--- title: "Experts at Hand: Occupational Therapy, Inclusion and Participation Service" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0784f0" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0784f0" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0784f0.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0784f0.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "Norfolk County Council" published: "2026-10-09" --- # Experts at Hand: Occupational Therapy, Inclusion and Participation Service Buyer: Norfolk County Council Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0784f0 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0784f0) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0784f0.json) ## Summary Norfolk County Council is seeking a provider for an occupational therapy, inclusion and participation service for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The service is intended to bring specialist expertise into mainstream early-years, primary, secondary and post-16 settings, helping staff identify needs and provide timely support. Work includes observation and assessment, identifying targeted support, and building the confidence and capability of setting staff. The wider Experts at Hand model may include occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, educational psychologists and specialist teachers; this contract is specifically for the Occupational Therapy, Inclusion and Participation Service. Delivery is across Norfolk, in the settings serving children and young people there. The buyer invited offers through a competitive process with dialogue under the Provider Selection Regime 2023. The tender submission deadline was 13 November 2026 at 10:00 UTC, with evaluation scheduled to start at 11:00 UTC. The initial contract is intended to run to 31 March 2029, with service delivery anticipated to begin on 22 February 2027. Its stated initial-term value is £3,829,100; the estimated total, including potential extensions, is £8,400,000 in 2026 prices, excluding inflation. The council may extend the contract by up to three years if further funding is available and governance approval is obtained; extension is not guaranteed. There is one lot. Evaluation weights quality and innovation (40%), integration, collaboration and sustainability (25%), access and reducing inequalities (25%), and social value (10%); price is pass/fail. Applicants first pass basic selection before key criteria and pricing are assessed. This opportunity is suited to providers able to deliver specialist occupational therapy support for children and young people with SEND within mainstream education settings across Norfolk. The service requires practical expertise in observing and assessing individual needs, identifying appropriate targeted support, and working alongside early-years, primary, secondary and post-16 staff. Providers should be able to strengthen staff confidence and capability while delivering timely, evidence-based support that helps children and young people participate and flourish in their settings. The competitive dialogue process includes an initial basic selection test, followed by assessment of key criteria and price for those who pass. The stated quality priorities favour providers able to demonstrate innovation, collaboration and integration, improved access and reduced inequalities, and social value. The contract is substantial in scope and calls for a provider with the workforce and organisational capacity to serve settings across the county. ## Notice 'Experts at Hand' is designed to transform how support for children and young people with SEND is delivered, by bringing specialist expertise directly into mainstream early years, primary, secondary and post-16 settings. By embedding 'expert roles', such as occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, and specialist teachers, alongside setting staff. The offer supports earlier identification of need, strengthens workforce confidence and capability, and provides timely, evidence-based support within everyday learning environments. The Experts at Hand offer will support mainstream settings across early years, primary, secondary and post-16, to better identify and meet the needs of children and young people with emerging or identified SEND. It will provide dedicated professional expertise tailored to the needs of individual children and young people, through observation, assessment, and identifying appropriated targeted support to help more children and young people flourish within their settings. Norfolk County Council (NCC) is undertaking a procurement exercise and is inviting suitably qualified and experienced applicants to submit offers to deliver the Occupational Therapy, Inclusion and Participation Service. The procurement is being conducted under regulation 11 of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 (the Regulations). As the Council's funding is currently confirmed until 31 March 2029, any initial contract term will end on 31 March 2029. The Authority may, at its sole discretion, extend the Contract for up to three (3) years should additional funding become available. Any decision to extend the contract will be subject to the availability of future national funding and internal governance approval. Accordingly, there is no guarantee that any extension will be offered. Any extension will be subject to a further Key Decision in accordance with the Authority's governance arrangements. The value of the initial term is PS3,829,100 split as follows: * Financial Year 2026/27 - PS835,260 * Financial Year 2027/28 - PS1,474,800 * Financial Year 2028/29 - PS1,519,040 It is anticipated that the Contract will be awarded on 20 January 2027, with service delivery commencing on 22 February 2027. ### Lot Information Lot 1 The procurement route adopted is a competitive process with dialogue in accordance with regulation 11 PSR. The procurement will be conducted in the following stages: Applicants must complete the Basic Selection Criteria (BSC) - Form A and the Key Criteria (which includes pricing) - Form B and submit them in accordance with the timetable set out in the procurement documents. Applicants must pass the Basic Selection Criteria (Form A) - before their Key Criteria (Form B) are considered. Applicants who fail Form A will not be considered any further and will be notified at this stage if they are unsuccessful. Applicants that pass Form A will be evaluated against their responses in their Form B and price. Contract award will be based on the information set out within the procurement documents. The Council reserves the right to make adjustments to the structure of the Competitive Process, provided that any such adjustments do not alter the overall nature of the procurement, and are communicated transparently and applied equally to all applicants. Renewal: The Authority may, at its sole discretion, extend the Contract for up to three (3) years should additional funding become available. Any decision to extend the contract will be subject to the availability of future national funding and internal governance approval. Accordingly, there is no guarantee that any extension will be offered. Any extension will be subject to a further Key Decision in accordance with the Authority's governance arrangements. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095752-2026 | | Notice type | Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 9 Oct 2026 | | Submission deadline | 13 Nov 2026 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | 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 | Active | | Lots status | Active | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | Norfolk County Council | | Locality | NORWICH | | Postcode area | Norwich | | Postcode | NR1 2DH | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLH East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLH5 Norfolk | | ITL 3 | TLH51 Norwich and East Norfolk | | Local authority | Norwich | | Electoral ward | Lakenham | | Westminster constituency | Norwich South | | Delivery location | TLH15 Norwich and East Norfolk, TLH16 North and West Norfolk, TLH17 Breckland and South Norfolk | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 85323000 - Community health services ## Release History - 9 Oct 2026 at 15:04 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095752-2026 ## Notice URLs - http://www.norfolk.gov.uk - https://in-tendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc/aspx/Login ## 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-0784f0. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0784f0.json.