---
title: "Regional Care Co-operatives Pathfinder Delivery Partner"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-03b79d"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03b79d"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03b79d.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03b79d.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION"
published: "2023-03-31"
---

# Regional Care Co-operatives Pathfinder Delivery Partner

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-03b79d

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## Summary

The Department for Education is planning a procurement process for the Regional Care Co-operatives Pathfinder Delivery Partner. This service falls under the business services category and aims to test a new approach in two regions for placements of looked after children. An initial market engagement session is scheduled for April 17th and 20th. The procurement process is planned to start in late April, with the contract expected to begin in June. The pathfinders are scheduled to launch in Spring 2024, with a potential extension. The successful region is targeted to be announced in mid-July. The Department for Education can be contacted at Sanctuary Buildings, London.

Businesses providing services such as consultancy, project management, governance, legal support, HR, and IT may find opportunities in competing for the Regional Care Co-operatives Delivery Partner role. The procurement process presents a chance for eligible businesses to be part of testing and implementing a new approach to care provision for looked after children. The pathfinders are set to offer a platform for business growth and collaboration with local authorities on a collective basis.

## Notice

This PIN is for market engagement only. It does not signify the commencement of any procurement process and does not constitute any commitment by the Department for Education. If the Department for Education decides to commence any procurement process as contemplated by this notice, a separate notice will be published at the relevant time. The requirements and values set out below may be subject to change. Regional Care Co-operative (RCC) pathfinders will be delivered in partnership with local authorities in two regions to test a new approach to planning, delivering and commissioning placements for looked after children. A co-design process with local authorities will shape the exact model and approach taken in each region; on a national level we will convene an expert advisory group to provide specialist insight and expertise on areas including governance, funding flows and data/forecasting. We will be holding an initial market engagement session to talk about the service requirements and seek feedback via 45-minute 1-2-1 meetings on 17th and 20th April. A question and answer log will be circulated after all sessions have taken place via the commercial Jaggaer system. To confirm your attendance please email kady.billington-murphy@education.gov.uk.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

In response to local authorities experiencing significant and widespread problems with finding homes for the children in their care (in children's homes and foster care), the Department for Education has announced its intention to introduce Regional Care Co-operatives (RCCs) through which local authorities will plan, deliver and commission placements on a regional, collective basis. We will test this approach with groups of local authorities in two regions and are looking for a delivery partner to support the delivery of the pathfinders. This will include supporting and advising on effective working relationships between local authorities, support with facilitating the co-design of the pathfinders in partnership with local authorities, commercial and legal establishment of the pathfinders, project management, governance and oversight, HR and recruitment, finances and allocation of funding, IT and data systems. Further information about Regional Care Co-operatives can be found here: Children's social care: stable homes, built on love - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) We plan to commence procurement in late April, with a view to the contract beginning in June. The pathfinders are due to launch in Spring 2024; the contract will continue until this date with potential for extension. If more than two areas express a serious interest in being a pathfinder, we will select the successful regions based on criteria including: closest fit to the intended model, size of region/number of LAC, likelihood of being able to set this up within 12-15 months (based on strength of existing partnerships, LA capacity, links to health / youth justice etc) and innovation. We plan to announce the successful region in mid-July. Additional information: The budget for this procurement is still to be finalised, at this stage we are inviting suppliers to give an indication of costs.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009409-2023 |
| 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 | 31 Mar 2023 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 18 May 2023 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| 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 | DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 3BT |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

## Release History

- 31 Mar 2023 at 09:18 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009409-2023

## Notice URLs

- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education

## 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-03b79d. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03b79d.json.