Decision

Summary of Decision

The Cabinet Member for Children and Public Protection has approved the Procurement Strategy for a Bi-borough SEN and Virtual School Tuition Services Framework through an open tender procedure for a four-year framework period with an estimated total value of £8,135,515, of which £4,894,886 is estimated to be Westminster’s framework spend. The Cabinet Member for Children and Public Protection has also delegated authority to the Bi-borough Executive Director for Children’s Services to both approve the framework award following endorsement by the Commercial Gateway Review Board, and to finalise the terms of and give approval to enter into a Collaboration Agreement with The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in respect of the procurement.

Reasons for Decision

Tuition services support the local authority in discharging its statutory duties to secure suitable education, including for children and young people who are unable to access education at school, and to promote the educational achievement of looked after children, as set out in the Education Act 1996, the Children Act 1989 and the Children and Families Act 2014. The SEN service and Virtual School are currently spot purchasing tuition from different providers. It is recommended that a procurement exercise is conducted to formalise arrangements and standardise cost and quality of the provision.

This procurement will be compliant with the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) as an education service and will align with the requirements as set out within the Light Touch contract. It will be an open competitive tender which will meet the requirements of the Procurement Code for Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea.