Fostering Recruitment Digital Solutions

Notice Information

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Notice Title

Fostering Recruitment Digital Solutions

Notice Description

As announced in Renewing Fostering: homes for 10,000 more children, the Department for Education (DfE) is exploring how digital solutions can support the successful onboarding of prospective foster carers, to minimise drop-off points caused by delays in communication about progress and outcomes, and enable richer data on fostering recruitment through to approvals to support decision-making at a local and national level. To deliver on the ambitious plan, we have engaged with the market to seek the development of an end-to-end digital solution that can: * Provide clear expectations of a standardised recruitment process across data and operating expectations. * Enable the gathering of rich and consistent data on the Hub fostering recruitment process and pipeline, supporting effective data sharing between DfE, Hubs, local authorities and other relevant agencies, and helping to better target interventions and efforts where they are most needed. * Create platforms and infrastructure to allow prospective foster carers to make an application and manage it throughout the fostering application process, from initial enquiry to approval (this may include making contact with their fostering service, booking appointments and monitoring the progress of their application online). * Provide a solution to help Fostering Hubs and local authorities to manage prospective foster carers through the application process through real-time insights and by engaging relevant agencies to support the onboarding process. * Provide a simple and secure customer journey that allows for interoperability where necessary, enabling improved data sharing and portability of applications across fostering services, while also strengthening the overall digital and data capability across the system. Following the preliminary market engagement, DfE will be taking forward development of the end-to-end recruitment service in-house. This will enable us to define key requirements and expectations, while working closely with Regional Care Co-operatives, Fostering Hubs and Local Authorities to develop the necessary infrastructure. We do, however, intend to continue engaging with the sector as we develop key components of the service. At this stage, the precise scope, scale and timing of any future procurement activity remain under consideration.

Planning Information

The purpose of this preliminary market engagement notice is to inform the market that DfE is considering procuring a digital solution that supports fostering recruitment and to consult on current thinking to help inform our approach. It is not being used as a call for competition. The preliminary market engagement is intended to: • help DfE gauge the market’s interest, capability and capacity for delivering a digital solution that supports recruitment of more foster carers by enabling a simpler and supportive journey • share further information about DfE’s ambition and invite the market to share early thoughts to inform the shaping of our requirements, timelines, commercial approach and any other aspects relating to this opportunity Market engagement will consist of a virtual event via MS Teams. This session will give an opportunity to discuss, clarify and highlight what aspects of the competition may be most attractive as well as anything that might be a barrier to bidding. The virtual MS Teams event will be held on 24 February at 13:00 – 14:00pm. We will outline key questions and areas of interest during the session, and interested suppliers will be invited to complete a survey and schedule a 1:1 meeting to discuss their thoughts and the suitability of existing platforms in further detail. To arrange an invite to the team session, please contact fostering.PROGRAMME@education.gov.uk. Details about how to sign-up for a 1:1 session will be shared during the event on 24th February.

Notice Details

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Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID: ocds-h6vhtk-06530c
Publication Source: Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/047368-2026
Current Stage: Planning
All Stages: Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type: UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Procurement Type: Standard
Procurement Category: Services
Procurement Method: Not Specified
Procurement Method Details: Not specified
Tender Suitability: SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale: Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

85311300 - Welfare services for children and young people

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value: Not specified
Lots Value: Not specified
Awards Value: Not specified
Contracts Value: Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date: 21 May 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline: Not specified
Future Notice Date: 2 Nov 20265 months to go
Award Date: Not specified
Contract Period: 31 Mar 2027 - 31 Mar 2028 1-2 years
Recurrence: Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status: Planned
Lots Status: Planned
Awards Status: Not Specified
Contracts Status: Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

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Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION
Contact Name: Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email: Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone: Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality: LONDON
Postcode: SW1P 3BT
Post Town: South West London
Country: England
Major Region (ITL 1): TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2): TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3): TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location: Not specified
Local Authority: Westminster
Electoral Ward: St James's
Westminster Constituency: Cities of London and Westminster

Further Information

Notice Documents

https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/047368-2026
21st May 2026 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/013055-2026
12th February 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Notice URLs

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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JSON Markdown

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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