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PurposeWith care clusters an established framework for mental health services it is timely to consider how to use them to deliver high quality, evidence based care that is socially inclusive and recovery oriented. This paper aims to describe conceptual thinking about these issues, specifically in relation to the challenges and balances inherent in the care packages approach. It seeks to describe work to develop an internet based, high‐level description of such packages for each care cluster.Design/methodology/approachThe background to the project is described, along with a discussion of the conceptual and practice issues behind the work.FindingsWith mental health care now trying to make sense of local services in terms of care clusters the authors offer a high‐level framework to help people in this sensemaking. Coherent, socially inclusive and recovery oriented packages are set out on the website.Research limitations/implicationsThe work discussed in the article is highly innovative, being the first systematic attempt to provide evidence‐based, high‐level care packages for the care clusters model. Hence, a limitation is the challenge remaining to operationalise the work to real world care contexts.Practical implicationsThe website sets out a framework to help local services and commissioners plan and organise their services, drawing on the best guidance and evidence and developing care packages on the basis of the right ethos of care.Social implicationsIn moving to services fully commissioned and organised around the care clusters model, there remain major conceptual and practice challenges to address including operationalising evidence‐based care packages and means of flexibly delivering individual care.Originality/valueThis is the first view of socially inclusive packages for each of the care clusters that also draw together the best of guidance and standards of care.