UK - Bedford: Provision of Early Years Childhood Services through Children’s Centres

The Council is seeking to enter into a contract with a suitably qualified organisation (or organisations in the event of a consortium) for the provision of early childhood services delivered through its network of sixteen (16) Children’s Centres. The Children Centres form a key element in the Council’s offer of early help and preventive services and contribute to a number of strategic priorities for the Borough. They provide a focal point for the delivery of locally integrated services and enable access to a range of support from pre-birth to five years and their families. In addition to the existing Children’s Centres, the provision of early childhood services in the Council’s administrative area can also be delivered through a further number of access points, including but not limited to community venues and home based services, as and when required. Within the above context of integration with the local community, the Contractor will be required to enter into a partnership agreement with the hosting schools within a defined period of time from the Contract Commencement Date. The Contractor will work in partnership with parents, the local community and the Council in order to ensure an integrated offer of early help services for local communities. The service provision will be focused: a. At the more vulnerable and those in need of targeted support. It is clear those who are more vulnerable will vary from community to community and from individual to individual; and b. At the ante-natal stages and for children aged up to 3 years and their families. To ensure an appropriate focus, the Contractor will be required to ensure that at least 80% of its services are targeted in line with the two areas identified above. The Contract will be subject to a TUPE transfer. The Council reserves the right to enter into the whole or part of this contract, both in terms of the scale and scope of the contract.

The Council is conducting the procurement under the Open Procedure pursuant to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (’the Regulations’). For the avoidance of any doubt, the services to be procured fall within Part 2 (Rules Implementing the Public Contracts Directive), Chapter 3 (Particular Procurement Regimes), Section 7 (Social and Other Specific Services) of the Regulations. It is anticipated that the Contract shall commence on 1st April 2016 for a period of five (5) years from the Contract Commencement Date.

Additional information: The procurement will be undertaken using the Council’s online secure e-sourcing portal and all interested organisations will need to register via the following link: https://www.proactisplaza.com/supplierportal/?CID=bedfordbc

Please note that notification emails will be sent to the email address registered on the system so it is advisable to use an email address that is regularly monitored on behalf of your organisation.

Full instructions of how to use the e-sourcing portal can be found on the relevant website, however in the event of any difficulties please contact the PROACTIS Help Desk on 01656 665086 or alternatively the Council either by emailing [email protected] or by calling 01234 276420 for further assistance. The ITT documentation will be available to download once the registration process is complete.

Interested organisations must also contact the Commercial Hub by emailing [email protected] in order to ensure that the registration process and access to the tender documentation runs smoothly.

All interested organisations are required to return one (1) electronic copy of their completed Tender submission via the Council’s e-sourcing portal. Only those Tender submissions returned by the closing date and time will be deemed valid. Late submissions will not be accepted.

During the procurement process, it is compulsory for Bidders to utilise the e-sourcing portal as the main channel of communication and exchange of documents. For this purpose, as stated above, it is quintessential that Bidders register with a valid, accurate and regularly monitored email address. In declaring an interest in this procurement process, Bidders agree to the use of this system.

PLEASE NOTE THAT SINCE RELEASE OF THE OJEU NOTICE, THE TENDER SUBMISSION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO 12 NOON ON MONDAY 11TH JANUARY 2016.