Digital Child Engagement App

Tender description

Work done so far Cafcass has previously used an application for this purpose called How It Looks To Me. This proved to be very popular with a small subset of FCA and children, largely due to it only being suitable for a younger age group. This app was decommissioned in early 2025 due to the technology stack being used becoming end of life. Some focus groups have subsequently been held with children and FCAs to feed in to the requirements for this tender. Which phase the project is in Discovery Existing team The Cafcass team consists of: • Project Manager Responsible for coordinating and managing the successful delivery of the new digital tool. Oversees timelines, stakeholder engagement, risk management, and ensures the project stays aligned with strategic goals. • IT Technical and Security Analyst Ensures the tool meets all technical and security standards. This includes data protection compliance, secure integration with ChildFirst, and safeguarding sensitive information collected during sessions with children. • IT Service Manager Oversees the operational readiness and ongoing support of the tool. Ensures the tool is stable, user-friendly, and maintainable post-launch, and that it integrates smoothly into existing IT service frameworks. • IT Finance and Contracts Manager Manages the project’s budget, procurement, and vendor contracts. Ensures value for money, monitors spend against forecast and supports the commissioning process for external development partners. • Family Court Advisers (FCAs) The primary users of the tool. They work directly with children to gather their views and preferences, using the tool to facilitate conversations and record insights that inform court recommendations. • Child Members of the Family Justice Young People’s Board (FJYPB) A group of children and young people with lived experience of the family justice system. They provide critical input into the design and usability of the tool, ensuring it is engaging, age-appropriate, and sensitive to the needs of children going through court proceedings. The project involves collaborating with Version 1, the supplier of our case management system, ChildFirst. Version 1 will supply an API to transfer the child's file - in a PDF format - from the digital tool to ChildFirst. They will also supply an API to set up a new unique record for a child within the tool, using skeleton data from ChildFirst, to allow this integration. Address where the work will be done The appointed supplier will be expected to work remotely and collaborate with the project team and stakeholders primarily through Microsoft Teams meetings. Cafcass does not permit Personally Identifiable Information (PII) to be accessed or stored outside the UK. For the purposes of clarity, the UK is England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The crown dependencies of the Isle of Man and the States of Jersey and Guernsey are not part of the UK. Development and functional testing staff are permitted to work outside the UK. This is restricted to those countries which the UK has an adequacy agreement with (see 1) What countries or territories are covered by adequacy regulations?) for the detail of these. Working arrangements The appointed supplier will be expected to work remotely and collaborate with the project team and stakeholders primarily through Microsoft Teams meetings. This includes regular check-ins, design reviews, and feedback sessions with Cafcass staff, including Family Court Advisers and IT representatives, and with members of the Family Justice Young People’s Board, whose insights are critical to ensuring the tool is child-friendly, inclusive, and emotionally appropriate. Provide more information about your security requirements: Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) Provide more information about your security requirements: Cafcass does not permit Personally Identifiable Information (PII) to be accessed or stored outside the UK. For the purposes of clarity, the UK is England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The crown dependencies of the Isle of Man and the States of Jersey and Guernsey are not part of the UK. Development and functional testing staff are permitted to work outside the UK. This is restricted to those countries which the UK has an adequacy agreement with (see 1) What countries or territories are covered by adequacy regulations?) for the detail of these. Staff who work on the application must be BPSS (UK Government Baseline Personnel Security Standard) cleared – or if based outside the UK the national equivalent for the country they are living and working in. Staff who have administrative level access to systems which allows them to grant or elevate others’ access rights, will be required to go through additional vetting to obtain Security Check clearance (SC - UK Government Security Check Standard) before unsupervised access is granted. Latest start date 2025-11-10 Enter the expected contract length: 1 year Extension period: 1 year Special terms and conditions Cafcass will require to be the owners of the intellectual property of the application. Special terms and conditions The supplier should support the application for a minimum period of 6 months post go live to ensure any issues are identified and rectified. Write the term or acronym: Cafcass Write the term or acronym: ChildFirst Write the term or acronym: FCA Write the term or acronym: FJYPB Are you prepared to show your budget details?: Yes Indicative maximum: 232000 Provide further information: The maximum budget is £232,000 for the creation and development of the new digital tool. We are working to a Fixed Price model. We invite you to propose a model for the ongoing support and updating of the product, for which there will be a separate budget available. Confirm if you require a contracted out service or supply of resource Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply Summary of work Cafcass Family Court Advisers have a variety of tools at their disposal with which to work with children and families. We are looking for a partner to work with us on a modern, research-led tool to support direct work with children. During an FCA’s initial meeting with a child, which lasts about 45 to 60 minutes, it is essential to gather meaningful insights into the child’s family relationships, friendships, interests, and home environment. To support this vital work, Cafcass intends to commission a new digital child engagement tool. The new tool will offer a curated selection of engaging, age-appropriate activities that FCAs and children can explore together. Each activity will serve as a gateway to conversations that help uncover the child’s feelings, preferences, and perspectives. This information will form the basis of the FCA’s recommendation to the Family Court about the child’s best interests regarding living arrangements and contact. The tool should provide a choice of ice-breaker activities for the FCA to use with the child. Cafcass has a ‘diversity spinner’ which is popular with FCAs and children and we would like this included in the ice-breaker options. It should also allow creation of a ‘letter to the judge’, giving the child’s specific words some prominence in the court proceedings. The outputs from the digital child engagement tool must integrate with Cafcass’s case management system, ChildFirst, so that the saved PDF (called the Direct Work Report) can be transferred to their ChildFirst record. This integration will be provided via an API that can automatically upload the file to the corresponding child’s record in ChildFirst, at an agreed frequency. The API will be provided by our ChildFirst supplier, Version 1. They will be happy to work with the successful company to seamlessly integrate the ChildFirst data with the tool. The tool will not be used independently by the child, so will not need to be accessible via an app store or similar. Where the supplied staff will work No specific location (for example they can work remotely) Who the organisation using the products or services is Cafcass is the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. Cafcass was established on 1st April 2001 under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 which brought together the family court services previously provided by the Family Court Welfare Service, the Guardian ad Litem Service and the Children’s Division of the Official Solicitor’s Office. We are a non-departmental public body accountable to the Secretary of State for Justice, rated ‘Outstanding’ in our most recent Ofsted inspection. We work with more than 140,000 children each year and independently advise the family courts in England about the welfare of children, what is safe for them and in their best interests. Our principal functions relate to family proceedings where the welfare of children who are subject to family proceedings is or may be in question, and are to: • Safeguard and promote the welfare of children; • Give advice to the family courts; • Make provision for children to be represented; • Provide information, advice and support to children and their families. Our vision For every child whose current and future living arrangements are decided by the family courts, we seek to provide an exceptional experience, everywhere, and every time. We prioritise their safety and welfare, their voices and their unique needs, taking full account of their families and those connected to them. Organisational focus Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service), along with the rest of the public sector, has the challenge of continuing to deliver front line services to its service users whilst facing a significant reduction in resources within the context of increased demand for our service and increased complexity of cases. Indeed, our aspiration is to not only maintain but improve delivery of our outcomes in the face of these pressures. Why the work is being done Cafcass aims to enhance how Family Court Advisers (FCAs) engage with children during their initial meetings, which typically last 45–60 minutes. These sessions are crucial for understanding the child’s: - Family relationships - Friendships - Interests - Home environment - Emotional wellbeing 1 The digital tool is intended to: - Support direct work with children through a curated set of age-appropriate activities. - Facilitate meaningful conversations that help uncover the child’s feelings, preferences, and perspectives. - Generate outputs (PDF of screenshots and structured data) that form the basis of the FCA’s recommendation to the Family Court regarding living arrangements and contact Why Digital? 1. Modernisation and Research-Led Practice The tool reflects a shift toward modern, evidence-based approaches to child engagement. 2 Consistency and Structure It provides a consistent framework for FCAs to explore key themes with children, such as safety, trust, and relationships. 3 Integration with Case Management Outputs will be automatically uploaded to the ChildFirst system via API, ensuring seamless documentation and reducing manual effort. 4. Enhanced Engagement Interactive elements like avatars, drawing tools, and the diversity spinner make the experience more engaging and accessible for children. 5. Sensitivity and Inclusivity The tool is designed to handle sensitive topics with care and to be inclusive of diverse backgrounds and neurodiverse needs. The business problem you need to solve During an FCA’s initial meeting with a child, it is essential to gather meaningful insights into the child’s wishes and feelings regarding family relationships, friendships, interests, and home environment. To support this vital work, Cafcass is looking for a partner to work with us on a modern, research-led tool to support direct work with children. The new tool will offer a curated selection of engaging, age-appropriate activities that FCA and child can explore together. Each activity will serve as a gateway to conversations that help uncover the child’s feelings, preferences, and perspectives. This information will form the basis of the FCA’s recommendation to the Family Court about the child’s best interests regarding living arrangements and contact. The tool must support single sign on with Microsoft Entra ID. It must help the FCA gather key information quickly as, typically, direct work sessions between FCAs and children last for 45 – 60 minutes. The tool must be suitable for use by FCAs in their initial meeting with children aged 3 to 15. The tool should foster equality, diversity, and inclusion within its icons, stickers and assets, provide visual support and potential language translation for non-native English speakers, and accommodate a range of writing abilities as well as neurodiversity. The tool should offer colourful, age-appropriate features such as avatars, icons, stickers, animation, and sounds. Designed for in-person sessions between the FCA and children, it does not require independent use by children or app store access. The tool should allow the child to create a visual representation of their important people. The activities should be saved as a single PDF file. The tool should work online and offline. The file should automatically upload to the child’s record in ChildFirst when online and then be deleted from the tool. This functionality will be provided by an API which will be created by our ChildFirst supplier, Version 1. First user type: Child. I need to access the tool in the FCA’s presence to complete activities that allow me to share my wishes and feelings about my family, contacts and living circumstances, so that the FCA can understand and include my wishes and feelings in the court proceedings. First user type: FCA. I need to find out about the child's home life and family situation, so that I can produce an informed report for the Family Court that includes the child's wishes and feelings, so that the Court can make a judgement about what is best for the child. Questions and Clarifications 1. Is there a requirement for the interface that serves the activities to support languages other than English? English will be sufficient; other languages may be a "nice to have" feature if the tool proves popular, but FCAs all work in English so will need child responses in this language. Supporting non-English speakers through the use of images will be key. Last Updated: 3 September 2025, 07:44 2. Would there be a requirement for Cafcass to change the content, maybe via a content management system or another alternative for just simple content changes in the interim? No, we don’t need content management system access. More activities may be added if the tool’s use justifies its expansion, but the activities already in place won’t need to be updated or changed regularly. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 16:08 3. Should the successful provider include UK-based hosting with proposed solution for ongoing site management and support? Yes. The proposed solution must be hosted in the UK or a country with equivalent security standards, such as an EU member state. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 16:07 4. What expectations are there around user testing and will it be possible to create a group comprised of Family Court Advisers and Child Members of the Family Justice Young People’s Board to carry this out? We expect the successful supplier to engage with a group of FCAs and child members of the FJYPB during the project. We already have two groups in place, who have discussed the requirements for this project and are keen to work with the successful supplier during the development and testing stages. The supplier is expected to provide a solution which has been tested and proven to be ready for end user acceptance testing (UAT). The UAT will be completed by Cafcass/FJYPB with any issues shared with the supplier for resolution. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 16:04 5. How is it envisaged the offline part of the system will work? Where the tool has internet connectivity the full system functionality will be available. For offline working we'd envisage that the member of staff will have to set up a session in advance as follows: While online: > finding the relevant case & child from their allocated cases in the digital tool > indicating that they will be visiting the child and to queue a session While offline: during the direct work session they will open the app and access/begin their queued session select which activities that they'd like the child to complete (which should auto save when each activity is progressed) once the selected activities are completed and the direct work session is coming to an end the work will be submitted, at this point the app should notify the user that they are offline, the session has been saved and the report will be automatically submitted when signal resumes. the member of staff will be able to see that the session has been saved and is pending submission. They should also be able to view the report that has been created. When signal resumes: the app will submit the report and notify the member of staff that the direct work has been submitted successfully to the Cafcass case management system, providing a link to the filed report. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 16:02 6. Will the Version 1 API support both saving the Direct Work Report PDF and retrieving skeleton child records into the engagement tool? If so, how frequently should this data synchronise? The APIs will support the retrieval of case and child information from, and the saving of the direct work report to, the Cafcass case management system. It was envisaged that the case retrieval API would be called in real-time when a digital tool user starts (or queues) a new direct work session that way minimal personal information would need to be stored directly in the digital tool. However, the API could be called periodically, if need be, to cache a list of cases/children relevant to the user. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 16:00 7. Is it expected the content will change or be updated regularly? It is not expected that the content will need to change or be updated regularly. It would be nice to be able to expand the range of activities offered by the tool at a later date. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:58 8. Are there other mental health guidelines, e.g. CAMHS, to refer to, regarding compliance? No, it will not be necessary to refer to, e.g. CAMHS guidelines. The tool will not be offering mental health advice or support, merely asking the child to express their feelings so that the FCA can engage in further conversation about them. Any disclosures regarding mental health or safeguarding will be summarised in the safeguarding letter or Section 7 report, ensuring it is justified and relevant to the case. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:56 9. How much does this content change according to each child age group – e.g. approx. how many different use cases are there, allowing for accessibility, learning age, and neurodivergence? That very much depends on the implementation of the tool. Ideally, there could be a different use case for each age group plus extra options for accessibility and neurodivergence. To start, having one or two activities for each topic should be enough to encourage meaningful conversations between the FCA and child. Children could be grouped by age ranges (such as 3-6, 7-10 and 11-15 years old) or themes (for example, dinosaurs, animals, space), with the same activity adjusted to suit each group. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:54 10. Where in the court process will the tool be used – prior to hearings or in court itself? Prior to court hearings, when the FCA meets the child. This is the FCA’s opportunity to find out about the child so that when they make their recommendation to the court, they can present the child’s wishes and feelings to the judge. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:52 11. Do you require the successful supplier to host the tool? Yes if the proposed solution has a server side component. Or Cafcass can host within Azure. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:49 12. Will Cafcass provide existing design standards, accessibility guidelines, and child-engagement policies to be used as baseline inputs for the solution? Cafcass are an arms-length Government body and therefore must comply with the published accessibility guidelines for websites and apps available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accessibility-requirements-for-public-sector-websites-and-apps Cafcass brand guidelines will be provided. Child engagement sessions will be facilitated by Cafcass to ensure adherence to all relevant policies. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:47 13. Can you confirm whether suppliers are expected to provide specialist child-centred design and communication expertise (e.g. neurodiverse accessibility), or whether Cafcass will provide these capabilities for co-development? Cafcass will provide insights regarding child-centred design and communication expertise. If the supplier already has some experience of working on projects that involve child-focused activities or that cater towards equality, diversity and inclusion, we would welcome their ideas in these respects. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:44 14. What level of collaboration and co-design does Cafcass envisage during requirements definition (e.g. workshops with FCAs)? We would like to see workshops with FCAs and with the FJYPB to ensure the requirements fully meet the needs of both sets of users. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:41 15. Can you share any more information on the current tool, either as part of stage 1 or 2 of this process, including: o Are interfaces available? o Can you share the results of recent user research? o Are metrics available? There is no current tool. The previous HILTM tool was decommissioned earlier this year. We can share more specific information from recent consultations with FCAs and the FJYPB, although those sessions generated the requirements listed in the tender documents. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:38 16. How much control does Cafcass have over the different hardware that practitioners use? Full control - the hardware that FCAs use for direct work is issued to them by Cafcass. By the time the digital tool is launched, the majority of Cafcass staff will be using HP EliteBook X G1i laptops. While staff do have iPhones, they tend to use their laptops for direct work with children and we would only expect the digital tool to operate on laptops. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:36 17. How many different types of activities do you envisage the tool will provide? We are anticipating somewhere in the region of 6 - 10 activities initially, encompassing: icebreakers including the 'diversity spinner', an 'important people' activity, a 'wellbeing' activity, a 'three wishes' activity, an 'islands' activity and a 'letter to the judge' activity. As you can see, we have 6 activities in mind; we would love the successful supplier to work with us on developing more activities, initially within the same general categories as these. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:34 18. Were any learnings uncovered during the development of the ‘How it Looks To Me’ app that will be relevant/applied to this project? Would you like to adapt any features from the ‘How it Looks to Me’ app? There were issues with the integration between HILTM and ChildFirst, which is why we are commissioning a new API to support integration with the new tool. HILTM also didn't inform the FCA whether the upload to ChildFirst had been successful or not, and provided no scope for addressing a failed upload. HILTM became increasingly buggy over time which resulted in usage numbers dropping; a support and maintenance agreement will be needed to ensure that the new tool remains performant and error free. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:29 19. Can you share more about the ‘How It Looks To Me’ app in terms of its programming language, platform and development method? The original How It Looks To Me (HILTM) application was developed using the following technologies: PixiJS: for building interactive screens within the app. UWP (Universal Windows Platform): for compilation to output a Windows deployable App. As UWP is now considered legacy technology and is no longer actively developed by Microsoft the HILTM app was decommissioned earlier this year. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:28 20. How do you envisage FCAs installing the tool on their device? If a native Windows app is provided, the tool developer will provide packaging/installation guidance to Cafcass' IT Managed Service Provider who will push the deployment package out to Cafcass laptops via Microsoft InTune. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:24 21. How many FCAs will be eligible to use the tool? There are circa 1500 FCAs that engage in direct work with children. Initially, we would want to pilot the digital tool with around 20-30 FCAs while we test and gather feedback on its functionality and use. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:21 22. What existing IT service frameworks do you require the tool to integrate with? We expect the tool’s support and maintenance provider (including during any maintenance period) to integrate into our ITIL-aligned IT managed service provider’s service management process for issue management and request fulfilment. The tool itself must comply with data protection standards applicable to Cafcass and ensure secure handling of sensitive family data. All cloud service providers utilised shall be Cyber Essentials certified and keep Cafcass data in the UK. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:14 23. Please can you provide more detail on the integration process with Version 1, in terms of the steps expected? 2 X ChildFirst Rest APIs will be available to the digital tool developer as follows: 1) An API will be available to retrieve case information (and related children records) for cases that the member of staff has been allocated to work on. This will allow the member of staff to identify/select the child/case that a direct work session relates to in the digital tool so that the person and case ids can be submitted to the second API. 2) An API will be available to allow a direct work report (file) to be submitted, and where the information has been collected by the digital tool an array of people/relationships relevant to the child. Both APIs will require the digital tool to authenticate with the service via a shared client secret which will change periodically. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:13 24. Do you require the ability to make changes to the app content independently? No Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:11 25. Do you have technical preferences for the build of the new app or are there any technologies you don’t wish to be used? Cafcass is fully cloud based and therefore does not have any on premise IT infrastructure. By the time the digital tool is launched, the majority of Cafcass staff will be using HP EliteBook X G1i laptops. While staff do have iPhones, they tend to use their laptops for direct work with children and we would only expect the digital tool to operate on laptops. A highly interactive web application or Microsoft Windows native app would be considered. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:10 26. What is the minimum specification of devices that the FCAs will be using? Will they be using phones/tablets or both? What external input devices will be available to them? By the time the digital tool is launched, the majority of Cafcass staff will be using HP EliteBook X G1i laptops. While staff do have iPhones, they tend to use their laptops for direct work with children and we would only expect the digital tool to operate on laptops. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:08 27. To what extent will the children interact with the app themselves? Children will interact directly themselves if they are old enough and feel comfortable doing so. Younger children, those with additional needs and those who do not want to engage with the activities themselves will be supported by the FCA, who may type in answers or select icons/stickers for them whilst being sat side-by-side. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:07 28. Can you please tell us more about the type of ice-breaker activities you’d like your tool to have? The diversity spinner is a 'must have'; other activities could be based on any sort of randomised choice where the child gets to reveal something about what makes them unique. For example, there may be a choice of animals - which one describes you and why? Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:05 29. How well-defined are the activities currently, or will they require working up with the new supplier? As we don't currently have a digital tool for child engagement, the activities are not well defined. FCAs use a range of paper-based activities in their direct work with children; some vary an activity to suit their own style or may use an activity differently to adapt to a child's need or circumstances. We would like to work with the new supplier to create a small number of core activities (initially) that could be used in most contexts. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:03 30. Are there some activities that are only used with a certain age group or are all activities available (albeit presented differently) for different ages? Some activities are more appropriate to some age groups than others. Other activities could apply across multiple age groups if tailored based on the child’s age. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:02 31. What is the number of activities envisaged? Initially 6 – 10 activities, with the hope of adding more if the tool proves popular. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 15:00 32. Will the activities used within each session be the same, or might the FCA simply choose a subset from the full list of activities in a session? The FCA will choose a subset from the full list of activities. They typically have no more than an hour to spend with the child, so need to focus on engagement activities that will be most beneficial for the specific child. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 14:59 33. Does your £232,000 budget include or exclude VAT? This budget includes VAT. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 14:58 34. Please can you confirm whether bidders are expected to design and develop the engaging child-focused activities/games (including ice-breakers and conversation prompts), or whether Cafcass will provide the activity content for implementation within the tool? Both. We are hoping prospective suppliers can suggest ideas for activities and/or fresh ways of presenting existing activities; but for the diversity spinner, for example, we would just like the successful supplier to recreate in a digital format. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 14:56 35. What level of offline capability is expected? The tool should be able to work completely offline for entire sessions; however, sessions can be set-up in advance while the user has some internet connectivity. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 14:53 36. What devices should be supported? Browsers? Screen sizes? To run on Cafcass laptops, the application will need to work on Edge (or be a Windows Native App). Screen size is 14" and resolution is 1920 x 1080 but should be optimised to 2880 x 1800. We have no expectation of mobile or tablet use. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 14:51 37. Will you share the output of the focus groups that have been run? The output of the focus groups has determined the user requirements, which will be shared with you. Last Updated: 2 September 2025, 14:48