Health and social work services

Tender description

The Department for education is seeking the provision of initial qualifying social work education through an employment-based, fast-track route. We are looking to secure a contractor to: 1) Train 700 — 900 social workers through 2 cohorts, starting in 2020; 2) Attract high performing graduates to the programme; 3) Assess candidates so that trainees display the highest aptitude for child and family social work; 4) Design and deliver training allowing for accelerated qualification as a social worker; 5) Deliver training and employment placements through partnership with English providers of statutory children’s social care services. Indicative value of the contract is estimated to be between 35 000 000-50 000 000 GBP. The contractor will be expected to: 1) Promote the programme nationally, attracting applications from high performing graduates with leadership potential who might not otherwise have considered a career in social work and, in turn, contribute to raising the status of the profession; 2) Manage candidate assessment to ensure those entering the programme have the right skills, behaviours and resilience to succeed as child and family social workers, as well as being representative of the diverse communities they serve; 3) Design and deliver training, approved by the relevant regulator, such that participants will: (a) be embedded within a team delivering statutory child and family social work (i.e. in roles involving work on s.17 or s.47 cases and requiring case records to be updated by the student, under appropriate supervision) at an English local authority, or children’s trust that delivers services on behalf of a local authority; (b) be taught through a curriculum that is fully and comprehensively aligned with the Chief Social Workers’ Knowledge and Skills Statements (KSS); (c) gain a qualification sufficient for them to seek registration with the social work regulatory body through an accelerated training route; and (d) progress at the point of qualification to an ASYE (Assessed and Supported Year of Employment) social work role within the employer to which they are attached; 4) Secure and manage sufficient training and employment placements to support 700 — 900 trainees across England and across 2 cohorts, starting in 2020 and 2021.