Social work and related services

Tender description

Portsmouth City Council is inviting tenders from suitably qualified organisations to deliver an Advocacy, Independent Visitor and Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) service. A provider or lead provider will offer a service to vulnerable children and young people referred with need for CSE intervention, missing return interviews, advocacy support to children for child protection conferences or Looked after Children Reviews, and Independent Visitors for Looked after Children. The provider must be able to demonstrate experience of working with children and young people in all 4 complex areas of work. The service will follow a value based approach, operating in a way which promotes independence and recognising individual's ability to increase their quality of life. The contract will commence on 1.10.2017 and will be let for a 3-year period with the option to extend for up to 2 further years in increments to be agreed. A proportion of this contract will be payment by results. Missing Return Interviews: The provider will be working with some of our most vulnerable children and young people in the community who are not open to social care and whom are going missing from home and school. Child Sexual Exploitation Interventions: The provider will be working with children and young people at high risk of CSE and as such will need to demonstrate an ability to recruit and develop staff to build strong relationships with children and in particular teenagers. Independent Visitors: Independent visiting provides befriending and support to children and young people aged between 5-18, who are looked after by the Local Authority. The independent visitor is a volunteer role of an interested and supportive adult who is a constant feature of the child's life. Advocacy Support: Portsmouth City Council provides advocates to represent children and young people who are looked after or subject of a child protection plan to deal with specific issues or at meetings about them.