Provision of Children's Short Breaks Activities and Support (Aiming High)

What the buyer is asking for

Staffordshire County Council wishes to engage a Lead Provider to coordinate and deliver a countywide programme of Short Breaks provision for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) aged 0-17 years and their families across Staffordshire. The service must provide accessible, meaningful and enjoyable opportunities which promote inclusion, independence, confidence, wellbeing and participation in community life, whilst also providing parents and carers with meaningful breaks from their caring responsibilities. The service will comprise both a General Targeted Offer and an Enhanced Targeted Offer to ensure support is proportionate to differing levels of need. The objective of this service is to provide a range of Short Break activities across Staffordshire which Children and Young People with SEND can enjoy as independently as possible. Providers will be required to deliver activities and opportunities which: • Are meaningful, enjoyable and appropriate to different ages, interests and levels of need; • Promote inclusion, participation and a sense of belonging within local communities; • Support independence, confidence, wellbeing and preparation for adulthood; • Enable the development of friendships, relationships and social connections; • Are delivered in safe, supportive and psychologically welcoming environments; • Are available during evenings, weekends and school holiday periods; • Include both indoor and outdoor opportunities where appropriate; • Represent value for money and effective use of public resources; and • Provide meaningful short breaks for parents and carers. Providers will be required to: • Encourage and enable Children and Young People with SEND to access community-based opportunities and local services; • Work collaboratively with local organisations to promote inclusion and reduce barriers to participation; • Provide support which is proportionate to individual needs, including for Children and Young People with more complex needs; • Promote equitable access to provision across all areas of Staffordshire; • Use engagement, feedback and co-production to shape and improve services; • Monitor participation, utilisation and unmet demand and respond appropriately to identified gaps in provision; • Engage in meaningful partnership working and effective communication with families, professionals and community organisations; • Develop opportunities for peer support, friendships and social connections; • Demonstrate a commitment to quality assurance and continuous improvement; and • Deliver innovative and flexible approaches that improve outcomes for Children, Young People and families. Staffordshire County Council is particularly interested in providers who can demonstrate how they will: • Ensure equitable access to provision across all districts and boroughs of Staffordshire, particularly in rural and less populated areas; • Improve access to short break opportunities for Children and Young People with higher and more complex levels of need; • Address gaps in provision and respond flexibly to emerging demand; and • Maximise participation amongst groups who may be underrepresented or face barriers to accessing services. The service will be delivered through a single Lead Provider model. The Lead Provider will be responsible for the overall coordination, management, quality assurance and performance monitoring of the service and may deliver provision directly and/or through a network of Delivery Partners. The Lead Provider will act as the single point of accountability to Staffordshire County Council and will be responsible for ensuring the delivery of a coordinated, equitable and high-quality countywide service. The contract will cover the delivery of Short Breaks provision for Children and Young People with SEND aged 0-17 years (up to their 18th birthday) and support for their families and carers across Staffordshire.

How this is scored

Published by the buyer. A winning response is written to these weightings, not to the question.

• 40%qualityQualityQuality will be weighted as set out in the documents (i) IA3582 - ITT Procurement Pack and (ii) IA3582 - Procurement Specific Questionnaire.
• 60%pricePricePrice will be weighted as set out in (i) IA3582 - ITT Procurement Pack and (ii) IA3582 - Pricing Matrix.

What you must already have

Conditions of participation. These are pass or fail, so check them before writing anything.

• economic

  For Participation, please refer to Part 3 Condition of Participation within the IA3582 Procurement Specific Questionnaire.

• technical

  For Participation, please refer to Part 3 Condition of Participation within the IA3582 Procurement Specific Questionnaire.

How contested is this?

Buyers publish how many bids they received. Across 235 comparable procurements we can tell you the typical field size, how often one of these goes uncontested, and whether the buyer awards on price or on quality.

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London

1. Tender notice published14 days ago

   23 Oct 2026, 10:33 BST
2. Clarification questions byin 10 days

   16 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
3. Submission deadlinein 17 days

   23 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
4. Award decision expected byin 69 days

   14 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT

Commercial outcome and contract awards

Nothing awarded yet

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender

1. Pipeline or early engagement notice23 Jul 2026, 06:57 BST069392-2026
2. Tender notice23 Oct 2026, 10:33 BST100302-2026

Payment terms

Please see the document IA3582 High Value Above Threshold Competed Model Terms. Upon expiry of the Agreement the Authority shall consider Schedule 5 Direct Award Justifications, Additional or repeat goods, services or works Section 8 where is it the authorities intention to carry out a subsequent procurement of similar services in reliance of this direct award justification.

Documents

• Tender notice on Find a Tender