--- title: "Education Support Outreach Service for Visual and Multi-Sensory Impairment" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-077a6d" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077a6d" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077a6d.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077a6d.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "London Borough of Barking and Dagenham" published: "2026-09-25" --- # Education Support Outreach Service for Visual and Multi-Sensory Impairment Buyer: London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-077a6d [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077a6d) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077a6d.json) ## Summary The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is exploring a future education support outreach service for children and young people with visual impairment, including access to support for multi-sensory impairment (MSI). The service is intended to provide specialist outreach, assessment, advice and intervention, alongside training for schools and early years settings and support for families, carers and relevant professionals. It is expected to work with wider special educational needs and disabilities services and partner agencies. Support would cover educational settings in and outside the borough where appropriate, including independent settings for children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan. The current service supports about 170 local children and young people. This is preliminary market engagement at the planning stage, not a competition or invitation to tender. The council is seeking provider feedback to inform its options appraisal, service design and commissioning decisions; taking part or not taking part will not affect a supplier’s position in any later procurement. Interested organisations are asked to submit a questionnaire through the council’s procurement portal by noon on 12 October 2026, after registering there. The council expects to publish a future notice on 1 March 2027. The anticipated contract period is 1 September 2027 to 31 August 2031, with an extension option to 31 August 2032. The stated estimated total contract value is £702,906 over four years; the current estimated maximum annual budget is £168,000, subject to inflationary rises. This service is suited to providers with specialist expertise in visual impairment and multi-sensory impairment, and the ability to employ appropriately qualified and experienced staff. The council is seeking providers able to assess and respond to diverse and changing needs, deliver outreach and advice, train education workforces, and support children, families and settings. Strong candidates will be able to work across different educational settings and coordinate effectively with families, schools, SEND services and partner agencies. Providers should be prepared to demonstrate inclusive practice, delivery within available resources, responsiveness to changing demand and evidence of positive outcomes. The intended results include better access to learning, greater independence and participation, improved confidence in education settings, positive family experiences and compliance with statutory duties. Small and medium-sized businesses and voluntary, community and social enterprises are considered suitable. ## Notice The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is undertaking a preliminary market engagement to gather market intelligence and seek feedback from providers regarding the future delivery of an Education Support Outreach Service for Visual Impairment and access to Multi-Sensory Impairment (MSI) support for schools and settings across the borough. As part of this engagement, the Council invites interested organisations to complete the market engagement questionnaire on our procurement portal. Completed questionnaires should be submitted via the messaging function on the Council's procurement portal by 12 noon, Monday 12th October 2026. Organisations wishing to participate must be registered on the procurement portal. The registration link can be accessed here: https://lbbd.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml The purpose of this exercise is to inform the Council's future options appraisal, service design, and commissioning decisions. For the avoidance of doubt, this notice is solely for information gathering purposes and does not constitute a call for competition, a pre-qualification process, or the commencement of a procurement procedure. Participation or non-participation in this engagement will neither advantage nor disadvantage any organisation in any future procurement exercise. Participants are responsible for all costs associated with responding to this engagement. The Council shall not be liable for any costs incurred by organisations as a result of participating in this exercise. The existing service currently supports approximately 170 children and young people resident in Barking and Dagenham. It provides specialist assessment, advice, intervention, training, and support to children and young people, their families, educational settings, and relevant professionals. Any future contract is expected to maintain high-quality, accessible support that promotes inclusion, independence, and educational achievement. The Council anticipates that future provision will include: Specialist outreach support; Assessment and advisory services; Training and workforce development for schools and early years settings; Support for families and carers; and Effective integration with wider SEND services and partner agencies. The service must be capable of supporting children and young people attending educational establishments both within and outside the borough where appropriate. This includes independent educational settings where a child or young person has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). The future service will need to demonstrate its ability to: Meet the diverse and changing needs of children and young people with visual impairment and MSI; Deliver high-quality support within available resources; Respond effectively to demographic and demand changes; Support inclusive practice across educational settings; and Evidence positive outcomes for children, young people, and families. The Council is committed to improving outcomes for children and young people while ensuring value for money and compliance with statutory duties. The current estimated maximum annual budget for the service is PS168,000 plus inflationary rises per year, with an estimated total contract value of PS702,906 over four years. Any future provider will be expected to employ appropriately qualified and experienced staff with specialist expertise in visual impairment and MSI support. The future service is expected to contribute to the council's strategic aims of: Promoting inclusion and participation; Improving educational outcomes and attainment; Supporting independence and preparation for adulthood; and Empowering families to support their children and young people effectively. The Council expects the future service to contribute to: Improved access to education and learning opportunities; Increased independence and participation for children and young people; Positive experiences and high satisfaction levels among families and settings; Improved confidence and capability within educational settings; and Full compliance with statutory responsibilities. ### Planning Information Organisations wishing to participate must be registered on the procurement portal. The registration link can be accessed here: https://lbbd.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml The questionnaire can be accessed here: https://lbbd.bravosolution.co.uk/go/5992336901A0D819C625 ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090947-2026 | | 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 | 1 Mar 2027 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Sep 2027 - 31 Aug 2031 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £702,906 | | 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 | London Borough of Barking and Dagenham | | Locality | BARKING | | Postcode area | Ilford | | Postcode | IG11 7LU | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLI London | | ITL 2 | TLI5 Outer London - East and North East | | ITL 3 | TLI52 Barking & Dagenham and Havering | | Local authority | Barking and Dagenham | | Electoral ward | Abbey | | Westminster constituency | Barking | | Delivery location | TLI London | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 85000000 - Health and social work services ## Release History - 25 Sep 2026 at 12:07 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090947-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090947-2026 25th September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - http://www.lbbd.gov.uk - https://lbbd.bravosolution.co.uk/go/5992336901A0D819C625 - https://lbbd.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml - 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-077a6d. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077a6d.json.