--- title: "Independent Review Mechanism (IRM)_ Market Engagement Event" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-077a23" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077a23" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077a23.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077a23.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "Department for Education" published: "2026-09-25" --- # Independent Review Mechanism (IRM)_ Market Engagement Event Buyer: Department for Education Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-077a23 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077a23) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077a23.json) ## Summary The Department for Education is exploring future delivery of the Independent Review Mechanism, a statutory independent review service for prospective and existing foster parents, adopters and adult adoptees. It allows applicants to challenge certain decisions by fostering and adoption services, including decisions about approval status and access to records. Cases are considered by independent panels of experienced children’s social care professionals, supporting impartial review. The service is intended to support transparency, fairness and confidence in fostering and adoption decisions across England. The procurement is for social work and related services, covering the review service and its delivery model. This is at planning and is market engagement, not an invitation to tender or a commitment to procure. The Department expects to hold an online market engagement session on 15 October 2026, from 2pm to 3pm, to explain requirements and gather supplier feedback; expressions of interest and questions are to be submitted through Jaggaer. The engagement will inform the future service model, delivery approach and commercial strategy, and a consolidated Q&A is planned afterwards. The indicative estimated value is £800,000. The anticipated contract period is 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029, with a possible extension to 31 March 2030. Requirements and value may change after engagement. The service is likely to suit providers with experience in children’s social care, fostering and adoption, and the handling of sensitive, independent reviews. Relevant expertise may include assembling and supporting independent panels, assessing decisions made by fostering and adoption services, and providing fair, objective routes for applicants to seek review. The Department is seeking market feedback on how the service should be delivered and commercially structured, so organisations able to contribute practical delivery models and service insight may be well placed to engage. Small and medium-sized businesses and voluntary, community and social enterprises are identified as suitable participants for the planned procurement. Suppliers can use the engagement to help shape the future requirements; no bid can be made through this planning process. ## Notice The Department for Education is exploring options for the future delivery of the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), a statutory service that provides an independent review route for prospective and existing foster parents, adopters, and adult adoptees. The IRM enables applicants to request an independent review of certain decisions made by fostering and adoption services, including decisions relating to approval status and access to records. Cases are considered by independent panels comprising experienced children's social care professionals, ensuring an impartial and objective review process. The Department is seeking market feedback to inform the future service model, delivery approach, and commercial strategy. The service plays a key role in supporting transparency, fairness, and confidence in fostering and adoption decision-making processes across England. Please note: This notice relates to pre-procurement market engagement only and does not constitute the commencement of a procurement process. Any future procurement opportunity will be advertised separately. The scope, requirements, and estimated contract value may be subject to change following market engagement. ### Planning Information Market Engagement Event - Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) The Department for Education is undertaking market engagement in relation to the future delivery of the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), a statutory service that provides an independent review route for prospective and existing foster parents, adopters and adult adoptees. An initial market engagement session will be held on 15 October 2026, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm, via Microsoft Teams, to present the service requirements and gather feedback from the market. Interested organisations should submit an expression of interest via Jaggaer (ssq_855). Any questions should be raised through the Jaggaer messaging system. Follow this link to access Jaggaer e-procurement portal - https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html Teams joining instructions will be issued on 14 October 2026 to all organisations that have registered their interest. A consolidated Q&A log will be shared via Jaggaer following the event. Important: This notice is for market engagement purposes only and does not constitute the start of a procurement process or any commitment by the Department for Education. Should a procurement proceed, a separate notice will be published in due course. Requirements and estimated values may be subject to change. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090828-2026 | | 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 | 25 Sep 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 2029 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £800,000 | | 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 | | Postcode area | 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 - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 85000000 - Health and social work services - 85300000 - Social work and related services ## Release History - 25 Sep 2026 at 09:52 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090828-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090828-2026 25th September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html - 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-077a23. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077a23.json.