Commissioning of children’s centres & extended services in schools in

HertfordshireKulbir Lalli, Commissioning Officer

Frances Coupe, Head of Partnership Commissioning

Hertfordshire context

• 6 phase one children’s centres• 44 phase two children’s centres (2006/08)• 32 phase three children’s centres (2008/10)• 82 children’s centres in Hertfordshire by 2010• 38 extended schools consortia in Hertfordshire

Phase one

• No formal commissioning process• All 6 children's centres led by statutory sector• Role of commissioning unclear

Phase two

Commissioning approach• Every child matters commissioning framework• Children’s centre communities agreed• Commissioning strategy developed• Lead agency model developed

Phase two

Outcomes• 68 applications received• Children’s centres led by a variety of sectors

PHASE 2 LEAD AGENCIES

30, 68%

3, 7%

9, 20%

2, 5%

School/Further or Higher Education District/Borough Council Voluntary/Charity Private/Sole

Phase two

Good practice• Community care (April 2007)• DCSF guidance for phase three (December 2007)

Lessons learned• More information about lead agency role• Communication of commissioning process• More time to complete forms

Phase three

Commissioning approach• Increased publicity• Countywide briefing sessions• Longer application window• Multi-agency scoring panels• District based presentations

Phase three

Outcomes• 54 applications received• 24 lead agencies chosen• Further process to select remaining 8 communities• Additional 29 applications received

ALL PHASE 3 LEAD AGENCIES

10, 31%

1, 3%20, 63%

1, 3%

School/Further or Higher Education Health Voluntary/Charity Private/Sole

ALL Lead Agencies by Sector

45, 55%30, 37%

1, 1% 2, 2% 4, 5%

School/Further or Higher Education Voluntary/Charity Private/Sole Health District/Borough Council

Extended services in schoolsHub school process• County led application process within each

consortia• Application required evidence on various factors• Consortia decided on the successful hub school• 38 hub school agreements now in place

Children’s centres & extended services in schools• Women’s refuges• Speech & language communication needs• Childcare

Evidence of impact

Training & capacity building• Commissioning toolkits developed• On-going commissioning training• District commissioning link officers

Extended opportunities funding• Personalised commissioning for children and young

people who are economically disadvantaged.• Funded allocated through schools – formula based

on free school meals

Next steps

Children’s Centres• 32 Phase three lead agencies to achieve

designation by March 2010• All lead agencies to achieve full core offer within 2

years of designation

Next steps