Published date: 13 August 2021

Last edited date: 13 August 2021

Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.


Closing: 1 October 2021, 12pm

Contract summary

Industry

  • Social work and related services - 85300000

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

£12,700,000

Procurement reference

tender_273932/988450

Published date

13 August 2021

Closing date

1 October 2021

Closing time

12pm

Contract start date

1 April 2022

Contract end date

31 March 2024

Contract type

Service contract

Procedure type

Open procedure (above threshold)

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

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

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes

Description

Current contract for Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) is due to expire end of March 2022

A market engagement event will be held on Thursday 19 August at 09:00-10:00 via Microsoft Teams to enable interested suppliers to get a clear understanding of the Department's requirements and timeline.
To attend please register interest via Jaggaer.
https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html
There will be 1-2-1 sessions available to book on
Wednesday 1st September (PM)
Thursday 2nd September
Friday 3rd September (PM)

The procurement exercise is to award a single contract to deliver the funding and support for employers to deliver a comprehensive programme for NQSWs that is effective in providing support in their first year of practice and tailored to meet the needs of participants on the programme. This procurement seeks to deliver consistency of the ASYE programme across England. The programme needs to provide meaningful engagement with employers and NQSWs to continue to build on programme strengths and further the impact of improving the quality of social work practice and retention of child and family social workers from all backgrounds.
The contract will run over a 2-year period from 1 April 2022 until 31 March 2024, with the option to extend by a further 2 years on the determination of the Department
The successful contractor will be required to develop and manage a system to administer payments to employers and associated registration and administration activity. This system should be capable of administering grant funding to employers in an efficient and effective manner and allow employers to register as providers of the ASYE programme. This includes allowing employers to register when individual social workers commence, transfer, withdraw or complete their ASYE. The system must also be capable of transitioning the current database of ASYE candidates and employers as part of any transition, and be capable of making payments to employers with current participants for whom payments are outstanding as at 31 March 2022. The successful contractor will be required to establish and build relationships with the sector and effectively communicate the requirements of the ASYE programme including details of how to participate, access funding and the responsibilities of each party. The successful contractor will also be required to identify and support employers to develop, implement and share best practice, including establishing a best practice quality assurance framework for the ASYE programme for employers to quality assure their own provision, and other resources, tools and guidance that support a high-quality ASYE experience for NQSWs. The contractor will be the public face of the ASYE in the sector and should be seen to be leading the drive for effective delivery

More information

Attachments

Links

Additional text

For more information and instructions on how to bid, follow the instructions given in the ITT Instructions on the Tendering Process document

About the buyer

Address

Sanctuary Buildings, 20, Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT
England

Email

DfE.ASYE@education.gov.uk