Child Sexual Abuse Emotional Support Service

NHS North East London (NEL) Integrated Care Board (ICB), hereafter referred to as "the Authority", is seeking to commission Child Sexual Abuse Emotional Support Service ("the Services"). The authority invites tenders from suitable organisations.

The Authority comprises the area covered by the London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, City of London, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. The Authority together with its system partners lead the development of the local healthcare system with its partners and the people of North East London, to ensure access to and the delivery of safe, effective and responsive services that reduce inequalities, meet identified needs and ensure the maximum positive health impact within the resources available.

The aim of the service is to improve the short and long-term emotional and mental health outcomes for children and young people.

The service is integral to the NEL CSA hub which also includes the paediatric led clinic and a CSA Social care liaison officer. The provider will be expected to work closely with the professionals delivering the Hub to develop an integrated pathway that is well communicated and understood by professionals referring into the service.

For the purpose of this service specification, child sexual abuse (CSA) will include all forms of contact and non-contact abuse. Contact abuse involves touching activities where an abuser makes physical contact with a child, including penetration. Non-contact abuse involves non-touching activities, such as grooming, exploitation, persuading children to perform sexual acts over the internet and flashing. Child sexual abuse includes:

• Intrafamilial abuse: Child sexual abuse perpetrated by a family member or that takes place within a family context or environment, whether or not by a family member.
• Extra-familial abuse: Child sexual abuse perpetrated outside of the family context or environment.
• Peer-on-peer abuse: abuse perpetrated by one young person against another young person of a similar age and can include sexual violence, behaviours and exploitation, as well as physical and emotional abuse.
• Child Sexual Exploitation: child sexual abuse in the context of exploitative relationships, contexts and situations by a person of any age - including another young person.
• Sexually Harmful Behaviours: sexual behaviour outside of their normative parameters of development (this includes, but is not exclusive to abusive behaviours).
• Sexual assault by an unknown person

The contract is for an initial period of 3 years with an option to extend by a period of up to 2 years. The annual contract value is £250,000 and the total contract value for the 5 year period is £1,250,000.