Purpose

The purpose of the report is to make
recommendations to the Director of Childrens, Family and Education
Services regarding the outcome of a procurement exercise to appoint
an online tuition provider for children of compulsory school age
that are not attending school, in line with Section 19 of the
Education Act 1996

Decision

The Director of
Children Family and Education Services has:
 
(1) 
endorsed the tendering process outlined within this report; and
 
(2) 
approved the award of the Access to Education Section 19 Service
Contract to Edclass Ltd with effect from 15th September 2025 as the
most advantageous tenderer with an initial 2-year term with the
option of a further 2-year extension. 
The cost will be reviewed in line with Customer Price Index (CPI),
which is currently 3.8%, before the first extension period
commencing September 2027. Therefore, the estimated contract price
for the full contract period is £975,460
 

Reasons for the decision

This commission meets a statutory need which
is currently not being met.
 
The service will ensure that there is a
readily available and consistent offer for all Wirral pupils when
they fall within the duty on the Council to deliver an online
tuition for children of compulsory school age that are not
attending school, in line with Section 19 of the Education Act 1996
(“the Section 19 duty”)
 
The tender from Edclass Ltd represents the
most advantageous tender (MAT) received, is fully compliant and is
within allocated budgetary provision. 
 

Alternative options considered

Previously, children
not attending school have each been addressed on an individual
basis, with bespoke solutions being found per pupil. This contract
ensures there is an online offer available for students already in
place, and therefore the time pupils are spending out of education
is reduced. The alternative would be to continue with the previous
approach, which is costly and involves delays for the child.
 
A different contract
length could be considered, but it is felt that a 2-year contract
with up to 2 years of extension options is an optimum time to allow
the service to embed and impact to be reviewed.