SEND Targeted Support

Tender description

Our vision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is the same as for all children and young people – that they achieve well in their early years, at school and in college; they find employment; lead happy, fulfilled lives; and experience choice and control. Despite the ambitious reforms introduced under the 2014 Children and Families act, key challenges remain in delivering SEND services in line with the vision. These reforms have largely not translated into improved outcomes for children and young people and increased demand for SEND services is putting local authority SEND budgets under unsustainable pressure leading to a rise in budget deficits exacerbated by widespread variation in the quality and timeliness of service provision to children, young people and their families. Currently, 600,000 children and young people with SEND live in the 50% of local areas identified by Ofsted and CQC as having significant weaknesses in their SEND services; and the position on DSG deficits is worsening - in 2019-20, 91 LAs reported a deficit totalling around £675m (compared to around £250m at end of 2018-19). By 2024-25, we are forecasting LA cost pressures for high needs will have increased by 29%, compared to the allocated funding in 2021-22, to £10,450m. This situation has been compounded by COVID-19 which has severely impacted children and young people with SEND and their families. Lot 1: Single contract awarded for the design and delivery of a programme of targeted performance improvement and national training for local areas with weaknesses in their multi-agency SEND system. Following the completion of a competitive bidding process via Open Procedure. The primary objective of this contract is to accelerate improvement in the quality and consistency of local area SEND service delivery for children, young people and their families; and reduce the current variation in local area performance as evaluated by the Ofsted/CQC inspection framework. The Supplier will be responsible for a programme of targeted performance improvement and national training for local areas with weaknesses in their multi-agency SEND system, as identified by Ofsted/CQC, as we all as a What Works in SEND programme comprising research, development, and dissemination of resources and models of effective practice to build an evidence base for exemplary practice within the sector. Commencing 1st April 2022, an initial 3 year contract worth up to a maximum of £4,036,285 with the option of up to a further 24 months in contract extensions.