Community Early Language Service

The City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (the Authority) invites tenders for the delivery of the Community Early Language Service across Bradford District. The Service will support children from birth up to their sixth birthday and their parents and carers, with an enhanced focus on children aged two to three.

It will improve speech, language and communication development, improve school readiness and narrow inequalities through prevention, early identification, early support, targeted intervention and workforce development. The Service forms part of Bradford's Talking Bradford pathway and Best Start Family Hub model and will be delivered in partnership with the Living Well Public Health Nursing Service, Family Hubs, speech and language therapy services, early years settings and voluntary and community organisations.

The procurement is divided into three Lots. The Lots must operate as a single coherent Service with consistent pathways, tools, outcomes and messages.

The Lot 2 Provider will lead cross-Lot integration while each Provider remains accountable for its own Lot. Suppliers may tender for one, more than one or all Lots.

The Authority may award the Lots to different Suppliers. A separate Tender response and price must be completed for each Lot bid for, in accordance with the tender documents.

Community-based universal outreach, prevention, awareness and early identification. The Provider will strengthen language-rich home learning environments; increase parent and carer knowledge and confidence; identify emerging speech, language and communication needs; provide timely group-based and proportionate support; engage underserved communities; and coordinate with Family Hubs, the Living Well Public Health Nursing Service and the other Lot Providers.

Evidence-based community early language intervention for children with identified speech, language and communication delay, including children identified through the 2 to 2½ year review and Early Language Identification Measure. The Provider will work with parents and carers, use validated outcome measures, provide specialist advice and establish clear discharge and escalation routes.

The Lot 2 Provider will lead integration across all Lots, including shared referral routes, tools, outcomes, messages and coordinated delivery footprint. A cross-cutting workforce development offer to improve confidence, knowledge and practice across the early years system.

The Provider will design and deliver accessible evidence-informed learning for health, Prevention and Early Help, early education and childcare, voluntary and community sector staff and volunteers, managers, commissioners and strategic leaders. The offer will embed consistent tools, messages and pathways and create sustainable capability through approaches such as train-the-trainer, champions and communities of practice.