Purpose

The report will set out the
requirement for an award to strategic transformation partner to
support the Children, Young People, & Education Directorate
(CYPE) to deliver a transformation programme to design a
financially viable sustainable model of Children’s Services
which delivers the best outcomes for children, young people, and
families by being efficient, effective, and managing demand. This
programme will be required to build on the work already being done
by the Directorate and across the Council.
 

Content

For the reasons as detailed in
the Part A and Part B reports, the Corporate Director for Children,
Young People and Education RESOLVED:
 

-      
To agree to the award of a contract called off from
the ESPO Framework (Consultancy Services Ref 664_25 Lot 4b Social
Care Adults and Childrens) to the 
provider named in Part B of this report to work with the Children,
Young People, and Education Directorate as Strategic Transformation
Partner delivering the Phase 1 and Phase 2 services described
within this report for the total value (for phase 1) and an overall
maximum value across both phases stated in Part B.
 

-      
To note that the exact value of the phase 2 services
will not be known until the outcome of phase 1
 

Reasons for the decision

CYPE’s Helping Families
Thrive Programme is delivering a robust programme of transformation
and improvement which is planned to deliver over £12m worth
of savings.
 
However, the directorate is
ambitious to go further and is looking to engage a Strategic
Transformation Partner to help us do this. We need an organisation
with a proven track record of delivering in challenging local
government context, who can engage quickly and deliver at
pace.
 
 
CYPE previously engaged a
partner, IMPOWER Consulting Ltd, in June 2024. The partnership
delivered an in-depth analysis which has informed the development
of the Helping Families Thrive Programme. However, it was mutually
agreed to end the arrangement in August 2025 as it had delivered
its potential.
 
Engaging another partner will
only be of value if the new Strategic Transformation Partner
–
 
·        
Has a track record of savings and transformation
success.
·        
Is able to
mobilise resources to engage with Croydon at
pace
·        
Has the knowledge, expertise and resources to bring
additionality (new expertise, specialist skills, extra capacity,
innovative approaches, access to resources) to the work Croydon is
already doing (Helping Families Thrive Programme, Target Operating
Model etc)
·        
Assigns key personnel who are suitably qualified
with experience of leading children’s services transformation
for the duration of the contract
 
The Strategic Transformation
Partner should help Croydon Council to be bold in its approach and
ambitions, ensuring that Croydon Council improve outcomes for
children, young people, and families in a way that robustly meets
statutory requirements, provides evidenced value for money and
should see Croydon be a place where children and young people
thrive.
 
For this reason a call off via a framework was undertaken and the
result is an award will be made to bidder named in Part B. This
decision delivers significant value for money through -
 
·        
Strategic Fit and Performance
Confidence - The selected provider has a
proven track record in similar transformation
projects, ensuring continuity and stability
·        
Croydon Context –
the selected provider has demonstrated success in a Croydon
Context. The success of their work with Adult Social Care on the
Adults Living Independently programme which is mid-way through
delivering £15m of annual savings
·        
Leadership Buy-In -
there is strong endorsement from the political and managerial
leadership of the Council
·        
Cost Efficiency -
avoids time and administrative costs of a full tender process,
reducing procurement overheads
·        
Risk Reduction -
minimises risk of delays and performance issues by engaging a
supplier with established expertise
·        
Commercial Viability -
rates are pre-agreed under ESPO, ensuring transparency and
benchmarking against market standards
·        
Non-Price Benefits – The selected provider’s methodologies enhance
innovation, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge transfer as
evidenced on the Adults Living Independently programme
 

Alternative options considered

CYPE is delivering the
Helping Families Thrive Programme which is delivering significant
savings across the directorate. It is also effectively engaged in
the work on the Target Operating Model which will deliver further
efficiencies and savings. However, to achieve the Directorate
ambitions of going further faster the Council would benefit from
additional capacity. Below outlines the options which have been
considered to achieve this. 
 

Option

Pros

Cons

Do
Nothing

No additional resource
required.
 
 

The CYPE Directorate would not
be able to achieve its ambition of going further faster and doing
an end-to-end redesign
 

Procure a strategic partner through a call off from a framework
(Direct Award)
 
Preferred option
 

Strategic Transformation
Partner with robust track record on delivering savings in
challenging local authority context.
Recognised procurement
framework from similar tenders at other local
authorities.
Quick procurement opportunity
enabling the delivery partner to be in place at pace.
 
 

Closed competition via a
framework 

Procure a strategic partner via an Open Tender
Process

Potential to cost the council
less
 
 

Challenges to the pace of the
procurement.
 
Previous market engagement and
procurement failed to identify any further partners able to deliver
the requirements