Purpose

 Children’s Services have commissioned outreach support from local schools since 2022. Current contractual arrangements are coming to an end, and a new procurement process is required. A new specification has been designed in line with improvement plans, supporting children in their locality areas from 1.9.26

Approval sought for procurement to progress and related spend from the DSG

Decision

RESOLVED

KEY DECISIONS

That the Executive:

a)         Delegated authority to the Executive Director Children’s Services in consultation with the Executive Director of Finance and Executive Member for Children, Education and Families to approve the re?commissioning of Education Outreach and Inclusion Support services as well as the procurement approach for any services identified as necessary through the development of the recommissioning exercise and undertake any further actions or decisions required to effectively manage the resulting processes.

b)         Delegated authority to the Executive Director of Children’s Services in consultation with the Executive Director of Finance and Executive Member for Children, Education and Families to award contracts following competitive procurement or associated compliant commissioning activity for the provision of Education and Outreach Services. This includes the award of a 1-year contract with the potential of a 1-year extension and a longer-term framework for the provision of Education Outreach Services that will commence in 2027 or 2028 and run for up to 5 years.

Reasons for Recommendations: These are set out in greater detail within section 4 of the report. In summary, there are currently a range of education outreach and inclusion services which have been commissioned by the Council, (or predecessor council).  Many of these arrangements are historic and at variance with current regulations/ best practice.  Expectations of costs, ways of working and outcomes for children would benefit from strengthening along with expectations of contract monitoring.  There is a need to thoroughly analyse current need against provision and develop services with high likelihood of effectiveness suited to North Northamptonshire in 2026 and beyond that aligns with our new Corporate Plan. 

Alternative Options Considered:

Option 1 Do nothing - The option to do nothing and continue with the current arrangements has been dismissed as this would risk the Council failing to comply with Procurement Regulations, not achieving value for money and would be likely to lead to poorer outcomes for vulnerable learners in North Northamptonshire.  

Option 2 – Procure services individually -The option to purchase services on an individual basis without the use of a strategy has been dismissed as this risks silo working without strategy, integration, a consistent approach to commissioning or efficiencies of scale.