FTS - National Workload Action Group Secretariat and Lead Delivery Partner on Social Worker Retention and Agency Resources

Concepts

• health and social work
• nwag
• social care sector
• significant social worker retention pressures
• social work resource
• social work
• social workers
• social worker retention
• national workload action group
• secretariat role

Location

United Kingdom:

Description

The children social care sector is facing significant social worker retention pressures and an overreliance on agency social work resource. To support the sector in its response to this, it is the Department for Education's intention to undertake a procurement exercise to appoint a suitably experienced organisation to deliver the following high level objectives relating to child and family social work: 1) To deliver solutions recommended by the National Workload Action Group (NWAG)and provide a secretariat role for the group 2) produce tools and resources to support Local Authorities with social worker retention; and 3) produce tools and resources to support Local Authorities in the engagement of agency social workers.

Total Quantity or Scope

The NWAG is made up of sector and practice experts and seeks to identify and recommend solutions to reduce unnecessary workload drivers for child and family social workers so that child and family social workers have enough time to spend working directly with children and families. The supplier will be responsible for delivering solutions recommended by the NWAG (either by procuring 3rd parties or performing the work directly). As part of this work the supplier will deliver a secretariat role to convene and manage the NWAG as an impartial adjudicator. In addition to the work of the NWAG, the same supplier would be required to: - collate and/or produce tools and resources on areas that impact social worker retention to complement the Social Worker Employer Standards Health Check, areas include wellbeing, supervision and effective workforce planning systems; and - produce tools/resources to support Local Authorities to engage agency social workers effectively and collaboratively (including, subject to consultation, to support local authorities to comply with proposed national rules on engaging agency social work resource). The total budget for this procurement is £1,300,000 inclusive of VAT. The Requirements that are the subject of this procurement are captured by PCR 2015 Chapter 3, Section 7 (Social and Other Specific Services); the so called “Light Touch Regime”.

Renewal Options

The contractual term is set to expire in March 2025 with a possible extension of up to a further 24 months. The Buyer is expecting all deliverables to be delivered by March 2025 and any extension will be on a reduced scope and reduced cost to primarily allow the supplier to maintain / survey / improve the success of the resources only.

CPV Codes

• 85000000 - Health and social work services
• 80000000 - Education and training services
• 85300000 - Social work and related services
• 85310000 - Social work services

Indicators

• This is a one-off contract (no recurrence)
• Renewals are available.
• Staff qualifications are relevant.

Other Information

To register your interest to tender and view the tender documents, you will need to be registered as a supplier on the DfE Jaggaer eTendering portal, available at https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html Once registered the information will be accessible via the 'View Opportunities' link on the Homepage. Select the Opportunity Notice for 'National Workload Action Group Secretariat and Lead Delivery Partner on Social Worker Retention and Agency Resources' (ITT_2124) and this will take you directly to the live tender. The closing date for submitting your tender is 17:00 GMT on 23rd May 2023. Please use the Jaggaer e-procurement system https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html to submit any questions you may have about the requirements and tendering procedure at this time. ** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. **