Theses on the Transformation of Children’s Care Commissioning
Ahead of their 5th birthday we are reissuing these theses.
Five years later the issues remain unattended.
Jonathan Stanley, Principal Partner NCERCC, and Kathy Evans, CEO Children England at the time of writing (now Director of Policy and Influencing at NYAS) first drafted these in 2020.
Current care commissioning and procurement practices are confounding the best of our collective intentions to do our best for children.
In these theses we are asserting that:
- The current paradigm places no weight or reward on child-centredness, creates no space for children’s wishes and feelings to meaningfully influence commissioning and placement decisions
- Monetising and commodifying caring relationships has impacts and implications that modern commissioning has not thought through
- Price, cost and value are importantly different from each other, but current commissioning conflates and blurs them. This hides and distorts the creation of true value, the determination of true costs and the setting of fair prices
- The current commissioning paradigm is ideological, while pretending not to be. The level playing field is not level, or neutral. A new paradigm must be founded on clearly articulated and agreed common values
- This system cannot be improved by tweaking – the current system is irreparably flawed
We readily acknowledge that at this stage the theses (still) are not fully developed – they are intended to act as a starting point for dialogue, and designed to be challenging, in the hope of them stimulating a wider shared dialogue and declaration of the need for fundamental change, and the foundations upon which future practice should be built.
We want to be challenged if you think our assertions are wrong; inspired by your ideas and commitments to better ways forward; and galvanised by finding common ground across our varied roles and perspectives within the current system. The way forward needs to be forged together, through dialogue – and the shape and form of our theses will need to be shaped and changed by dialogue with you involved too.
How can you be involved?
- Read and reflect on the theses, and join the discussion about improving them
- Respond – this is a discussion document. There are many ways on social media for them to be discussed. We are looking towards forming a dedicated discussion group.
