UK - Bedford: Provision of Early Years Childhood Services through Children’s Centres

The Council is seeking to enter into a contract with a suitably qualified organisation (or organisations in the event of a consortium) for the provision of early childhood services delivered through its network of sixteen (16) Children’s Centres. The Children Centres form a key element in the Council’s offer of early help and preventive services and contribute to a number of strategic priorities for the Borough.

They provide a focal point for the delivery of locally integrated services and enable access to a range of support from pre-birth to five years and their families. In addition to the existing Children’s Centres, the provision of early childhood services in the Council’s administrative area can also be delivered through a further number of access points, including but not limited to community venues and home based services, as and when required.

Within the above context of integration with the local community, the Contractor will be required to enter into a partnership agreement with the hosting schools within a defined period of time from the Contract Commencement Date. The Contractor will work in partnership with parents, the local community and the Council in order to ensure an integrated offer of early help services for local communities.

The service provision will be focused: a. At the more vulnerable and those in need of targeted support.

It is clear those who are more vulnerable will vary from community to community and from individual to individual; and b. At the ante-natal stages and for children aged up to 3 years and their families.

To ensure an appropriate focus, the Contractor will be required to ensure that at least 80% of its services are targeted in line with the two areas identified above. The Contract will be subject to a TUPE transfer.

The Council reserves the right to enter into the whole or part of this contract, both in terms of the scale and scope of the contract. The Council is conducting the procurement under the Open Procedure pursuant to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (’the Regulations’).

For the avoidance of any doubt, the services to be procured fall within Part 2 (Rules Implementing the Public Contracts Directive), Chapter 3 (Particular Procurement Regimes), Section 7 (Social and Other Specific Services) of the Regulations. It is anticipated that the Contract shall commence on 1st April 2016 for a period of five (5) years from the Contract Commencement Date.