686/2018 Special Educational Needs & Disability Information, Advice & Support Service (SENDIASS) & M...

Croydon Council is seeking to engage contractors for the provision of Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) (Lot One) and Mediation/Dispute Resolution Service (Lot Two).

To support children and young people with SEND and their families who may be seeking information, advice and support and provide a mediation and dispute resolution service between families and the Council.

As set out in the SEND Code of Practice it is best practice that these two services should not be provided by the same supplier in order to ensure maximum objectivity across the two distinct areas of service provision.

The Council will seek to award a contract in the form of separate lots. The award of each lot will be awarded to different providers.

PROVIDERS WILL BE PERMITTED TO APPLY FOR ONE LOT ONLY.

Lot One - a single supplier to deliver a Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice & Support Service (SENDIASS) (Lot 1)

Lot Two - a single supplier to deliver a Mediation and dispute resolution service - (Lot 2)
The service components to be provided are:
Lot One: The SENDIASS Service will provide:
• The provider must arrange for Croydon’s children with SEN or disabilities, and their parents, and Croydon’s young people with SEN or disabilities, to be provided with information and advice about matters relating to their SEN or disabilities, including matters relating to health and social care. This must include information, advice and support on the take-up and management of Personal Budgets. In addition, they must have regard to the importance of providing children and their parents and young people with the information and support necessary to participate in making decisions about their care.
• The provider must have staff who have the skills and training to work in partnership with parents, providing information and advice in a way that is

• open, transparent, impartial and enables parents to make decisions about their child.

Lot Two: The Mediation & Dispute Resolution Service will provide:
Dispute Resolution
Take responsibility for the standard of the service
• Have clear budget plans for the service (parents, schools and young people cannot be charged for the service)
• Ensure the service is impartial
• Ensure that independent persons are appointed as facilitators and that these people have:
o Appropriate skills, knowledge and expertise in dispute resolution
o Have an understanding of SEN processes, procedures and legislation
o Have no role in decisions taken about a particular case, nor any vested interest in terms of settlement
o Remain confidentiality
o Carry out the process quickly and to the timetable decided by the parties
o Establish protocols and mechanisms for the receipt of referrals by parents and young people and including providing advocacy support to help them take part, where necessary.
Mediation
• The provider will ensure that the members of staff providing mediation (as set out in this contract specification) on behalf of Croydon Council are suitably trained and have an accredited mediation qualification.
• The provider will provide mediation and mediation advice.
• The mediation provider must have effective processes and systems for taking telephone referrals from parents who wish to register an appeal against a Local Authority decision with the SEN First Tier Tribunal. The mediation adviser will provide information on mediation and answer any questions which the parent or young person may have. The information will normally be provided on the phone, information may be provided in written form, through face-to-face meetings or through other means if the parent or young person prefers. Communication needs to be accessible and differentiated to take account of parent/young person’s needs.
• Mediation information provided before mediation takes place should be:
o Accessible
o Factual and unbiased
o Should not seek to pressure the parent or young person into going to mediation nor persuade the parents or young person to use a particular mediator (over another). More details are provided in the service specification.
The length of the contract is initially for two (2) years with the option to extend for a further one (1) years, resulting in a possible maximum contract period of three (3) years. The contract will commence 1st June 2018.

This tender process is being carried out under a one stage open tender procurement under the Light Touch Regime of the PCR 2015 for the purposes of procuring the contract. The tenders will be evaluated on the basis of achieving the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) in the opinion of the Council.

The Council requires the successful Service Providers to comply with the London Living Wage.

All potential suppliers are advised to read the supporting documents listed on the London Tenders portal, prior to responding to the invitation to tender.

You must submit your completed tender and supporting documents via the E-Tender portal at www.londontenders.org no later than 12.00 noon on 21st February 2018.

The completed tenders may be submitted any time before the closing deadline.
The Council considers that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006"as amended by the "Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)(Amendment) Regulations 2014 may apply to this contract.

Further details are provided within the Information Pack via the London tender portal (www.londontenders.org ).