight rapidly. Although she was a high achiever, she did not know what she wanted to do and needed some career advice.

• Addressing the needs of a teenage girl (Bournemouth) (27 KB)

  A 16-year-old girl living with her older brother and her divorced mother was experiencing suicidal thoughts. She was in a very low mood, had problems with her body image and had been losing weight rapidly. Although she was a high achiever, she did not know what she wanted to do and needed some career advice.

• Aiming high for disabled children: Commissioning short breaks services (Nottingham City) (66 KB)

  To implement the Aiming High for Disabled Children (AHDC) agenda and improve the delivery of short breaks, Nottingham City appointed a project manager and drew up a participation strategy. The city commissioned the Parent Partnership Service to work with parents and carers. This led to the Nottingham City Parents and Carers Forum being developed. This parents’ forum is now managed by Barnardos. The city also commissioned Barnardos to set up a children’s forum known as the ‘Aiming High Special Peoples Group’ to consult with children and young people about their wishes for short breaks. Alongside the Parents and Carers Forum, Nottingham City also set up a Parents and Carers Shadow Board and a multi-agency AHDC steering group.

• Next Practice in System Leadership – Remaking Learning in Barnsley (35 KB)

  'Remaking Learning' is an Authority wide programme aimed at transforming lifelong learning in Barnsley using phase three of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) as a catalyst. In the programme, provision in both the primary and secondary phases is being rationalised to create new Primary Learning Centres and Advanced Learning Centres. These will make a new and extended offer to the communities they serve by providing improved access to a range of services including education.

• Driving up performance through better commissioning (Bedfordshire) (665 KB)

  Bedfordshire developed a commissioning strategy to focus resources on earlier assessment, intervention and family support. Commissioning capacity was expanded, finance redistributed, new systems and structures created, and choice and sustainability developed. Real benefits emerge with improved outcomes for children, young people and their families. Numbers of children in care and out of county placements were significantly reduced. Social care moved on from special measures to becoming a leading-edge commissioning service.

• Co-located Services Toolkit: Benefits of and opportunities for co-located service provision (46 KB)

  Experience of public service providers so far indicates that co-located services provision can bring a range of benefits and opportunities. These benefits and opportunities can arise for several diverse stakeholders.

• Next Practice in System Leadership – Biddenham Queen’s Park (35 KB)

  Biddenham Queens Park (BQP) is an informal collaboration of three schools serving a multi cultural and relatively deprived community on the outskirts of Bedford. The three schools work together with the children’s centre to offer a range of services, including education.The vision that unites BQP is a desire to bring coherence to the experiences of pupils and families in the locality, working together to try to help families to overcome significant barriers.

• Getting a Better Deal – Assessing Unit Cost and Engaging with the Market (Blackpool) (251 KB)

  Blackpool faced rising overspend on the costs of residential placements for children. This case study shows how the authority achieved annual savings of 400k by analysing its residential care provider market to establish a unit cost and changing the way it engaged with providers to establish longer-term relationships with them and renegotiate prices on the basis of the unit cost.