Provision of Nursery Services on the Shaftesbury Estate

The London Borough of Barking & Dagenham is advertising to seek tenders from suitably qualified and experienced organisations to take on the operation of a new nursery on the Shaftesbury Estate. The selected organisation will be expected to work with Barking and Dagenham Council to ensure the provision of good quality and affordable childcare in its Gascoigne ward.

New Nursery on the Shaftesbury Estate: (80a Gascoigne Road, Barking, IG11 7LG) is a building that is currently being re-developed by Children’s Services and is expected to provide care for approximately eighty (80) children within an age range of three (3) months to five (5) years. The Council are refurbishing and re-modelling the building.

Opening hours for the nursery will be Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm for fifty one (51) weeks a year. It is envisaged that capital works will be completed by the second quarter of 2016.The nursery will be fully equipped by the Council.

Further details are contained in the tender pack. The contract and co-terminous lease for the nursery are expected to be for a period of seven (7) years and may be extended for a further period of three (3) years subject to performance and at the sole discretion of the Council.

The contract and co-terminous lease is expected to commence on 1st September 2016, but the actual start date of the contract/lease will be dependent on the completion of any capital works and can not be guaranteed and so the commencement date may be earlier or later than 1st September 2016. Organisations who wish to tender must be able to demonstrate: five (5) years relevant experience, currently be running an Ofsted registered day nursery rated “Good” or “Outstanding”, or where the organisation is running more than one nursery have 50% of its nurseries rated “Good” or Outstanding”, must currently be running at least one Ofsted registered day nursery with more than 50 full time equivalent (FTE) childcare places and must be prepared to work in partnership with the Local Authority and adhere to a strict performance monitoring programme, including site visits. Organisations must also have proven financial stability and a commitment to quality, inclusion and continuous improvement.