Purpose

In the past year the Council has experienced
high demand for specialist support and care (often nurse-led) for
children and young people, often in emergency situations. This
includes support delivered in the home, in care placements and in
short breaks services for disabled children. Urgent and specialist
services are used for a small number of children and young people
with complex and sometimes challenging needs and behaviours, that
can include mental health problems, autism, trauma and attachment
disorders and learning difficulties. Without using these specialist
services these children would otherwise be at risk of entering care
(if not already in care), suffering a placement breakdown, or being
admitted into Tier 4 mental health facilities. These services
support in stabilising the home environment or placement in both
the short and long term. This can aide with giving an opportunity
to further assess the needs of the child to ensure any future
placement is best matched to their individual needs.
Providers of this type of support are often (but not limited to)
staffing agencies who specialise in the provision of registered
nurses, including mental health nurses, healthcare assistants and
other care/support staff at very short notice in order to create
specialist packages of care for children with complex needs, either
in the home or in placements elsewhere.
In awarding this framework we will have a compliant means of
responding to need, and reduce the level of risk involved in this
area of spend through improved monitoring and quality assurance.
This should also increase value for money through a more strategic
approach to the market not based on multiple waivers or informal,
ad hoc spend.
The framework contract term will be three years, with the potential
to extend for a further two years. The framework contract will
include the option to call off block arrangements to secure support
services over a longer period of time. Block contracting often
offers better value for money and framework providers will be
assessed on both quality and price when making block call
offs.

Content

Approval to award the Children’s Care
and Support Services Framework, in order to provide personalised
care and support for children, in the family home, in care
placements or within short breaks services for disabled children,
where existing contractual arrangements are unable to.