Sight testing and dispensing of spectacles to Children and Young People (CYP) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Special Educational Settings (SES) within the West Midlands

Description

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (AGCSU) on behalf of the 6 West Midlands NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICB) (referred to as the Commissioner) wish to inform the market of a future procurement opportunity for Sight Testing and Spectacle Dispensing Services for all Special Education Settings across the West Midlands Region and invite all interested providers to participate in an early market assessment questionnaire which will be used as a conduit to ascertain market capability and interest in the opportunity.<br/><br/>The Six (6) ICBs across the West Midlands region are listed below (respective NUTS codes in brackets for your information):<br/><br/>West Midlands<br/>• NHS Birmingham and Solihull (UKG31 & UKG32)<br/>• NHS Black Country (UKG36, UKG37, UKG38, UKG39)<br/>• NHS Coventry and Warwickshire (UKG33 & UKG13)<br/>• NHS Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin (UKG21 & UKG22)<br/>• NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent (UKG23 & UKG24)<br/>• NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire (UKG11, UKG12)<br/><br/>The Commissioner would like to invite interested providers to participate in an early market assessment questionnaire, prior to the formal procurement opportunity with an estimated publication date of November 2025. The market assessment questionnaire will help Commissioners to:<br/><br/>• Gain market views on the viability of procuring the services<br/>• Determine length of future contracts,<br/>• Determine a suitable mobilisation period for the services,<br/>• Feedback on the proposed payment model, <br/>• Feedback on the draft Service Specification, <br/>• Determine the lotting strategy across the West Midlands region.<br/><br/>The Commissioners would like to invite interested providers to register their interest via the Atamis e-tendering portal. Once registered providers will have access to the following documents to aid completion of the market assessment questions:<br/><br/>1. Market Assessment Video and the accompanying Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, <br/><br/>2. Draft Service Specification. <br/><br/>We would like to encourage providers to review the draft Service Specification, watch the video and read the accompanying PowerPoint presentation, provided in order to inform their responses to the market assessment questionnaire.<br/><br/>If your organisation is interested in this opportunity, then please respond to the market assessment questionnaire on Atamis and register your interest by following the instructions given below in section VI.3.0.1 Additional information. Please note the deadline for interested providers to complete the early market assessment questionnaire is 5pm on Tuesday 7th October 2025. Lot 1: This notice is purely for providers to express an interest in the opportunity to provide Sight Testing and Spectacle Dispensing Service for all Special Education Settings.<br/><br/>The Office of West Midlands (OWM) will be working on behalf of the following 6 West Midlands NHS Integrated care boards (ICBs):<br/><br/>1. NHS Birmingham and Solihull (indicative number of patients 6663)<br/>2. NHS Black Country (indicative number of patients 4781)<br/>3. NHS Coventry and Warwickshire (indicative number of patients 3450)<br/>4. NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire (indicative number of patients 2844)<br/>5. NHS Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin (indicative number of patients 1983)<br/>6. NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent (indicative number of patients 5063)<br/><br/>to commission annual eye checks for all 5–25-year-olds, within a Special Educational Setting (SES) “Special Schools”, across the West Midlands. The Commissioners are reaching out to the market for providers assistance in shaping this service for the circa 24,784 students across the West Midlands with special educational needs. <br/><br/>Many children in special school's face barriers to accessing high street opticians due to mobility, sensory, or behavioural challenges. Research has shown that children with a learning disability and/or autism are 28 times more likely to experience challenges with sight and eye health. Half of the children assessed as part of the Proof of Concept (POC) had a problem with their eyes or vision, and at least a third needed glasses. Despite this greater need, most children and young people must attend a hospital eye department for routine services and over 40% have no history of eye care provision. <br/><br/>The benefits of providing eye checks in a special school setting are: <br/><br/>1. Accessibility <br/>2. Familiar Environment and people<br/>3. Early Detection & Intervention<br/>4. Educational Impact<br/>5. Family Support<br/>6. Integrated Care within the school.<br/><br/>Please note the deadline for expressing an interest is 5pm on Tuesday 7th October 2025. Additional information: Please note the Contract Notice Publish date is only indicative at this time and is subject to change.<br/><br/>The lotting strategy has not been decided as yet. The lotting strategy will be informed by a number of factors outlined in market engagement questionnaire and wider stakeholder’s feedback.