Family Group Conference Co-ordination

Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC) is an independent, not-for-profit-company established in December 2018 to deliver the best possible opportunities for the children of Reading. Our responsibility is to deliver children's social care, early help and educational services (including SEND). BFfC believes that family group conferences can make a major positive contribution to young peoples' lives when based on the following principles: • Children are best looked after within their families where this is safe and possible. • Families can make the best decisions and plans about their children if they have all the information they need. • FGC offer families the opportunity to get together to find out what is happening with the children in their family and to plan how to support them.

Over the last three financial years there have been an average of 43 FGC referrals made per year. BFfC is committed to an increase in the use of effective Family Group Conferences and would expect to see no less than 50 referrals per year in future and as such it is essential that the service is responsive and of a high quality, producing sustainable results for our children and families in Reading. The Company wishes to invite experienced providers of family group conference co-ordination services to register their interest in being invited to submit a tender to deliver these services to BFfC .

Our key provider requirements are recent experience (within the last three years) of:

• Providing similar co-ordination support to at least one United Kingdom Local Authority Children's Service, whether that service is directly run or delivered through some form of external provider such as a Children's Trust or other independent company.

• The provision of FGC co-ordination should have supported multiple families with a minimum of 10 conferences completed since the inception of the service.

BFfC is interested in receiving proposals from existing in-house services where there is an aspiration to offer services to other local children's services.

BFfC will invite all of those expressing an interest in this contract to submit a tender. BFfC anticipates that invitations to tender will be issued in July 2020 with services likely to be commenced in Autumn 2020.

The initial period of the contract will be for 2 years with the option for the Company to extend the contract for a period up to two further years

Organisations who believe they fulfil the experience requirements and who would anticipate responding to the invitation to tender for the services are asked to notify the Company of their interest by 12 noon on Monday 6 July 2020.

The Company does not commit to enter into a formal procurement exercise at this stage should insufficient expressions of interest be received.