Project Description

Boroughs within South London are spot purchasing residential care placements in a large and varied market, with limited resources to manage the market, analyse data and jointly consider sufficiency.

The South London Commissioning Programme was established to provide the opportunity for children and young people to reach their potential in a safe, caring and secure environment. Through the Children Looked After Project it is developing outcomes-based commissioning and standardising best practice for looked after children across south London, informed by data analysis and with a focus on residential care placements.

The programme brings together twelve boroughs in south London: Merton, Lewisham, Bexley, Sutton, Croydon, Kingston, Richmond, Bromley, Wandsworth, Greenwich, Lambeth and Southwark. Together, they are developing a regional approach to commissioning that is integrated, informed by data analysis and intends to achieve efficiency savings, while concurrently creating a culture change that will establish the necessary environment for an alternative way of working. A jointly developed commissioning solution will be implemented to efficiently commission value-for-money placements, delivering the best outcomes for looked after children. A central feature of the commissioning solution will be an ICT platform which will facilitate improved market engagement and decision-making in the commissioning process.

Evaluation

DfE funded independent evaluation will be published in 2020.