Alternative Education Provision for children who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education

Description

The Council has a duty to secure Alternative Education Provision (AEP) which is defined as education arranged by local authorities for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education. The purpose of the service will be to support the Council with this duty by providing a full time AEP service for this cohort. This service specification sets out the scope and requirements for these services in three lots: • Lot 1 – Full Time onsite Alternative Education Provision to permanently excluded and challenging young people, predominantly at Key Stage 4; • Lot 2 – Full time virtual/online education for children in Key Stages, 3, 4 and 5; • Lot 3 – Short Term Provision for children with an EHCP without a permanent school place. The contract for all Lots will commence on 1 September 2021. The indicative budget for Lot 1 is estimated to be around 480,000 GBP per annum, Lot 2 it is likely to be between 50 000 and 100,00 GBP per annum and Lot 3 is likely to be between 80 000 and 130,000 GBP per annum. This is only an estimate and the actual spend maybe higher or lower than these figures. The Council is of the opinion that TUPE will apply to Lot 1 only. This Contract award notice is for Lot 1 only. Lot 2 and 3 have not been awarded. Following evaluation of all the tenders for Lot 2 and Lot 3 we have taken the decision not to award any contracts. This is in accordance with Regulation 55 of the Public Contract (s) Regulations 2015. The decision was taken for reasons of affordability. Unfortunately, the tender submissions that the Council received were all in excess of the Council’s budget for the specified service. Lot 1: Onsite provision for students with complex needs in KS4 Lot 1 - This will include the provision of full time onsite Alternative Education Provision to permanently excluded and challenging young people, predominantly at Key Stage 4, and those with Special Educational Needs (SEND). Staff will be fully experienced in delivering education to this cohort with established links to partner agencies enabling them to provide a holistic approach to education. Full time is defined as a minimum of 18 hours of supervised education per week delivered across five days. Each day must be made up of two sessions divided by a break and will include the provision of two nutritious meals a day to each full time pupil. Transportation will also be required for pupils who have been referred to receive services. The indicative budget for Lot 1 is estimated to be around 480,000 GBP per annum; this is only an estimate and the actual spend maybe higher or lower than this figure. Potential bidders for this Lot must be registered with the UK government Department for Education (DfE) as a registered maintained or Independent School.