Find a TenderAwarded
Published 26 Jan 2022, 10:51 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

SC21032 Therapies - SEN, Adoption Support Service and VSK

Official notice

Authority: Kent County Council (Local council)·Consortium: 2 public authorities

Framework agreement3 lotsServicesOpen procedureSME suitable
Framework ceiling (notional)Value not publishedframework ceiling, not attributable revenue
Submissions closed 1 Mar 2022awarded 3 Sept 2024
Lots 3see the lot list below

What is being bought3 lots · detail below

Published requirement description

SEN Therapies Lot 1

The Council recognises that SEN therapy service providers have an important role in improving a CYP’s participation in learning experiences and access to curriculum opportunities and outcomes for our children who have an EHC plan. We therefore want to establish a relational contracting approach with providers on the QPL that will:

  • recognise the interdependencies between local authorities, service providers, Ofsted, and other stakeholders;
  • facilitate co-operation, shared learning, and improvement;
  • enable us to anticipate and respond quickly to the changing needs of the Council's CYP with an EHC plan;
  • support joint working between the Council’s education and service providers to help improve outcomes for Council's CYP with an EHC plan;
  • help to ensure sufficiency and suitability of the therapy provision that is tailored to the current and anticipated needs of Council's CYP with an EHC plan; and
  • ensure fairness in the commercial arrangements between commissioners and providers and transparency of prices.

Adoption Support Service Lot 2

The Adoption Support Fund (ASF) has been established to help adoptive families access the services they need more easily. The ASF provides funds to local authorities (LAs) and Regional Adoption Agency’s (RAA) to pay for essential therapeutic services for eligible adoptive and special guardianship order (SGO) families.

The aim of the ASF and the support it funds is to:

  • Improve outcomes for young people and families
  • Improve the core adoption/SGO support offered to families
  • Build the evidence base so that interventions demonstrate the effectiveness and value for money

Virtual Schools Kent (Lot 3)

Virtual School Head Teachers (VSHs) are responsible for promoting the educational achievement of all the children looked after by the local authority they work for. With some young people a therapeutic approach or intervention may be needed in order to support access to or engagement with education.

Kent Children in Care (CiC) aged from 3 to 18 years of age are supported by Virtual School Kent (VSK). Pupil Premium Plus funding (PP+), Post 16 Pupil Premium Plus (P16PP+) or Early Years Pupil Premium funding (EYPP) can be used to pay for activities that will: -

a) Improve the learning targets in children’s Personal Education Plans (PEPs).

b) Encourage CiC to be more involved and interested in their education.

CPV: Education and training services · Health and social work services

How this framework works

From the published notice
Bids received
24 bids on the busiest of 3 lots · 38 suppliers appointed

Lots and requirements (3)Procurement structure

3 lots · no lot values published · same evaluation weights on every lot
Lot #1SEN Therapies Lot 1Awarded South East

SEN Therapies

Successful bidders shall be invited to sign the framework agreement join the QPL for the appropriate lots they have bid for (Framework Agreement). Entry into this contract shall not guarantee that the Council will buy Therapy Services from any bidder but will ensure that successful bidder will be included in the Council's QPL.

As and when the Council needs specific Therapy Services, the Council shall:

  1. review the QPL and select the providers that have the professional qualifications to deliver the required services;
  2. start a mini-competition by submitting a call-off request to those selected providers in accordance with the Framework Agreement (Order Form or request for service from relevant service (SEN therapies - Lot 1 or Adoption Support Service - Lot 2);
  3. request a final price for the relevant Therapy Services; and
  4. decide whether to proceed with the required Therapy Services at the price stated based on the award criteria set out at section.

Where in the reasonable professional opinion of the Council there is only one provider with the relevant expertise to provide the required Therapy Services to a particular CYP, the Council may approach a single provider on the QPL.

No call-off and/or contract for any requested Therapy Services shall be deemed to have taken place and/or been formed until the Council formally accepts the price quoted by the chosen provider in accordance with the Framework Agreement.

Delivery: South East
Lot #2Adoption Support Service Lot 2Awarded UK, South East

Adoption Service - Therapies

Successful bidders shall be invited to sign the framework agreement to join the QPL for the appropriate lots they have bid for (Framework Agreement). Entry into this contract shall not guarantee that the Council will buy Therapy Services from any bidder but will ensure that successful bidder will be included in the Council's QPL.

As and when the Council needs specific Therapy Services, the Council shall:

  1. review the QPL and select the providers that have the professional qualifications to deliver the required services;
  2. start a mini-competition by submitting a call-off request to those selected providers in accordance with the Framework Agreement (Order Form or request for service from relevant service (SEN therapies - Lot 1 or Adoption Support Service - Lot 2);
  3. request a final price for the relevant Therapy Services; and
  4. decide whether to proceed with the required Therapy Services at the price stated based on the award criteria set out at section.

Where in the reasonable professional opinion of the Council there is only one provider with the relevant expertise to provide the required Therapy Services to a particular CYP, the Council may approach a single provider on the QPL.

No call-off and/or contract for any requested Therapy Services shall be deemed to have taken place and/or been formed until the Council formally accepts the price quoted by the chosen provider in accordance with the Framework Agreement.

Delivery: UK, South East
Lot #3Virtual Schools Kent (Lot 3)Awarded UK

Virtual School Head Teachers (VSHs) are responsible for promoting the educational achievement of all the children looked after by the local authority they work for. With some young people a therapeutic approach or intervention may be needed in order to support access to or engagement with education.

Kent Children in Care (CiC) aged from 3 to 18 years of age are supported by Virtual School Kent (VSK). Pupil Premium Plus funding (PP+), Post 16 Pupil Premium Plus (P16PP+) or Early Years Pupil Premium funding (EYPP) can be used to pay for activities that will: -

a) Improve the learning targets in children’s Personal Education Plans (PEPs).

b) Encourage CiC to be more involved and interested in their education.

Therapeutic support should not be regarded as alternative health provision of therapy services for gaps in commissioned NHS service delivery. Services required to support PEP targets, often involve intensive specialist interventions or approaches required to maintain educational placements and promote progress.

Delivery: UK

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more
How bids were scored · same split on all 3 lots
Quality: 100%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Quality: 100
  • Price: 0
Conditions of participation2
  • Suitability

    Therapists must be appropriately qualified and have current registration with a professional body. They must hold the appropriate qualifications for the therapy they are offering. For example:

    A play therapist must be registered with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) or Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists (PTUK)

    If a Psychotherapist wished to offer EMDR Therapy, they must demonstrate they have attended appropriate training and receiving supervision

    Local authorities, independent providers (OFSTED registered or the local authority making the application assumes responsibility for quality assurance as an OFSTED registered organisation) and NHS providers e.g., Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS – offering services within the scope of the ASF) can all provide services through the ASF

    All therapists working therapeutically with families should have in place clinical supervision which meet the requirements of their professional body

    • Need to be familiar with the safeguarding requirements of the RAA
    • Be aware of GDPR and Data Protection requirements

    As part of due diligence responsibilities, the adoption service and SEN may request to see when commissioning an intervention evidence of:

    • Staff qualifications including year obtained and any further details pertaining to training undertaken.
    • Professional Body Registration confirmation and expiry date.
  • Technical & professional ability

    Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession

What this means for your bid
  • “SC21032 Therapies - SEN, Adoption Support Service and VSK” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record · publisher note attached
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Awarded
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Framework agreement
Who may use this agreement
Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
26 Jan 2022, 10:51 GMT
Last source update
3 Sept 2024, 16:08 BST
Authority reference
DN571881
FTS notice number
2024/S 000-028176
Classification (CPV)
Education and training servicesHealth and social work services
Delivery area
UKSouth East (UKJ4)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-030f77 Find a Tender
Contract terms
Performance terms

SEN Therapies provisions are funded to support Education Health Care Plans (EHC Plans), the monitoring and review process of contracts will fundamentally tie into Annual Reviews of EHC plans. This will involve a range of collaborative practice with suitable representatives of the SEN Service and KCC to enable focus on the progress towards identified individual outcomes and intervention impact monitoring within the context of a total special educational provision packages contained within EHC Plans.

Adoption Support Services, after a block of therapeutic work has been delivered the clinician will be required to provide a report. This should include:

The therapeutic goals for the work.

Evidence of how and if the goals were achieved (through outcome measures).

A clear summary about the presenting difficulties and how these difficulties are understood in the context of the child’s life, family and wider system (psychological formulation). The level of detail required for this will vary dependent on type of intervention and level of clinical expertise. For example, a detailed report would be expected following an intervention offered with a Systemic and Family Psychotherapist, Clinical Psychologist or Psychotherapist.

If future work is required a clear summary of the goals for the subsequent piece of work is required.

If future work is required there should be a clear rationale for why this is required and how these fit with the psychological formulation.

Annually a review on utilisation and adherence to the standards and requirements identified above will be carried out as part of contract monitoring and compliance. This information will be used to gauge overall performance of the QPL, individual provider performance and will also inform the KCC on any potential gaps in therapies required.

Publisher note: This PIN will be live and expression will but will close for a period of time for evaluation of tenders and will then reopen. optional extensions

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract
Supplier login requiredLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list
Appointment period ends
1 Mar 2022, 12:00 GMT
Submission channel
{"electronicSubmission"}
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

1 Mar 2022 → 3 Sept 2024 · 2 dates
  1. Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown
    1 Mar 2022, 12:00 GMT
  2. Notice published
    3 Sept 2024, 16:08 BST

Notice history

5 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 11 Aug 2023
  1. Status changed to complete
    11 Aug 2023, 10:46 BST
  2. Procurement method changed
    11 Aug 2023, 10:46 BST
  3. Buyer details updated
    11 Aug 2023, 10:46 BST
  4. Buyer details updated
    17 Oct 2023, 10:58 BST
  5. Buyer details updated
    3 Sept 2024, 16:08 BST
Published amendments (1 · 0 deadline changes)
WhenWhatBeforeAfterShift
—TextTitle to include 'VSK' ; Description to incorporate addition of VSK services · II.1.1; 11.1.4Title to include 'VSK'Description to incorporate addition of VSK services

1 amendment published without a description.

Routine re-releases (4)
  • 2022-01: 1 release · 26 Jan 2022

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Suppliers appointed 38admitted to the panel · see the list ↓
Bids received 2420 from SMEs · busiest of 3 lots
Contracts signed 20latest 3 Sept 2024

23 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.

Contracts

  • Contract 028176-2024-SC21032-1

    Signed
    3 Sept 2024
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Adoption Support Service

    Signed
    3 Sept 2024
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Virtual Schools Kent

    Signed
    3 Sept 2024
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-11

    Signed
    22 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • SC21032 Therapies - SEN and Adoption Support Service

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-10

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-12

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-13

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-14

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-15

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-16

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-17

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-18

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-19

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-2

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-20

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-3

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-4

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-5

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active
  • Contract 023531-2023-SC21032-6

    Signed
    21 Nov 2022
    Value
    —
    Status
    active

Bid statistics published by the authority

LotBidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
1 · SEN Therapies Lot 124bids · 24 electronic20—£1 – £10,000,000
2 · Adoption Support Service Lot 224bids · 24 electronic14—£1 – £10,000,000
3 · Virtual Schools Kent (Lot 3)19bids · 19 electronic14—£1 – £1,000,000
Whole notice———£1 – £100,000,000

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

Kent County Council

Contracting authorityLocal CouncilRegional or local authorityLocal AuthorityGeneral public services County Hall, Maidstone, UK, ME14 1XQContact name, email, phone

Framework contractors & participating bidders

38 commercial parties on the notice
Show 28 more suppliers

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Economic and financial selection criteriatenderEconomic and financial selection criteria
  • Technical selection criteriatenderTechnical selection criteria