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Independent Scrutineer SEND

Northumberland County Council

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

24 Aug 2026 at 16:12

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Tender

10 Jul 2026 at 15:16

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Northumberland County Council commissioned an independent scrutiny and assurance service for the Northumberland Strategic SEND Partnership. The provider supports better outcomes, experiences and inclusion for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and their families, across education, health and care. Work includes independent scrutiny, rigorous constructive challenge, objective assurance and chairing quarterly Partnership Board meetings. The role examines multi-agency arrangements, practice, co-production, lived experience and impact, while ensuring children’s, young people’s and families’ views inform decisions and quality assurance. It also assesses the effectiveness, pace and impact of improvement activity, including progress against inspection findings and the Local Area SEND Reform Plan. Delivery is in Northumberland. The service is classified as administrative and social work-related services.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to Janet Arris Independent Consultant. It used a below-threshold open competition, with electronic submission allowed. The single lot had an awarded and contract value of £96,000 gross. The award was made on 21 August 2026 and the active contract runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2028, with an optional extension of up to 12 months, subject to at least 30 days’ notice. The tender deadline was 20 July 2026 at 12:00. Evaluation gave 20% weighting to cost and 80% to quality. The requirement aligns with the national SEND reform programme for 2026–2035, the Local SEND Reform Plan and the Local Partnership Maturity Assessment.

This award indicates demand for senior independent scrutiny of local SEND partnerships, rather than routine administrative support or general social care delivery. A credible competitor would need substantial experience of SEND systems across education, health and care, and the ability to assess multi-agency practice, outcomes, inclusion and improvement impact. Evidence of constructive challenge, objective assurance and accountability work would be important, particularly experience involving inspection findings, reform plans or partnership maturity assessments. The role also requires confidence in chairing partnership boards and working with workstreams and subgroups on a quarterly cycle. Strong approaches to co-production and incorporating the lived experience and views of children, young people and families would be central. With quality carrying most evaluation weight, specialist expertise and a clear, evidence-based methodology would be more important than lowest cost alone.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Independent Scrutineer SEND

Notice Description

Northumberland County Council wishes to commission a suitably experienced provider to undertake the role of Independent Scrutineer of the Northumberland Strategic SEND Partnership. The provider must be able to offer independent scrutiny, rigorous constructive challenge, independent chair role and objective assurance to support the SEND Partnership to fulfil its responsibilities for improving outcomes, experiences and inclusion for children and young people with SEND and their families. The role includes: * Providing assurance regarding the effectiveness of local multiagency SEND arrangements, with a particular focus on practice, co production, lived experience, and impact. * Supporting the inclusion of the voice of children, young people and families in decision-making and quality assurance. * Providing an independent view of the effectiveness, pace and impact of SEND improvement activity, including progress against inspection findings and the Local Area SEND Reform Plan. The SEND Partnership Board, workstreams and subgroups meet on a quarterly schedule. The Independent Scrutineer will be required to provide scrutiny and challenge across the Partnership, hold partners to account, and provide an independent view of the effectiveness of SEND arrangements across education, health and care. The role will be required to chair the partnership quarterly board meetings. This is an evolving role, aligned to the national SEND reform programme (2026-2035), the Local SEND Reform Plan, and the Local Partnership Maturity Assessment.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: One 12-month optional extension. The Customer shall be entitled to extend the Contract End Date by such period as it requires, subject to a maximum period of 1 years and a minimum period of 30 days, by giving to the Supplier not less than 30 days' written notice prior to the Contract End Date.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c8c2
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/080519-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - open competition
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

75 - Administration, defence and social security services

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

75120000 - Administrative services of agencies

85300000 - Social work and related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£96,000 Under £100K
Lots Value
£96,000 Under £100K
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£96,000 Under £100K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
24 Aug 20263 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
20 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 31 Aug 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Northumberland County Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
MORPETH
Postcode
NE61 2EF
Postcode Area
Newcastle upon Tyne
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLC North East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLC42 Northumberland
Delivery Location
TLC21 Northumberland
Local Authority
Northumberland
Electoral Ward
Morpeth Kirkhill
Westminster Constituency
North Northumberland

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Janet Arris Independent Consultant

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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