Framework for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Framework agreements have been awarded for Lot 1 of the Framework for Excellence in SEND.

Successful contractors demonstrated they are an organisation with leaders who:

• place learners with SEND at the heart of strategic planning, recognising that this approach benefits all learners and leads to organisational excellence.
• include SEND strategic objectives in their corporate plan and support this with an effective development plan for staff.
• lead by example to promote an inclusive culture and ethos that actively welcomes and engages learners with SEND, parents, carers and families of learners with SEND, and other relevant stakeholders, ensuring that the learner’s voice remains central.
• understand and monitor how learners with SEND achieve their goals and aspirations, across multiple sites where appropriate, adapting provision accordingly to maximise outcomes such as academic qualifications, the development of skills and behaviours in preparation for adulthood.

They agree to support ETF to promote these approaches across the FE sector.

Framework Agreements have been awarded for Lot 2 of the Framework for Excellence in SEND.

The ETF sought skills and expertise of inclusive practice across the FE sector, and to raise the status of the SEND professionals so that ultimately this essential part of the workforce has parity of esteem with other curriculum areas. Inclusion will be at front and centre of every organisation and not side lined to a SEND team. We want to see a sector where there are more specialists in learning difference to provide a resource to draw on for all staff, so everyone can support all learners to achieve their aspirations.

Successful contractors demonstrated they are an organisation that is ahead of the curve in how they support and develop staff. They are also recognised for their excellence in how they support the mental health and wellbeing of their staff and learners.

Successful contractors will share their practice across the FE sector, underpinning a positive experience for learners with SEND support leading to the majority achieving their aspirations.

Framework agreements have been awarded for Lot 3 of the Framework for excellence in SEND.

The ETF sought organisations with high aspirations for their learners with SEND resulting in learners being represented on all learning programmes across the organisation including apprenticeships and T Levels.

Successful contractors will support others to achieve the goal of progressing all learners to be on programmes which lead to meaningful employment and/ or independent living and to make this the norm across the FE system.

They will work with ETF to highlight the importance of inclusive curriculum planning and development - a curriculum with clear 'intent' which leads to the 'impact' the learner aspires to.

Framework agreements have been awarded for Lot 4 of the Framework for excellence in SEND.

The ETF sought tenderers who demonstrated they were an organisation with strong relationships, including taking co-creation approaches with one or more of the following:

• Parents and carers
• Local, regional and national employers
• Universities
• Voluntary and community organisations

Successful contractors will take a co-creation approach, working with ETF to showcase how to develop and maximise these relationships and highlighting the difference it makes.

They will deliver joint activities where parents, carers, employers, universities and voluntary organisations are advocating for these joint approaches.

Framework agreements have been awarded for Lot 5 of the Framework for Excellence in SEND.

The successful contractors demonstrated they are an organisations with a track record of delivering high quality information, advice and guidance to learners with SEND resulting in the majority of learners going on to have successful lives.

They also have a good understanding of the full range of support and schemes available including (and not limited to) supported employment, inclusive apprenticeships, supported internships, job-coaching, job-brokering, job-carving, and benefits such as Access to Work and Disabled Students’ Allowance.

Framework agreements have been awarded for Lot 6 of the Framework for excellence in SEND.

Successful contractors demonstrated they were a Specialist college, FE provider or organisation who has expertise in a particular learning difference playing a key role in supporting learners.

They will deliver excellent CPD across the FE sector and support organisations to increase specialist knowledge and skills across the whole of the FE system.

Framework agreements have been awarded for Lot 7 of the Framework for excellence in SEND.

Successful contractors demonstrated they have a track record in bringing different partners from within the SEND system together to better serve learners. This includes, (but is not limited to) initiating, facilitating and delivering partnerships between:

• Mainstream and specialist FE providers
• School, FE and HE providers
• Local authority, health and social care providers

A Framework agreement has been awarded for Lot 8 of the Framework for excellence in SEND.

The SEND system is complex and has a range of data which has the potential for us to understand where it is and isn’t working. Data includes statistics and information on:

• Analysing supply and demand for provision for learners with SEND
• Commissioning provision and planning of places across the FE system
• Numbers of learners with SEND with and without Education, Health and Care Plans
• Local inclusion partnerships, including SEND forums and their effectiveness
• Learner attainment, destination, exclusions and characteristics including transition between life stages

The successful contractor is an organisation with an understanding of the data described above who is able to work with the ETF to interrogate and identify where there is potential to use it to understand and improve the experience of learners with SEND.

A framework agreement has been awarded for Lot 9 of the Framework for excellence in SEND.

The FE system and its funding streams are complex and even more so for FE providers who wish to support their learners with SEND effectively. The successful contractor demonstrated they are an organisations with an understanding of the complexity of the funding systems and would be able to explain and navigate professionals through how to make funding work effectively to maximise the potential of learner success. The following funding streams considered include but are not limited to:

• National Funding Formula
• High Needs National Funding Formula (including elements 1, 2 and 3)
• Disadvantage Funding
• Adult Education Budget
• Apprenticeship support