Published date: 11 April 2018

Last edited date: 11 April 2018

Closed future opportunity - This means that a potential contract has passed its approach to market date. A buyer can choose to consider any supplier interest or convert this notice into an opportunity ready for live procurement.


Approach to market date: 4 May 2018

Contract summary

Industry

  • Health and social work services - 85000000

Location of contract

North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South West

Value of contract

£150,000

Procurement reference

PIN

Published date

11 April 2018

Approach to market date

4 May 2018

Contract start date

30 June 2018

Contract end date

31 March 2019

Procedure type

Open procedure (below threshold)

Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.

This procedure can be used for procurements below the relevant contract value threshold.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes


Description

The Department for Education will soon be inviting organisations to tender for the provision of training for foster carers and support workers of unaccompanied asylum seeking children.



The contractor will:
• Deliver a programme of training that will build expertise and capacity for foster carers and support workers who care for unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

• Ensure that the programme of training has flexibility to respond to the particular needs and vulnerabilities of this group of children and to the varying training needs of foster carers and support workers;

• Ensure that training equips foster carers and support workers to be able to develop trusting relationships with children and understand the experiences and risks they face, such as modern slavery (including trafficking, going missing, and radicalisation).

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the strategic and practical links between the National Transfer Scheme for asylum seeking children and Government's drive to increase fostering capacity through upskilling existing foster carers and support workers in the immediate term.




The National Transfer Scheme
The rapid increase in the number of unaccompanied children arriving in the UK has placed some local authorities, who have traditionally supported a large number of these children under increased pressure. In response, the Government introduced the National Transfer Scheme (NTS): a voluntary transfer arrangement between local authorities, to create a more even distribution of caring responsibilities across the country for unaccompanied children.

The NTS was launched in July 2016 and has successfully transferred a large number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children away from "entry" local authorities in England that are caring for disproportionate numbers, to local authorities across other regions.

The successful contractor will work with DfE, Home Office and regional Strategic Migration Partnerships that manage the movement and transfer of unaccompanied asylum seeking children through the NTS.

The right training for foster carers and support workers will increase their capacity to care for and better protect these vulnerable children
The right calibre and targeting of training will build capacity in the fostering system by supporting local areas to recruit and retain foster carers with both the motivation and the skills to look after unaccompanied children. For example, one of the risk factors associated with unaccompanied children going missing is having carers who are not adequately trained to understand the experiences and risks they face, including these children's vulnerability to exploitation and radicalisation.

http://adcs.org.uk/safeguarding/article/national-uasc-transfer-protocol


More information

Spend profile

This table displays the spend profile of the notice
Financial year Budget
2018/2019 £150,000

About the buyer

Contact name

Annette Connaughton

Address

Department for Education, Sanctuary Buildings, 20 Great Smith Street,
Westminster
London
SW1P 3BT
England

Email

Annette.Connaughton@education.gov.uk