Childminding Services - Market Sounding Exercise

This is not a tender opportunity.

The Council is looking at the future procurement strategy for the services described below.

There are 650+ childminders in Buckinghamshire. The current contract has two parts to it:

1: The provision of the following support to childminders

1.1 Provide pre-registration support through briefing sessions and delivery of an LA approved introductory course to support prospective childminders to understand the requirements of Ofsted registration and meeting the requirements of the EYFS

1.2 Universal support to all childminders through networks to support them to keep up to date with regulation and prepare for Ofsted inspections
1.3 Targeted support to those childminders who are not yet ready or have not yet had their first Ofsted inspection

2: Buckinghamshire Community Childminding Network

2.1 BCCN provides short term childcare for children aged 0-19 as part of the Council’s Early Help strategy. Care can be 24 hours+ and is often requested at short notice
2.2 Provide support to a network of 30+ childminders who have all been selected and approved by the LA to support vulnerable families in times of crisis
2.3 Organise specialist CPD for the childminders to further develop their skills
2.4 Regular support network
2.5 Manage referrals into the service keeping an audit trail of requests, agreements and budget allocation
2.6 Provide evidence of impact through evaluations and debriefings, building lessons learnt


If you are interested in talking to us about your views on the future provision of any or either these services then please register your interest. It would be helpful if you could also tell us briefly about the services you currently provide of a similar nature. We will then contact you to discuss.