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Kinship Support Service for Kinship Carers in England

Department for Education

This public procurement record has 6 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

28 Sep 2026 at 16:05

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

28 Sep 2026 at 15:54

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

28 Sep 2026 at 15:53

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

28 Sep 2026 at 15:50

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

17 Aug 2026 at 08:52

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

07 Aug 2026 at 10:40

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education is exploring a future national support service for kinship carers in England. The intended service is free to access and may provide peer support, information, advice, training and related activities. It is also expected to help local authorities build the capability and capacity to take a greater role in supporting kinship carers through their Kinship Local Offer. Delivery would cover England. The Department is gathering views on how a national service could work, including delivery models and innovation, so that a future specification can reflect the needs of children and young people, the sector and potential providers. This is a service procurement in the education, training and support field.

The process is at planning and the Department has not begun a competitive procurement or committed to buying the service. It is undertaking market engagement to understand provider capacity, delivery models and possible procurement approaches. An initial supplier engagement session is planned for 5 October 2026, followed by individual supplier meetings planned for 6 October 2026. The Department expects to publish a future notice on 16 November 2026. The indicative value is £2.25 million excluding VAT (£2.7 million including VAT). The planned contract period runs from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029, with a possible extension to 31 March 2030. The procurement is planned as one lot; small and medium-sized businesses and voluntary, community and social enterprises are considered suitable.

This is relevant to providers able to deliver free, accessible support for kinship carers at a national scale, with experience or expertise in peer support, information, advice, training or related services. Suppliers with practical knowledge of how children and young people, kinship carers and local authorities need support may be well placed to shape the future service. The Department specifically wants insight into approaches that help local authorities build the capability and capacity to play a greater role in provision over time, including through their Kinship Local Offer. The planned market engagement is intended to hear from suppliers about their experience, service models and ideas for innovation. The single planned lot is marked as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises, as well as larger providers.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Kinship Support Service for Kinship Carers in England

Notice Description

The Department for Education is undertaking a market engagement exercise to inform the future procurement of kinship support services in England. The services are expected to provide free to access support for kinship carers and may include peer support, information, advice, training and related support activities. We are seeking views from the market on how a national offer of support to kinship carers could be delivered, while also supporting local authorities to develop the capability and capacity needed to play a greater role in the provision of support in the future, including through their Kinship Local Offer. The engagement will help the Department understand market capacity, service delivery models, innovation opportunities and potential procurement approaches. Feedback received through this engagement will help inform the Department's requirements and proposed specification, ensuring that any future service reflects the needs of children and young people, the sector and potential providers.

Planning Information

Supplier engagement event The Department will hold an initial supplier engagement event on Monday 5th October 2026 11am-11:30am. The deadline for registering for this event is 17:00 on Sunday 4th October 2026 via Jaggaer. The event can be accessed through the "View Opportunities" section of the Jaggaer e-Tendering portal. Select the opportunity notice titled "Kinship Support Service for Kinship Carers in England- SSQ_848" to access the registration page. The event is open to all potential suppliers, regardless of any previous engagement with the Department. The session will provide an overview of the proposed National Kinship Carer Support Service and outline the subsequent market engagement activities. Market Engagement - Supplier 121s Following the engagement event, suppliers will be invited to attend individual 1:1s at the following dates and times which will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Please only request a 1:1 meeting if you are able to share relevant experience, expertise or views on delivering a free-to-access support service for kinship carers, including approaches that support local authorities to build the capability and capacity to play a greater role in the provision of support over time. Tuesday 6th October 2026 10:30-11:00 11:00-11.30 11:30-12:00 13:00-13:30 13:30-14:00 14:00-14:30 All correspondence relating to this market engagement exercise will be issued through Jaggaer. Important notice This notice: • does not signify the commencement of a competitive procurement process; • does not constitute any commitment by the Department for Education to procure services; and • does not create any obligation for the Department. Any funding estimates referred to during this market engagement are indicative only and may be subject to change. The Department makes no commitment at this stage regarding the final scope, value or funding envelope of any future procurement activity.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ded0
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/091562-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement 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

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80000000 - Education and training services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£2,250,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
28 Sep 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
16 Nov 20261 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

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
Postcode Area
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
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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