Notice Information
Notice Title
Fitness to Practise Partner Training Programme
Notice Description
Social Work England intends to procure a suitably qualified and experienced training provider to design, deliver and continuously improve a comprehensive training programme for Adjudicators, Legal Advisers (Partners) and Case Examiners involved in Fitness to Practise (FtP) decision-making. The programme will support newly appointed decision-makers through mandatory induction training and provide ongoing annual refresher training for existing cohorts, ensuring consistency, legal soundness and quality across all FtP decisions. The appointed provider will be required to develop, implement and deliver training covering the statutory and regulatory framework applicable to Social Work England's adjudication and case examination functions. This includes but is not limited to: the Fitness to Practise Rules 2019 (as amended), the Social Workers Regulations 2018 (as amended), relevant regulatory case law, approaches to impairment, preliminary issues, procedural fairness, managing unrepresented registrants, avoiding bias, the realistic prospect test, and drafting clear and reasoned decisions. The training must incorporate interactive and practice-based learning, with anonymised examples where appropriate. Training for FtP Partners will be delivered remotely. Training for Case Examiners will be delivered through a blend of remote, hybrid or in-person sessions, including an initial two-day programme. The contract includes the development of webinars, e-learning modules, virtual workshops, peer-led learning forums and reflective practice groups to broaden access through Social Work England's digital learning platform. All training must incorporate principles of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, including relevant legal duties, unconscious bias mitigation and cultural competence. The provider will collaborate closely with Social Work England's Fitness to Practise, Legal and ED&I teams in planning, reviewing and refining the training offer. They will also be responsible for supplying training materials, pre-reading, recordings and an annual programme of delivery. Ongoing evaluation and quarterly performance reporting will be required, alongside participation in continuous improvement activity informed by appeals, Professional Standards Authority learning and internal quality assurance. The initial contract term will be three years, with the option to extend for a further two years.
Lot Information
Lot 1
Options: The contract may include optional additional services proposed by the supplier, which the authority may take up at its discretion if deemed to meet organisational needs. These optional services are not guaranteed and will be subject to agreement following award.
Renewal: The authority may, at its sole discretion, exercise extension options of up to an additional two years (in one or more increments), contingent upon ongoing requirements and acceptable contractor performance.
Planning Information
Social Work England is seeking to engage with the market in preparation for a potential future procurement. As part of this early engagement, we invite interested organisations to complete the Market Engagement Questionnaire which is available on the Social Work England website here: https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/media/xpbj1ld3/swe10553-expression-of-interest-questionnaire.docx Please return the completed questionnaire by 17:30 on 14 October 2025 by email to tenders@socialworkengland.org.uk This is not a call for competition or part of a formal procurement process, but a means of gathering information to help inform our approach.
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-0589bd
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079334-2025
- Current Stage
- Tender
- All Stages
- Planning, Tender
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- UK4 - Tender Notice
- Procurement Type
- Standard
- Procurement Category
- Services
- Procurement Method
- Open
- Procurement Method Details
- Open procedure
- Tender Suitability
- SME
- Awardee Scale
- Not specified
Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
- CPV Divisions
79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
80 - Education and training services
-
- CPV Codes
79140000 - Legal advisory and information services
80500000 - Training services
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- £354,167 £100K-£500K
- Lots Value
- £354,167 £100K-£500K
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- Not specified
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 3 Dec 2025Yesterday
- Submission Deadline
- 19 Dec 20252 weeks to go
- Future Notice Date
- 7 Nov 2025Expired
- Award Date
- Not specified
- Contract Period
- 16 Mar 2026 - 15 Mar 2029 3-4 years
- Recurrence
- 2030-11-01
Notice Status
- Tender Status
- Active
- Lots Status
- Active
- Awards Status
- Not Specified
- Contracts Status
- Not Specified
Buyer & Supplier
Contracting Authority (Buyer)
- Main Buyer
- SOCIAL WORK ENGLAND
- Contact Name
- Andrew Bailey
- Contact Email
- commercial.team@socialworkengland.org.uk
- Contact Phone
- Not specified
Buyer Location
- Locality
- SHEFFIELD
- Postcode
- S3 8JY
- Post Town
- Sheffield
- Country
- England
-
- Major Region (ITL 1)
- TLE Yorkshire and The Humber
- Basic Region (ITL 2)
- TLE3 South Yorkshire
- Small Region (ITL 3)
- TLE32 Sheffield
- Delivery Location
- TLE32 Sheffield
-
- Local Authority
- Sheffield
- Electoral Ward
- City
- Westminster Constituency
- Sheffield Central
Further Information
Notice Documents
-
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079334-2025
3rd December 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/060929-2025
30th September 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/049480-2025
18th August 2025 - Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender -
https://in-tendhost.co.uk/socialworkengland/aspx/Home
Full tender documents are available to all suppliers via Social Work England's e-procurement website.
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
View full OCDS Record for this contracting process
The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.
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