Children and Young Peoples' Neurodevelopmental Conditions - Early support for Families

NHS North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) wishes to invite suitably qualified and experienced providers to submit expressions of interest for the provision of services for early support for families for children and young people with neurodevelopmental conditions.

Monies will be allocated to organisations that can provide needs led, innovative, trusted, and responsive services and interventions to children, young people, and families to support the management of neurodevelopmental conditions (definition below)* in the 0-25 age group across North East Essex.

To include pre, during and post assessment models of support for children and young people with neurodevelopmental conditions and their families, complementing services which already exist.

Social support refers to the various types of support (i.e., assistance/help) that people receive from others and is generally classified into major categories: emotional, instrumental, and informational support.

Families have told us that support means different things to different people at different times and is not necessarily health related. It can also vary over time. In the context of those with neurodevelopmental/behavioural needs support needs to include the family/carer as well as the individual child/young person. Support for them should aim to build resilience and be empowering, individualised, age appropriate, it should improve knowledge and access to those with lived experience.

Types of support for families could include: Volunteer Mentors, Befriending, Psychological, Practical, Information, Advice, Social, Peer support, Advocacy, Parenting skills and behavioural support. It should also be: - needs led - holistic - easily accessible - proactive - timely - publicised/well known - accurate - collaborative - flexible - responsive - compassionate - connective.

*Neurodevelopmental conditions are a group of disorders which affect the development of the nervous system, leading to abnormal brain function which may affect emotion, learning ability, self-control, and memory. The effects of neurodevelopmental disorders tend to last for a person's entire lifetime. The most commonly associated behavioural conditions and most challenging for families to get support on are oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder and anxiety. They form the largest group associated with child disability such as, learning disabilities, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, autism, seizures, stuttering or stammering, moderate to profound hearing loss, blindness. Children with neurodevelopmental disorders can experience difficulties with language and speech, motor skills, behaviour, memory, learning, or other neurological functions.

Additional information: To express an interest in this opportunity, please go to: https://attain.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.html Click on 'Register and follow the on screen instructions. Responses must be fully completed and submitted exclusively via the BravoSolution e-procurement portal no later than 12:00 noon on 26 April 2021.

The contract term will be for an initial 24 months, with the option to extend by a further 24 months.

You are advised that the £1,200,000 value relates to the 4 years (2 years plus option to extend by 2 years). The maximum contract value for the 2 year contract is £600,000.

Upon the conclusion of the expression of interest stage, the procurement documentation will be released to those providers who have formally expressed an interest. The CCG will then look to establish a preferred list of approved providers (but with no guarantee of volume or business). To attain preferred provider status bidders will need to demonstrate proficient technical and professional ability, and economic and financial standing as per the selection criteria that will be stated in the forthcoming procurement documentation, in addition to the award criteria.

The services to which this process relates fall within Schedule 3 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020) ("the Regulations"). As such, the CCG does not intend to hold itself bound by any of the Regulations, save those applicable to Schedule 3 Services.