Information, Advice and Support Services for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and/or a Disability (SEND), and their Parents/Carers

Tender description

Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council and Nottingham City Clinical Commissioning Group are seeking tenders for the provision of Information, Advice and Support Services (IASS), for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and/or a Disability (SEND) and their Parents/Carers. IASS for children and young people with SEND and their families currently is provided by ‘Ask Us Nottinghamshire’ which is hosted by Nottinghamshire County Council. The Children and Families Act (2014) requires local authorities to provide children and young people with SEND, and their parents and carers with information and advice about matters relating to their SEN or disabilities. The Information, Advice and Support Service should be impartial, confidential, accessible and should be provided through a dedicated and easily identifiable service and should have the capacity to handle face-to-face, telephone and electronic enquiries. Following advice, from the DfE and the national Information Advice and Support (IAS) Network, for the need to establish a service fully independent of the Local Authority, The commissioners are now seeking an external provider for the services. The tender has been advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) in accordance with the Light Touch regime of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, using an open procedure. The service being commissioned brings together the following elements, described in the service specification (Part 3); The following services are currently being delivered to both Nottinghamshire County and Nottingham City residents:. • “Ask Us”; the current Information Advice and Support Service (IASS). • “Iris”; the information website, magazine and newsletter. The following services are currently being delivered in Nottingham City only:. • Key Workers service; which supports families through the Person Centred Review (PCR) stage of the Education, Health and Care Assessment application process, co-ordinates and communicates with families, and provides a single point of contact. • SEND Co-production and Development service; which provides engagement activities with disabled children and young people and their families. The Council is seeking bids that offer value for money through efficiency and innovative thinking and Bidders will be required to identify the level of service (hours) that will be provided for the funds available The initial term of this contract will be three years with the option to extend for a further two years in increments of up to 12 months Keywords: send, carer, Advice, support, children