Healthy Child Programme from 5 to 19 years old

The Healthy Child Programme (HCP) from 5 to 19 year olds sets out the recommended framework of universal and progressive services for children and young people to promote optimal health and wellbeing. It outlines suggested roles and responsibilities for commissioners, health, education, local authority and other partners to encourage the development of high-quality services. As the Operating framework for the NHS in England 2009/10 sets out, PCTs will want to review the transparency of their service offer in line with Healthy lives, brighter futures and local priorities, and this may include the HCP.

Published October 2009, 97 pages

Improving access to child and adolescent mental health services

This joint DH/DCSF guide states how the 18 weeks referral to treatment standard, (NHS Operating Framework for 2009/10) applies to non-emergency consultant-led CAMHS services and pathways. This guide does not set any new standards or targets. It shows how accessible low-wait CAMHS can be achieved and provides good practice examples.

Published August 2009, 36 pages

Aiming high for disabled children: delivering improved health services

Providing effective health services for disabled children will improve outcomes for them and their families, ensure the child receives the best quality of care and provide better value for money. This report examines best practice around the country. It draws on examples of services for disabled children that meet users’ needs, respond to the government agenda and are effective from both a quality and a cost point of view.

Published September 2009, 20 pages

Invitation to become a commissioning pathfinder

The Department for Health is seeking applications to support world class commissioning for children and young people with speech, language and communications needs. (SLCN) As part of a wider programme of work around SLCN, applications are sought for commissioning pathfinders to test ways of improving how these services are commissioned and the outcomes for children and young people using them. Pathfinder selection will involve a two stage process. Stage one will comprise 2 bidder workshops on 14 April 2009 in London and 28 April 2009 in Birmingham. Written applications should be submitted by 18 May 2009. Stage two will involve a review of the applications, at national and regional level, with an announcement by mid-July 2009.

March 2009

Commissioning weight management services for children and young people

This guide has been developed to support local areas in commissioning weight management services for children and young people. It is designed to reflect the move towards world class commissioning and joint commissioning of children’s services, and complement the existing suite of Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives publications.

It will also support commissioners towards achieving the world class commissioning competencies.

(Published November 2008, 114 pages)

Targeted Mental Health in Schools Project

This guide supports the strategic integration of all agencies involved in the delivery of child and adolescent mental health services (including schools) so that they can work together to deliver flexible, responsive and effective early intervention mental health services. It is for everyone involved in deciding which services to deliver in their Targeted Mental Health in Schools (TaMHS) pathfinder project, including headteachers, commissioners in the local authority and primary care trust (PCT) and TaMHS project managers.

(Published November 2008, 104 pages)

Mental Health Act Briefing: Children & Young People

As of November 3 2008, PCT and children’s trust commissioners will need to be aware that they have a new legal duty under sections 39 and 140 of the Mental Health Act 2007 to inform the courts and local authorities where beds and facilities for under 18 year olds have been (or could be) commissioned. Children under the age of 16 should not be placed on adult wards at all by December 1.

Improving outcomes in children and young people with cancer

Letter containing the document Key messages for commissioners of cancer services for teenagers and young adults, developed by the National Cancer Action Team (with advice and support from an expert working group) at the request of the Children and Young People Improving Outcomes Guidance (CYPIOG) Advisory Group to support the implementation of National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance, Improving outcomes for children and young people with cancer.

Published September 2008, 13 pages

Commissioning Safe and Sustainable Specialised Paediatric Services

This report provides a unique approach to the commissioning of specialised paediatric services. The results will be of particular interest to those involved in commissioning or delivering specialised paediatric services, but it has broader implications. It provides for the first time a clinically agreed system for representing the nature of the relationships between specialised services. It sets out which services need to be delivered from the same location and which do not. This will be of real significance to anyone assessing the configuration of paediatric services and indeed any services that relate to them - both wider children’s services and services to adults.

Published September 2008, 36 pages

Transforming services for children with hearing difficulty and their families: a good practice guide

Further to the publication of ‘Improving Access to Audiology Services in England’ in March 2007, this document provides good practice and evidence to help commissioners and service providers to make changes to the way that paediatric hearing services are delivered, and in particular to reduce waits for patients with the most common hearing difficulties.

Published September 2008, 47 pages

A practical guide to commissioning children’s palliative care education and training: consultation document

The purpose of this document is to support commissioners in their work with local service providers and education providers as they develop workforce plans to ensure the development of children’s palliative care services. In commissioning for quality and choice, there are likely to be a diverse range of potential services and a mix of approaches to provide palliative care services for children and their families. This document aims to provide a framework in accordance with the Children's Workforce Development Strategy to ensure a workforce to provide children's palliative care that:

• Is competent and confident;
• People aspire to be part of and want to remain working for
• Develop skills and builds satisfying and rewarding careers; and is recognised and transferable in all locations they work
• Children, young people, parents and carers trust and respect.

(Published June 2008, 22 pages)

Updated Child Health Promotion Programme

The new updated Child Health Promotion Programme (CHPP): 'Pregnancy and the first five years of life' has been launched. It builds on the NSF that was published in 2004 and is intended to provide services tailored to the individual needs of children and families, acting as a best practice guide for health and social services.

The CHPP is a valuable tool for supporting Commissioners to meet obligations on breastfeeding, obesity prevention, infant mortality and the 12-week antenatal assessment. This high quality programme will help meet these vital requirements, but also help to improve general health and well-being among children and families in our communities.

(Published March 2008, 80 pages)

Valuing People’s Oral Health

Best practice guidance to improve oral health in disabled children and adults. This document builds on the principles within Choosing Better Oral Health and uses the evidence-based approach within Delivering Better Oral Health as a guide to assist all who provide and commission dental services for people with disabilities.

(Published November 2007, 53 pages)

Debates and dilemmas; commissioning children and young people

This briefing bulletin will help directors of children’s services and senior managers with lead responsibility for strategic commissioning to improve outcome for children and young people by developing more robust commissioning arrangements. The briefing is informed by a study seminar sponsored by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and Research in Practice (RiP). Discussion at the seminar was wide ranging; it provided a rich source of information and practical suggestions. The seminar confirmed that strategic commissioning is a complex process and that directors of children’s services need to play a lead role in championing new approaches. Commissioning must focus on outcomes – and this is a different and challenging way of designing and performance-managing services.

(Published July 2007, 20 pages)

Commissioning health care services for children and young people: increasing nurses’ influence

This guidance provides assistance in influencing the commissioning process for nurses who manage and lead children’s and young people’s services. As children’s nurses, it is our professional duty to monitor the quality of services provided to children and their families and influence processes for service enhancements. Commissioning processes are continually evolving, and this document will provide information and support to help you influence the development of effective, efficient and appropriate high quality services for your area.

(Published May 2004, 20 pages)

Commissioning children's services and the role of the voluntary and community sector

The Laming Inquiry, followed by the publication of Every Child Matters, heralded the start of a debate that would bring about the most significant changes to the provision of Children’s Services for a generation. This document seeks to bring together core principles and challenges, as well as evidence of good practice. We hope it will help professionals in all sectors to share a common understanding of commissioning and the role of voluntary sector plays at the moment and has the potential to play in the future, as we progress our shared goal of improving children’s outcomes.

(Published 2004, 35 pages)

Joint planning and commissioning framework for children, young people and maternity services

The framework aims to help local planners and commissioners to design a unified system in each local area which will create a clear picture of what children and young people need, will make the best use of resources, and will join up services so they provide better outcomes than they can on their own. The framework is designed for people working in all sectors of children, young people and maternity services including political leaders, senior management, planners, commissioners, providers, corporate procurement, finance, legal and other support staff, central and regional government officials.

(Published 2006, 36 pages)

Commissioning drug services for vulnerable young people

This self-assessment tool is designed to assist PCTs and their partners in assessing their knowledge and capability to commission children's and young people's services. It reflects the importance of effective partnerships in commissioning the integrated services, which are fundamental to the improved outcomes of services for children and young people.

(Published April 2007)

Fact file: joint commissioning of children's service

What will a shake-up of children's services mean for joint commissioning bodies? Amanda Reid provides an overview.

Care and Health Magazine, 2005 Suppl., (105) p. 17-18

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Children and Young People's Plan

The Children and Young People's Plan (CYPP) is an important element of the Every Child Matters reform programme. It has been a powerful force in driving forward better local integration of children's services and the development of local partnership arrangements.

A series of 12 papers that presents the findings from NFER’s analysis of Children and Young People’s Plans (CYPPs) were produced. Number 3 Commissioning and Resourcing in Children and Young People’s Plans sets out how aspects of commissioning and resources feature in CYPP and includes illustrative examples.