---
title: "Provision of Community Short Breaks for Children with Disabilities and their Families in Bedford Borough 2026"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05e8ef"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05e8ef"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05e8ef.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05e8ef.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "BEDFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL"
published: "2025-11-26"
---

# Provision of Community Short Breaks for Children with Disabilities and their Families in Bedford Borough 2026

Buyer: BEDFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05e8ef

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## Summary

Bedford Borough Council is currently in the planning stage for the procurement of community short breaks for children with disabilities and their families within the Bedford Borough. This process, identified as tender BBC CH 04069, focuses on providing services designed to support children and young people (CYP) with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) by offering short breaks. These services aim to contribute positively to the personal, social, and emotional development of CYP while also providing respite for their families. The procurement falls under the services category, with specific classifications including daycare and social services. A market engagement event will take place on 15th December 2025 at Borough Hall in Bedford, serving as a platform for discussing the recommissioning process and inviting innovative insights from current and prospective providers. The procurement schedule aims to have contracts in place by April 2026 when current contracts end.

This tender offers significant growth opportunities for businesses specialising in education and care services for children with disabilities. It is well-suited for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as voluntary and community sector enterprises (VCSEs) due to the suitability criteria outlined in the procurement process. Businesses that provide high-quality daycare and social services, especially those with experience working with CYP with SEND, can benefit from engaging in this procurement. By participating, organisations can contribute to a valued community service, supporting families and young people in Bedford, while expanding their service offerings in line with local government needs.

## Notice

Bedford Borough Council provides a range of Short Break Services that are designed to assist individuals who provide care for CYP with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND). The provision of short breaks is a statutory requirement under the Children and Families Act 2014. Local authorities are required to provide access to services that are designed to assist individuals who provide care for children with SEND to continue to do so, or to do so more effectively, by giving them breaks from caring. Local authorities must offer short breaks as part of a preventative model in keeping families together, preventing family breakdown and preventing CYP with SEND becoming children looked after. Short Breaks Services have been defined as services that give CYP with SEND enjoyable experiences away from their primary carers, thereby contributing to their personal and social development and reducing social isolation; and services that provide parents and families a necessary and valuable break from their caring responsibilities. Short Breaks Services can include day-time or overnight care in the homes of CYP with SEND or elsewhere, educational or leisure activities outside their homes, or services available to assist carers in the evenings, at weekends and during the school holidays.

### Planning Information

Invitation to Market Engagement Event – Activities in the Community (Short Breaks) Recommissioning
Since 1 April 2011, local authorities have had a duty to provide Short Breaks for children and young people with SEND who meet the eligibility criteria within this duty.
Short Breaks are opportunities for children and young people with a disability to spend time away from their primary carers, contributing to their personal, social and emotional development. They also provide families, parents/carers and siblings with valuable time for rest and other responsibilities.
Activities in the Community (Short Breaks) is Bedford Borough Council’s offer to children and young people with SEND who reside within the Borough. These activities take place during evenings, weekends and school holidays, providing educational and leisure opportunities outside the home. Current services are delivered by SSG, Autism Bedfordshire and Embrace, with contracts due to end in March 2026.
As part of our recommissioning process, we are pleased to invite you to an Activities in the Community (Short Breaks) Market Engagement Event:
Date: Monday 15th December
Time: 10:00am – 11:30am
Location: Committee Room 1, Borough Hall, Cauldwell Street, Bedford, MK42 9AP
This session will introduce our vision for the future of community-based activities (short breaks) and outline our intentions for the upcoming recommissioning process. 
We welcome attendance from current providers, prospective providers, voluntary and community organisations, and any organisation interested in delivering high-quality support for children and young people with SEND.
During the session, we will:
• Share Bedford Borough’s vision and priorities for the next commissioning cycle
• Present insights from local families, young people, and recent engagement work
• Outline the proposed commissioning and procurement timeline leading up to April 2026
• Invite providers to share their insights, experiences and innovative ideas
• Explore how different organisations may contribute to a varied, high-quality local offer
• Begin shaping the future model for Activities in the Community (Short Breaks)
What to expect
The session will include a short presentation followed by discussion and Q&A. Providers will leave with a clearer understanding of the future direction for short breaks, the likely commissioning approach, and forthcoming opportunities to engage in the process.
If you have accessibility needs or require adjustments to participate, please let us know when booking.
For further information and to register your organisation’s place please email: SENDEvents@bedford.gov.uk and cc Henry.masih@bedford.gov.uk
Please note there will be a maximum of 2 attendees per organisation if attending Borough Hall. If you are unable to attend in person this session will also be held virtually, please specify your attendance route when registering interest.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077133-2025 |
| 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 | 26 Nov 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 10 Dec 2025 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2028 |
| 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 | BEDFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL |
| Locality | BEDFORD |
| Post town | Milton Keynes |
| Postcode | MK42 9AP |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLH24 Bedford |
| Local authority | Bedford |
| Electoral ward | Cauldwell |
| Westminster constituency | Bedford |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services
- 98 - Other community, social and personal services

### Codes

- 85312100 - Daycare services
- 85312110 - Child daycare services
- 85312120 - Daycare services for handicapped children and young people
- 85320000 - Social services
- 98000000 - Other community, social and personal services

## Release History

- 26 Nov 2025 at 10:55 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077133-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077133-2025
  26th November 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-05e8ef. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05e8ef.json.