--- title: "Special Educational Needs Home to School Transport Service - Soft Market Testing" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-02ed29" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-02ed29" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02ed29.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02ed29.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "OLDHAM COUNCIL" published: "2021-10-19" --- # Special Educational Needs Home to School Transport Service - Soft Market Testing Buyer: OLDHAM COUNCIL Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-02ed29 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-02ed29) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02ed29.json) ## Summary Oldham Council is planning a tender titled "Special Educational Needs Home to School Transport Service - Soft Market Testing" in the services industry, focusing on the hire of passenger transport vehicles with drivers. This tender aims to refine the existing methodology for providing transport assistance to pupils with special educational needs, disability, or mobility difficulties. The contract is expected to commence on 1st September 2022, with soft market testing planned to take place leading up to this date. A Supplier Engagement Event will be held with more details available on the Chest portal, and the total estimated value for the contract is £12.6 million. This tender presents a significant opportunity for businesses specialising in transport services, particularly those equipped to accommodate the diverse needs of children with special educational requirements. Companies that provide adapted vehicles, taxis, or multi-passenger transport solutions would be well-positioned to compete. Engaging in this procurement process can help these organisations expand their service offerings and contribute to the essential task of supporting the educational needs of vulnerable pupils in the Oldham area. ## Notice Oldham Council provides many services to serve the residents of the borough, one of which is the home to school transport service for children with special educational needs. This is a statutory service and is to provide travel assistance for pupils who because of their special educational needs, disability or mobility difficulties cannot reasonably be expected to walk to their nearest qualifying school. As part of the tender process for a new contract (to start from 1st September 2022) the Council wishes to undertake soft market testing. The purpose of the testing is to allow the Council an opportunity to refine its current working contract methodology and shape our proposal for a potential formal tender process. Organisations are also invited to a Supplier Engagement Event, more details can be found on the Chest portal (https://www.the-chest.org.uk/) under reference DN576811. ### Lot Information Lot 1 The SEN Transport Team provides the current provision for Home to School Transport. The service currently transports approximately 800 pupils with either special educational needs, disabilities or because of their mobility issues, they cannot be expected to walk to school. This results in approximately 200 routes per day. The service operates over 190 school days as determined by the School Holidays Calendar, published by Oldham Family Information Service considering other occasional days determined by individual schools governing bodies. All pupils with SEN are provided with free travel assistance, in accordance with the Council's current Home to School Transport Policy (March 2018), IPSEA Legal guidance and the Education Act 1996. The provision of transport is determined by the needs of the individual pupil. Those with severe and complex health, physical or educational needs can be transported by either individual taxis or adapted vehicles. Children or young people with less severe needs ordinarily travel via a multi-passenger minibus. SEN Transport Policy aims are to ensure that all pupils who are eligible to access transport, will receive the appropriate provision which meets the identified needs of each individual child or young person. When assigning the appropriate provision to be provided, the Transport Moderation panel consistently applies the following principles: * The aim of the service is to support parents, not absolve them of their responsibility to ensure their child attends school on time with regular attendance. * The SEN Transport team ensures all arrangements put in place shall be cost-effective, so the Authority receives value for money. * Wherever possible, the provision provided will look to build and promote independence, to help prepare children and young people for later life. * The health, safety and well-being of the children and young people will remain paramount. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026044-2021 | | Notice type | Planning Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 19 Oct 2021 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 22 Nov 2021 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £12,600,000 | | Lots value | £12,600,000 | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planned | | Lots status | Planned | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | OLDHAM COUNCIL | | Locality | OLDHAM | | Post town | Oldham | | Postcode | OL1 1UT | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLD North West (England) | | ITL 2 | TLD3 Greater Manchester | | ITL 3 | TLD37 Greater Manchester North East | | Local authority | Oldham | | Electoral ward | Coldhurst | | Westminster constituency | Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton | | Delivery location | TLD North West (England) | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport) ### Codes - 60170000 - Hire of passenger transport vehicles with driver ## Release History - 19 Oct 2021 at 08:03 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026044-2021 ## Notice URLs - http://www.oldham.gov.uk/ - https://www.the-chest.org.uk/ ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-02ed29. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02ed29.json.