Our commissioning approach for adults, children and families in Gateshead - commissioning priorities 2024-2025
5. Local, high quality registered residential care for children
In common with most local authorities, Gateshead faces huge challenges in securing appropriate residential care for children and young people. Even though residential placements are required only for a small proportion of young people and demand is generally stable, these cases involve significant risks and consume extensive staff time and huge resources. These challenges are widespread nationally and in addressing this priority, the focus for Gateshead is on:
- securing more commissioned provision in the Borough and in neighbouring areas close to Gateshead
- avoiding the use of unregistered placements, so far as possible
- assuring the quality of residential care for young people
- exerting some control over price to progress towards more affordable care which offers some value for money.
In seeking more local provision, commissioning will support Children's Services in continuing to extend incrementally the council's own in-house residential care for children, where appropriate. This would also contribute to assuring the quality of provision and controlling price. Such development will be gradual and on a modest scale, conferring with Ofsted and with council members and local stakeholders.
The primary focus in securing more local provision is engaging with existing registered providers which operate already in Gateshead or neighbouring areas. Particular care is required in consideration of appropriate locations for children's residential settings, with engagement with local communities by providers.
Price control is very challenging in the residential market as demand greatly exceeds supply, the market composition is volatile, with transient providers and frequent mergers. Attempts nationally and regionally to constrain prices have generally failed. The Northeast regional framework encompassing residential care is to close in March 2024 and Gateshead has seldom been able to find homes for children through it. The council will establish its own very light touch dynamic purchasing system (DPS) but until extensive market engagement with providers has begun to be successful, this process is unlikely to exert much control over placements.
Market engagement is the main hope for change in provision of residential care and this is a major priority for Gateshead's children's commissioners. Engagement will be with the most local providers first, explore different procurement and financial models and promote the reputation of Gateshead for education and wider support for children.