Education and training services

Tender description

DANCOP (Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Collaborative Outreach Programme) is funded by the OfS (Office for Students) to deliver targeted outreach programmes to and for learners from specific wards to encourage and support progression to Higher Education. This funding is received on an annual basis so a contract period longer than the initial period cannot be guaranteed. As part of this programme of activity, DANCOP understands the importance of affecting a cultural change within partner schools and colleges and as part of that wants to work with a provider to deliver an extensive programme of CPD (Continuous Professional Development) and support in up to 12 educational institutions to help teachers to support progression to higher education. Additionally, the provider is required to directly impact learners in order for the University to ensure it can report to the OfS on engagement with learners through this programme. The selected third party provider must have a proven track record in delivering CPD programmes with teachers and advisors that build skills and knowledge to help support learners with progression to Higher Education; navigating the options available and supporting the application process. They must also have ability to deliver mentoring programmes in those schools directly to learners. In those (up to) 12 institutions, the provider must upskill at least one staff member to become a “champion” within their institution in terms of supporting HE Progression through a variety of training interventions including, for example, group training, one-to-one training and off-site sessions at other educational institutions. In those institutions, at least 15 learners must also receive support directly from the organisation to support progression to Higher Education through mentoring by providing, for example, 1-to-1 mentoring, student workshops, training and consultations. The activities for both staff and learners will primarily be delivered on-site at the schools but further variety and context should be added through delivery of training sessions on site at one or more of DANCOP’s partner HEIs (Higher Education Institutions). Ongoing support is also required for both learners and staff, for example in the form of online support. As a minimum, 4 meetings per half term are required to provide the CPD to staff and 4 learner workshops/training sessions/consultations per half term. Additionally, an annual conference for all “champions” from the region. At least 5 mentoring sessions for each learner must be undertaken up to the end of the initial contract period. The provider will be expected to provide support for parents/carers through regular progress updates on the learners’ application progress. In order to assess the effectiveness of the services provided, feedback from partner schools and colleges will be obtained to assess their increased confidence in supporting progression to Higher Education. The provider must engage with the specified number of schools and colleges and when working with learners, 100 % of learners must be identified as DANCOP learners (from a target ward). Information on the NCOP (National Collaboration Outreach Programme) programme that DANCOP is part of, and information on the target wards, can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/promoting-equal-opportunities/national-collaborative-outreachprogramme- Ncop/how-ncop-works/ DANCOP delivery hubs will support the provider in terms of introductions to partner schools and colleges but require providers to market their services to the 12 institutions. The provider will be required to return information to DANCOP on a monthly basis by a specified deadline, in the format requested by DANCOP. This will include monitoring and evaluation information and is crucial to DANCOP for the University to be able to demonstrate impact and appropriate use of funds. The targets for the initial contract period are to: — deliver the programme successfully in (up to) 12 schools, — work with 15 target learners on a programme of mentoring in all of those 12 schools, — all 15 learners in each school must be from a target ward, — all monitoring reports should be submitted by the deadline each month. The University will advise the provider of targets for any extension periods prior to contract extension. This contract will not be divided into lots, as the nature of the requirement is such that it cannot be fragmented for reasons of efficiency and resource implications.