Peninsula Placements for Children and Young People.

Early Market Engagement Event Background: The Peninsula Commissioning and Procurement Partnership is a long-standing collaboration between Cornwall Council, Devon County Council, Plymouth City Council, Somerset County Council and Torbay Council. The Peninsula Partnership has been collaborating on the commissioning and procurement of framework contracts for independent sector fostering, children's homes, and day and residential special school placements since 2006. The authorities jointly tender for services and co-operate on the monitoring of the quality of provision. The most recent Peninsula placements tender took place in 2012 and added a Lot for 16-25 supported accommodation and supported lodgings. There have been regular opportunities for new providers to apply to join the framework contracts or for existing providers to add provision. The current annual spend across the Peninsula authorities for placements covered by the framework contracts is £68 million. Within the next 12 months, the Peninsula Commissioning and Procurement Partnership will be tendering for a new suite of placement contracts/arrangements. There will be a drive to commission services to meet children's needs as a part of a pathway through care and to encourage innovation and collaboration between placement providers. The exact scope of this has not yet been confirmed but is likely to include the following elements: Parent and child placements and /or assessment - to include independent fostering placements, residential family centres and community based assessments. Special Schools - for independently run provision registered with Ofsted as a Special School. This will include term time or 52 week residential placements, residential short breaks and day education placements. Family Based Care -This will focus on short and long term and respite independent fostering placements, with a focus on support, stability and permanency. It will include placements that support pathways to re-unification or kinship care, permanently matched long-term foster care, foster to special guardianship, foster to adopt, and Staying Put. Group based care - to include models of care that can meet the needs of our most vulnerable children and young people, including those stepping down from Tier 4 mental health hospital and Welfare Secure units. This could include innovative models and partnerships between foster care, residential children's homes (with or without education) and 16-18 supported accommodation. The focus will be on the pathways that support permanency and the journey of the child, including re-unification, long term family based care and transition to independent adulthood. The Peninsula Authorities are currently in the Pre Procurement Stage. In order to ensure that the new contracts/arrangements are developed in partnership with the placement provider market, a series of market engagement events are being held across the region. The market engagement events will provide opportunities to: - Meet and engage with the Peninsula commissioners and practice leads - Meet and engage with other placement providers - Hear more information about the current development of the specifications for services - Directly contribute to the design of the specification for services The timetable for the market engagement events is as follows: Parent and child: 13th May, 10:00-12:30, County Hall, Taunton 23rd June, 12:30-15:30, Windsor House Plymouth Suitable for: Independent fostering agencies, residential family centres, expert assessors Special schools: 26th May, 09:30-12:30, Larkbeare House, Exeter Suitable for: Special school providers Family based care: 27th April, 13:00-15:00, Windsor House, Plymouth 20th May, 10:00-12:30, County Hall, Taunton Suitable for: Independent fostering providers Group based care/high need: 11th May, 12:00-15:00, County Hall, Taunton 17th May, 12:00-14:30, Guildhall, Plymouth 14th June, 10:00-13:00, County Hall, Exeter Suitable for: Specialist independent fostering providers, day education providers, residential children's homes, 16-18 supported accommodation/supported lodgings providers For further information about the market engagement events or to book a place, please email Emma Crowther, Strategic Peninsula Commissioning Officer: Additional information: The Peninsula Authorities have a statutory duty to provide high quality local placements for children and young people in care. Achieving positive outcomes for children and young people in care can be a challenge, as the national statistics below illustrate: GCSE results for looked after children remain 40 percentage points below the average for children who are not looked after In March 2015 39 % of the 26,330 former care leavers aged 19-21 were not in education, employment or training, compares with 14.7 % of all 19-24 year olds A third of the homeless population was in care at some point One in four people in prison have been in care 70 % of adult sex workers have been in care Sources: Department for Education, Centre for Social Justice, Spring Consortium Interim Learning Report A stable and supportive placement is one of the key building blocks for children and young people in care achieving positive outcomes and transitioning successfully into adulthood and independence. The Peninsula Authorities are facing significant challenges in achieving positive outcomes for children and young people in care, including but not limited to placement stability, availability of suitable local placements to meet complex needs and the need to demonstrate good Value for Money. Peninsula children are still being placed a considerable distance away from the South West at considerable cost due to a lack of availability of local supply. Independent placement providers are key partners in the provision of safe and suitable homes for children and young people in care. It is a key driver of the Peninsula Authorities to work in collaboration with placement providers to shape the design of provision in the South West for 2017 and beyond.
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