*PRE MARKET ENGAGEMENT *Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) programme

Current contract for ASYE is due to expire at the end of March 2022. The existing contract has a max annual value of £6,493,335 (£5, 780,000 grant funding payments to LAs; £713,535 programme management) The Department is holding an early market engagement event for a possible future opportunity on Wednesday 7 July 2021 at 2pm - 4.15pm via Microsoft Teams to enable interested suppliers to - Hear about the potential opportunity - Have a clear understanding of the outcomes the Department would require in any re-procurement - Help develop any future requirement.

All organisations wishing to attend the event and /or follow up 1:1 session (8th/9th July) should email [email protected] no later than 12pm 6 July providing company details and the name of the person(s) attending, job role(s), email address that will be used to access the event link. Please note two individuals per organisation can attend the event. Microsoft Teams invitations will be sent after 12pm 6 July

ASYE programme: ASYE programme first launched in September 2012 and is an important part of the Department's children's social care workforce strategy.. ASYE is an employer-led, induction programme, helping newly qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) in their first year of employment to develop their skills, knowledge and capability to transition into frontline practice. It is key to growing confidence amongst NQSWs and influences the quality of support and service provided to vulnerable children and their families.

The programme enables employers to provide bespoke support to their NQSWs which is fundamental to continuing to raise the quality of frontline practice and to improving social worker retention. The funding enables further professional development to take place and requires employers to meet expectations around induction and support for newly qualified staff.

More information on the programme can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assessed-and-supported-year-in-employment-asye

Pathway to NAAS:

The National Assessment and Accreditation System (NAAS) was launched in July 2018 and enables child and family social workers to develop their skills and knowledge to improve outcomes for children and families. To do this, NAAS aims to:

- Provide social workers with a better understanding of their current level of knowledge and skill and highlight areas for further development. Support employers to raise the national standard and consistency of practice. - Ensure employers better understand their workforce development needs through the practice endorsement processes including supervision, performance management and learning and development.

More information on NAAS can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-assessment-and-accreditation-system-naas

Additional information: At this stage, this is purely a market engagement exercise, presentations, Q&As will be made available for anyone unable to attend on the day. Any subsequent procurement will be advertised separately and all organisations wanting to participate will need to respond to the contract notice advertising the procurement when this is published. DfE welcomes and encourages interest from SME's, VCSEs.