Children's Advocacy and Independent Visitors

Background Oldham Council are seeking to commission two statutory services, Regulation 44 Visits and Children's Advocacy and Independent Visitors. Oldham are seeking to commission these two services via two separate tender processes but both will be discussed at this meet the market event. The successful provider(s) will deliver high quality provision, work with a range of stakeholders and effectively engage with and inspire young people. It is expected the provider will meet all KPI's and outcomes outlined in the service specifications. Regulation 44 Visits for Oldham's Internal Residential Estate. Regulation 44 visits and subsequent reports are completed to ensure that the care provided in children's residential settings is of a satisfactory standard as specified in Regulation 44 (2) of the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 in order for the Local Authority to discharge its statutory duties. Within scope are all of Oldham's current in-house residential settings and any future settings that come into the estate, including those offering specialist short term support and semi-independent provision as good practice on Oldham's continual improvement and learning journey. Children's Advocacy and Independent Visitors Advocacy is about representing the views, wishes and needs of children and young people to professionals making decisions about their lives, and helping them to navigate the system, especially in times of transition. Advocacy services provide independent and confidential information, advice, representation, support and advocacy for eligible children and young people. High quality advocacy is an important preventative measure to ensure practical problems do not escalate, that children and young people are protected from harm or risk of harm to their wellbeing and to ensure that potential system level failures are identified and tackled at the earliest opportunity. Independent Visitors are trained volunteers who can step in to support children within the context of National reforms including FFP and provide a stable adult relationship outside of their care arrangement. They can visit them where they live and be a friend and mentor as they grow up. This specification for this service will be based on the National Standards for the Provision of Children and Young People's Advocacy Services 2023. Market Engagement Event As part of the commissioning process, we are holding a market engagement event and would like to invite interested providers to attend. The purpose of the event will be to engage with providers and discuss: • services included within this procurement exercise. • contextual information. • initial commissioning considerations based on stakeholder/service user feedback. • insights from those delivering similar services - to inform the final specification. • Procurement process and guidance on writing a bid for Oldham Each organisation will be limited to maximum of two representatives. Please note: Hybrid or virtual attendance will not be available due to the nature of the venue. For those unable to attend, the presentation slides, along with any potential Q&A will be made available via The Chest following the event. Details of the event: Date: Wednesday 22 July 2026 Time: 10.30am - 12:00pm Venue: Royton Town Hall, Rochdale Rd, Royton, Oldham OL2 6QG Nearest parking: OL2 6QJ, OL2 5QD Please report to Royton Library Reception upon arrival Please confirm your attendance by messaging on The Chest portal by 5pm on Friday 17th July 2026, and also confirm the names, email and roles of those attending. Chest link: https://procontract.due-north.com/ Chest Reference: DN819276 Chest project name: Oldham Council Market Engagement Event Regulation 44 Visits Children's Advocacy and Independent Visitors