Provision of Accommodation Based - Housing Support for Care Experienced Young People in the Falkirk Council area.

Falkirk Council is seeking to work in partnership with a single provider to develop a support service for our care experienced young people, including young people on the National Transfer Scheme, aged 16-26 who meet the eligibility criteria for Accommodation based - Housing Support, to progress their independent living skills and ensure they feel supported in their local community. The service to be provided is an Accommodation Based - Housing Support service to support up to nine young people with eligible after care needs.

Falkirk Council will provide the accommodation which comprises a property with nine individual en-suite bedrooms and communal living and dining space in Grangemouth. The duration of the Contract is anticipated to be 12 months with the option of two 12 month extensions.

Accommodation Based - Housing Support service for Care Experienced Young People in the Falkirk Council area. As the service is a new service it has been agreed that a collaborative approach will be used to develop the contract and specification.

This approach demonstrates our commitment to the best interests of the young people placed, and a desire to make systems and monitoring useful and manageable. The collaborative approach will have three stages: 1.

A single provider working with the council to design the service. 2. A short-term pilot, with the opportunity to refine the service specification and associated processes. 3.

A competitive tender exercise undertaken, where this is determined as the appropriate way forward. The pilot will run for one year with the option to extend.

This period provides an opportunity to look at possible innovative ways of meeting need. The council and the provider will share ideas, and as a result of feedback and discussion the service will be developed.

The specification may be refined, producing specified outcomes most appropriate to the needs of this cohort of young people, and the delivery of those outcomes will be assessed. The provider will be selected via a predetermined scoring system which focusses on both price and quality.

The young people will be residing in accommodation, already identified by Falkirk Council, offering nine individual en-suite bedrooms and communal living and dining space in Grangemouth. The support will be available daily within the accommodation, and the ability to offer 24 hour outreach support is desirable but not essential.

The support required will be both practical and emotional and will seek to enhance Social Work support and assist young people to transition into their own home. This may involve role modelling of practical tasks such as cooking, cleaning and laundry or assisting with independent travel.

It is important that the provider can employ staff who are trauma informed and able to work in a strengths-based approach with young people. The hours of support to each young person will vary depending on the support needs. It is anticipated that the total level of support will be 25 hours per week.