---
title: "Adoption and Kinship Specialist Support Services"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05545d"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05545d"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05545d.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05545d.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL"
published: "2026-07-24"
---

# Adoption and Kinship Specialist Support Services

Buyer: ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05545d

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## Summary

Essex County Council, in collaboration with Suffolk County Council, has finalised an open procurement process for a new framework, titled "Adoption and Kinship Specialist Support Services". This framework aims to fulfil statutory duties as outlined in the Children and Families Act 2014, and the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance of October 2024. The services will be available to adoptive and kinship families, focusing on therapeutic, assessment, and training services designed to mitigate the long-term effects of abuse and trauma. The procurement was completed on 24th July 2026, with contracts set to begin on 1st September 2026, and run for three years, with a potential one-year extension. This initiative covers the regions of UKH14 and UKH3, and falls under the industry category of health and social work services.

This procurement project offers various business opportunities, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs), which have been instrumental within the awarded lots. Businesses specialising in health and social services, particularly in training, therapeutic interventions, and specialist assessments, can find substantial growth opportunities within this framework. SMEs and large organisations alike participated, with several organisations receiving awards across three distinct lots. The framework involves structured frameworks for competition, ensuring businesses of varying sizes can engage effectively. This can not only serve as a commercial opportunity but also allows businesses to partake in a socially beneficial project aiding vulnerable families.

## Notice

Essex County Council and Suffolk County Council is seeking to procure a new framework for the provision of Adoption and Kinship Specialist Support Services. Local Authorities have a statutory duty to provide these services as outlined in the Children and Families Act 2014, and in the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance published in October 2024. The framework will meet this duty by providing adoptive and kinship families access to therapeutic services, assessment services and training to assist both children and adults to deal with the long-term effects of abuse, and trauma across Essex County Council and Suffolk County Council. The framework will be for an initial period of three (3) years and there will be an option to extend the framework for up to one year. The framework will have the following 3 Lots to support adoptive and kinship order families: * Lot 1 Training - To enable parent/carers to develop their skills to support their children effectively meet their full potential. * Lot 2 Therapeutic Intervention- To address emotional and behavioural challenges for children and their families stemming from negative early life experiences. * Lot 3 Specialist Assessments- To assess and identify a child's support needs that will enable the and subsequent planning to meet those needs. The contracting authority is Essex County Council and any Successor Body meaning one or more entities which assumes any of the Council's functions (as applicable) as a result of Local Government Reform (LGR). Such successor body or bodies may be, without limitation, a local authority, a combined authority, a combined county authority, a strategic authority or any other status determined pursuant to the Devolution and LGR Legislation.

### Lot Information

Training

Renewal: The Authority may, at its sole discretion, extend the Term by a further period or periods of up to twelve (12) months (the "Extension Periods")

Therapeutic Intervention

Renewal: The Authority may, at its sole discretion, extend the Term by a further period or periods of up to twelve (12) months (the "Extension Periods")

Specialist Assessments

Renewal: The Authority may, at its sole discretion, extend the Term by a further period or periods of up to twelve (12) months (the "Extension Periods")

### Planning Information

Essex County Council invites you to attend a market engagement event to update you on the future of adoption and kinship specialist support services.
Date: 08/12/2025
Time: 10:30 - 12
Location: Microsoft Teams
In this session we will:
• Share details of the upcoming procurement process and the new framework structure
• Explain the changes and adaptations we've introduced to improve service delivery and flexibility
• Gather feedback to refine our requirements
To reserve a place or express interest if you are unable to attend, please confirm on behalf of your organisation by emailing Isabelle.clarke@essex.gov.uk and jake.berridge@essex.gov.uk with the following details:
• Organisation name
• Name(s) of attendee(s)
• Contact email address
RSVP by Friday 5th December at 12 noon.
We look forward to your participation and valuable input.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070371-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large, SME |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 24 Jul 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 9 Mar 2026 |
| Future notice date | 12 Dec 2025 |
| Award date | 23 Jul 2026 |
| Contract period | 31 Aug 2026 - 31 Aug 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £4,800,000 |
| Lots value | £4,800,000 |
| Awards value | £4,800,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active, Pending |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL |
| Additional buyers | SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL |
| Locality | CHELMSFORD |
| Post town | Chelmsford |
| Postcode | CM1 1QH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH6 Suffolk |
| ITL 3 | TLH62 Ipswich |
| Local authority | Ipswich |
| Electoral ward | Gipping |
| Westminster constituency | Ipswich |
| Delivery location | TLH14 Suffolk CC, TLH3 Essex |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 11 |
| Supplier names | ACE MUSIC THERAPY; APRICOT CENTRE; BARNARDO'S; FAMILIES EMPOWERED; J4L ASSOCIATES; JUMP START CENTRE; KIDS INSPIRE; LINDSAY WOOD PLAY THERAPIST & CHILD & FAMILY WORKER; MIND RIGHT; N-GAGE THERAPEUTIC CARE; SENSI |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85000000 - Health and social work services

## Release History

- 24 Jul 2026 at 13:52 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070371-2026
- 5 Feb 2026 at 15:58 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010627-2026
- 27 Nov 2025 at 15:48 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077804-2025
- 27 Nov 2025 at 15:41 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077793-2025
- 26 Jun 2025 at 14:21 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/035481-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070371-2026
  24th July 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010627-2026
  5th February 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077804-2025
  27th November 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077793-2025
  27th November 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/035481-2025
  26th June 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://kidsinspire.org.uk
- http://suffolk.gov.uk
- http://www.apricotcentre.co.uk
- http://www.barnardos.org.uk
- http://www.familiesempowered.co.uk
- http://www.jumpstartcentre.co.uk
- http://www.n-gagetherapeuticcare.co.uk
- http://www.sensitreatment.com
- http://www.thepowerofplay.uk
- https://acemusictherapy.co.uk
- https://procontract.due-north.com/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.mindright.co.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-05545d. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05545d.json.