--- title: "Designated Family Judge Trailblazer" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04f809" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04f809" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04f809.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04f809.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION" published: "2025-03-24" --- # Designated Family Judge Trailblazer Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04f809 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04f809) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04f809.json) ## Summary The Department for Education (DfE) is initiating a procurement process for the "Designated Family Judge Trailblazer" project, focusing on addressing delays in the family justice system across England. This process is currently in the planning stage and involves a market consultation event scheduled for 31 March 2025. The initiative falls under the services category, specifically general management consultancy services (CPV 79411000). The project aims to expand guided learning and develop solutions to improve family court processes, with the first contractual period expected to commence on 7 July 2025 and conclude on 31 March 2026. Businesses interested in participating in the consultation can contact the DfE via the provided email address to arrange an invitation. This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specializing in consultancy services, particularly those experienced with complex policy areas and public law interventions related to children's services. SMEs and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) are encouraged to engage, as the project seeks to broaden networks for improvement and harness diverse insights for impactful solutions. Involvement in this tender could bolster a company's portfolio, demonstrate capability in handling intricate legal and social issues, and foster long-term relationships with central government authorities. ## Notice The family justice (FJ) system is one of the most complex and cross-system policy areas in Children's Services. DfE holds responsibility for public law, covering all vulnerable children in England who require local authority (LA) intervention. Unacceptable delays in the family courts have been a long-standing issue for over 10 years. We want to create sustainable cross-system changes that bring down family court delays. We want to build on the work of our 24/25 Trailblazer pilot. This pilot involved five DFJ trailblazer areas with significant delays taking part in deep dives to determine the most pressing drivers of delay in Family Courts in their local context and implement tailored solutions. Expected services will include: Roll out Guided Learning * Expand Guided Learning: Offer the Guided Learning (GL) process to the remaining 23 DFJ areas and enhance the offer for the first 15 areas. * Enhanced Offer: Prescribe solutions based on Trailblazers' existing solutions for all 38 areas. * Toolkit Development: Provide a toolkit for local solution development, supported by Trailblazer insights. Support ongoing learning for DFJ areas, the DfE, and the wider sector * Expand PLGs: Broaden Communities of Practice for all DFJ areas to build networks for improvement. * Pilot Evaluation: Continue supporting the evaluation of the pilot programme. * Disseminate Learning: Share ongoing learning through events, webinars, podcasts, newsletters, etc. Develop and embed learning from Trailblazers * Collate Insights: Analyse learning from the Trailblazers pilot, highlighting impactful initiatives and lessons learned. * Build Evidence Base: Expand the Guided Learning evidence base with additional DFJ areas. * Early Adopters' Toolkit: Develop a toolkit for implementing Trailblazer solutions. Further develop system accountability work 1. Engage Stakeholders: Work with key stakeholders to understand challenges and solutions. 2. Address NAO Recommendations: Review and implement relevant recommendations from the National Audit Office. 3. Develop Family Justice Strategy: Conduct research and gather data to inform policy and practice. 4. Practical Recommendations: Develop actionable recommendations and policy proposals to drive improvement. The purpose of this Notice is to initiate market consultation and is not being used as a call for competition. The Notice is intended to: Raise awareness with the market of a potential future procurement process and to enable time for organisations to begin early discussions with the Department and each other as to how they may be able to deliver any future contract. The family justice (FJ) system is one of the most complex and cross-system policy areas in Children's Services. DfE holds responsibility for public law, covering all vulnerable children in England who require local authority (LA) intervention. Unacceptable delays in the family courts have been a long-standing issue for over 10 years. We want to create sustainable cross-system changes that bring down family court delays. We want to build on the work of our 24/25 Trailblazer pilot. This pilot involved five DFJ trailblazer areas with significant delays taking part in deep dives to determine the most pressing drivers of delay in Family Courts in their local context and implement tailored solutions. Expected services will include: Roll out Guided Learning * Expand Guided Learning: Offer the Guided Learning (GL) process to the remaining 23 DFJ areas and enhance the offer for the first 15 areas. * Enhanced Offer: Prescribe solutions based on Trailblazers' existing solutions for all 38 areas. * Toolkit Development: Provide a toolkit for local solution development, supported by Trailblazer insights. Support ongoing learning for DFJ areas, the DfE, and the wider sector * Expand PLGs: Broaden Communities of Practice for all DFJ areas to build networks for improvement. * Pilot Evaluation: Continue supporting the evaluation of the pilot programme. * Disseminate Learning: Share ongoing learning through events, webinars, podcasts, newsletters, etc. Develop and embed learning from Trailblazers * Collate Insights: Analyse learning from the Trailblazers pilot, highlighting impactful initiatives and lessons learned. * Build Evidence Base: Expand the Guided Learning evidence base with additional DFJ areas. * Early Adopters' Toolkit: Develop a toolkit for implementing Trailblazer solutions. Further develop system accountability work 1. Engage Stakeholders: Work with key stakeholders to understand challenges and solutions. 2. Address NAO Recommendations: Review and implement relevant recommendations from the National Audit Office. 3. Develop Family Justice Strategy: Conduct research and gather data to inform policy and practice. 4. Practical Recommendations: Develop actionable recommendations and policy proposals to drive improvement. ### Planning Information The Department will be undertaking market consultation activity during the coming weeks, to gather information about the supply market. This will consist of a virtual event via MS Teams. We aim for this event to take place Monday, 31 March, 10:00-11:00. If you are interested, please contact Varick.HARRISON@education.gov.uk to arrange an invitation to the event. We intend to share the outcomes from the main session with all potential suppliers following the conclusion of the consultation period. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010958-2025 | | 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 | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 24 Mar 2025 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 28 Apr 2025 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 6 Jul 2025 - 31 Mar 2026 | | 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 | Planning | | Lots status | Planning | | 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 - 79411000 - General management consultancy services ## Release History - 24 Mar 2025 at 15:38 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010958-2025 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010958-2025 24th March 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents ## 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-04f809. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04f809.json.