Community Learning Framework 2020-24

Nottinghamshire County Council (the Council) receives an annual grant from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to fund Community and Family Learning for adults aged 19+ in Nottinghamshire. The Council uses this Grant to ensure that local people have access to a range of flexible learning opportunities that contribute to their personal, social, educational and economic development. The vast majority of provision is delivered directly to the public via the Council’s Contract with Inspire Learning. In addition to the contract to deliver direct services, Inspire Learning are also contracted to coordinate and manage supplementary contractors that deliver specialist provision that they do not deliver themselves.

Nottinghamshire County Council is seeking organisations who:

• are able to provide high quality Community Learning to adults over the age of 19 in Nottinghamshire. This provision should primarily be courses that Inspire Learning is unable to deliver themselves;
• if subject to Ofsted inspections, their most recent inspection was graded good (grade 2) or better; and
• are not currently subject to an ESFA notice to improve linked to their financial performance.
• Directly deliver services. Subcontracting is not allowed.

Providers are invited to tender for contracts for the following Community Learning provision:

1. Employability
2. Health and Wellbeing
3. Family Learning
4. Discrete provision for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities

The budget for awards for all organisations is £500,000. Budget is based on year 1 anticipated funding. Overall funding is agreed on an annual basis and depends on the ESFA grant.

Framework providers may submit proposals for courses in one or more lots. If a provider’s pricing proposal is accepted, it may not be accepted in full, however the minimum allocation to a provider will not be less than £10,000 or exceed a £100,000 maximum.

This will be established with an initial duration of two years, with an option to extend for a further two one-year extensions.

The framework will be periodically re-opened for new providers to apply. This will be on an annual basis to coincide with the annual allocation of contracts.

Once successful providers will not need to re-apply to get on the framework, but only make new funding proposals for the following years. Other suppliers will be able to apply to be on the framework as well as make funding bids when the framework is re-opened for the next round.