There are several key pieces of policy and legislation that govern commissioning in children’s services. The green paper, Every Child Matters sets out the vision of how children’s services in England should operate. This was underpinned by the Children Act 2004, providing the legislative framework for children’s services, including commissioning activity. Following these initial policy documents, several new strategies, policy papers and guidance documents have been issued. These include:

• World Class Commissioning (Department of Health, 2007)
• Joint Planning and Commissioning Framework (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2006)

For more information about the key policies and legislation, see the policy aims and priorities, or legislation pages.

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Click on one of the themes  below to take you to a list of all policy and legislation documents under that theme.

 Schools                            Child health

 CAMHS                             14-19

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All policy and legislation documents:

• Care Matters: Time to deliver for children in care (820 KB)

  This White Paper was published in 2007 and sets out government proposals to improve outcomes for looked after children and young people. It addresses corporate parenting, health, education and social work practice as well as better commissioning of looked after children’s services to improve placement choice and stability.

• PSA Delivery Agreement 11: Narrow the gap in educational achievement between children from low income and disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers (483 KB)

  This includes includes a focus on improving the educational achievement of looked after children at Key Stages 2 and 4.

• PSA Delivery Agreement 12: Improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people (351 KB)

  This includes a focus on improving the emotional health of children in care.

• PSA Delivery Agreement 13: Improve children and young people’s safety (392 KB)

  This PSA includes a focus on reducing the proportion of children with three different care placements per year and on improving long term stability of care placements

• Children's Trust Statutory Guidance on Interagency Cooperation to improve wellbeing of CYP and their families (558 KB)

  This guidance on the duty to cooperate (section 10 of the Children Act 2004), provides the underpinning framework for Children's Trusts.

• PSA Delivery Agreement 16: Increase the proportion of socially excluded adults in settled accommodation and employment and employment, education or training (364 KB)

  This PSA addresses the needs of four groups, one of which is care leavers. It focuses on improving their participation in education, employment and training, and the suitability of their accommodation.

• National Indicators for Local Authorities and Local Authority Partnerships: Handbook of Definitions (424 KB)

  This set of 198 national indicators underpins the series of public service agreements (PSAs) for English local authorities and local authority partnerships. Local authorities and PCTs use the indicators to specify local priorities, as set out in the local comprehensive area assessment (CAA).

• Looked after children: House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee (692 KB)

  An in-depth select committee report from 2009 which scrutinises the Care Matters proposals. It draws on oral and written evidence from looked after children and young people as well as a range of policymakers, managers, practitioners and providers in children’s social care. Chapter 4 of the report considers commissioning issues in the context of placement supply.

• The Oneplace National Overview report (4.62 MB)

  The Oneplace National Overview report looks across the whole range of local public services and complements local reporting through Oneplace. This report, has information on Comprehensive Area Assessment, or CAA, it covers what helps and hinders improvement in local public services, to guide national and local policy makers; and provides information for local leaders and highlights examples of how their peers have overcome some of the common challenges that they face.

• Giving children a healthy start: review of health improvements in children from birth to five years (3.1 MB)

  In February 2010, the Audit Commission has issued a report on the local implementation of national policy from 1999 to 2009 on the health of children from birth to five years of age in England. The report found that recent increased focus and funding for early years has not produced widespread improvements in health outcomes. Indeed some health indicators have worsened – for example, obesity and dental health –and the health inequalities gap between rich and poor has barely changed.