Provision of Early Childhood Services through Children’s Centres in the Borough of Bedford

Bedford Borough Council (‘the Council’) is wishing to contract for the management of early childhood services delivered through its network of Children’s Centres. Children’s Centre services form a key element of the Council’s offer of early help and preventative services and contribute to several strategic priorities for the Borough. Integrated services enable access to a range of support from pre-birth to five years. And delivering these services locally near to where people live will support the early identification of need and provides support for children and families as soon as a concern starts to emerge. Working together with key partners will ensure that early childhood services improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children and families, build family resilience and support families to sustain progressThe Contractor will operate in line with the Ofsted framework April 2013 and local Bedford Borough strategies. The policy basis for the delivery of provision will be the National Core Purpose 2017 for Children’s Centres which enables a flexible model of provision that is focused on tackling a range of local inequalities .