Short Breaks for Disabled Children - Soft Market Testing Questionnaire

Cheshire East Council is conducting a soft market testing exercise to understand interest from providers in the delivery of Short Breaks for Disabled Children.
Short Breaks Services for Children with Disabilities form an integral part of the overall local offer for children with disabilities within Cheshire East ensuring that our statutory duty as a local authority is met. In addition to commissioned services, the local offer for children with disabilities includes Early Help Individual Payments, Direct Payments and Residential Short Breaks. The current service design of commissioned services will be reviewed to ensure that the re-commission focuses on achieving the 6 outcomes of the Children and Young People’s Plan 2019-2021. The re-commission will also focus on achieving greater value for money and effectiveness for children, young people and their families.
Cheshire East Council would like to gain insight from providers who may be interested in providing these services in Cheshire East. Your feedback will help to inform future commissioning intentions.
The current Short Breaks service provision includes the following programmes:
• Regular activities weekly or fortnightly during term time and / or school holidays. These activities are offered during weekends, after school and/or in school holidays
• Examples of this provision include: group based social or youth clubs, sports and activity sessions, drama and arts classes, social skills groups 1:1 support and rebound therapy
• One-to-one support for disabled children and young people to access local community based universal (available to all) social and leisure activities they would not otherwise be able to participate in
• Example of this support include supported activities in universal settings, ‘Buddy’ schemes
• Group sessions for young people who traditionally because of specific care needs, experience difficulties accessing universal and inclusive or other targeted provision
A full service re-commission is currently being developed, and your feedback will help to inform the future commissioning intentions of the Short Breaks Services for Disabled Children. A market engagement event in will be held for interested providers in early 2020. Formal procurement of the service is planned during the March – May 2020 period, contract award will be in June 2020 with contracts due to commence on the 1st September 2020.