DN627114 Virtual School Psychology Support

Tender description

Due to the lack of capacity in Liverpool City Councils Educational Psychology Service, Procurement Processes for Psychology support for children in care and the Virtual School have begun and are underway with the support of Jan Hooker. As the request needs cabinet approval due to the 5-year term being in excess of £250k, I have been advised by Gill Astill and Caroline Moss to submit an exemption request for the service to allow appropriate time for the procurement exercise to take place. It is vital that this is done so that our young people are not disadvantaged and can continue to have fast track psychological support to improve their outcomes. The Virtual School requires a service that is able to provide a range of psychological services and support for young people and adults. The service provider needs to demonstrate a strong knowledge and understanding of the impact of attachment and trauma on educational outcomes and have a deep understanding of the ACES framework with a proven track record. Using a strength-based approach, the service should be able to provide a bespoke model of support that meets the needs of the Virtual School, including the demands for timely support and advice, including report writing. The service should be able to provide a combined model of support that has a positive impact on the inclusion of care experienced young people and those with a social worker. Educational Psychology/ Clinical Psychology input is desired that will further strengthen approaches in addressing the social/emotional/mental health needs of children and young people (e.g. providing more formulation-based support, and using psychological thinking to shape and improve adult practice). In addition, it would be beneficial if the service could also provide leadership support for service development, psychological supervision for the Virtual School Head/Team and additional support with framework development around the broader inclusion agenda.