The terms 'good practice guidance' and 'non-statutory guidance' describe materials published by the Government that do not have a statutory status. This guidance sets out how to turn legislation and policy into practice and is often based on the latest research and evidence available.

Guidance on commissioning

A large number of guidance documents on commissioning have been published by the Government in recent years. A selection of key documents can be accessed below:

Good practice guidance

These documents give practical advice on how to implement policy. They are usually based on research and evidence from practice about what works.

• Joint Planning and Commissioning Framework (2006) outlines a framework and shows how the Government would like to shape the planning and commissioning of services within Children's Trusts.
• Commissioning framework for health and well-being (2007). Part of the ‘Our Health, Our Care, Our Say’ White Paper, this document sets out the commissioning framework for health and well-being.
• World class commissioning sets out a detailed framework for commissioning health and care services. The four key elements to the programme are: a vision for world class commissioning; a set of world class commissioning competencies; an assurance system; and a support and development framework.
• Effective practice in commissioning in children's services (2007) identifies common commissioning factors that lead to better outcomes and more effective practice.
• Delivering better children's services through better market development (2007) outlines techniques and issues which may be of interest to commissioners as they develop markets in their local areas.
• Learning from experience: Schools commissioning by local authorities (2008) draws on the experiences of a number of local authorities to help others in their role as strategic commissioners of school places and school services.

Commissioning tools

Practical tools which support specific elements of the commissioning task include:

• Industry techniques and inspiration for commissioners (2006) summarises a number of techniques and approaches that have been developed in the private sector and that may have the potential for being applied to the tasks faced by Children's Trusts.
• Data Sources for Commissioners for children, young people and maternity services (2006) brings together many of the sources of data that commissioners may wish to access.
• Assessing Engagement with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) (2008) a mini self-evaluation toolkit focusing on the commissioning of children’s services to enable evaluation of the level of engagement of the VCS in all aspects of local area children’s services.
• ‘Hear by right’ What’s Changed Tool (2007) works as an aid to record the most important evidence of change - the experience of the children and young people themselves.
• Parental Engagement in Schools Commissioning (Hedron for DCSF) 2008
• School Commissioning Data Management Project (Steria for DCSF) 2008
• Local Authority Market for School Providers (DTW for DCSF)

Practical considerations when using good practice guidance

Good practice guidance can help commissioners as they go about developing and implementing local strategies. You will want to ensure that your own approach, while informed by guidance, also responds to local need and integrates with existing structures and frameworks.

Guidance is emerging all the time, so keep up-to-date with the latest releases and allow some local flexibility to take account of the latest evidence or learning.