--- title: "Speech and Language Therapist and Occupational Therapist Contract" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0784fa" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0784fa" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0784fa.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0784fa.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council" published: "2026-10-09" --- # Speech and Language Therapist and Occupational Therapist Contract Buyer: Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0784fa [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0784fa) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0784fa.json) ## Summary Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council intends to commission one occupational therapist and five speech and language therapists for the first phase of its Experts at Hand model. The service will support children, young people and families, particularly in mainstream schools, helping schools identify and respond to communication needs early and improving participation in learning and everyday activities. Work includes training school staff, strategic planning with school leaders, facilitating solution circles and auditing school environments for physical and communication barriers. Speech and language support may also cover communication, swallowing and related needs in homes, nurseries, health centres, family hubs and hospital settings. Delivery is in Bolton, across local education and community settings. This procurement is at the planning stage: the council has stated an intention to procure, but there is no invitation to tender yet. It expects to use the Provider Selection Regime’s Most Suitable Provider process. The intended contract value is £440,400. The provider is expected to mobilise at the beginning of November 2026, and a subsequent notice is expected on 26 October 2026; that date is the buyer’s forecast, not a response deadline. The procurement is arranged as one lot. The work forms phase one of the Experts at Hand approach, which combines speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, educational psychology and specialist teaching to strengthen support in schools and inform planning for the next phase. This work is suited to providers able to recruit and deploy a team of one occupational therapist and five speech and language therapy professionals, and to mobilise to the buyer’s expected timetable. Relevant strengths include delivering training to schools, identifying communication and participation needs, advising families and practitioners, and coordinating support across education and community settings. Providers should be able to work with senior school leaders on service planning, facilitate solution circles, and assess school environments for physical and communication barriers to inclusion. The service calls for practical experience supporting children and young people, including in mainstream schools, and the ability to work collaboratively as part of a wider team that includes educational psychology and specialist teaching. The planned activity is a multi-school service rather than an individual clinical placement. ## Notice The aim of the service is to recruit 1 Occupational Therapy (OT) and 5 Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) professionals. This is one of the key components of the Experts at Hand model, and guidance is clear that our Experts at Hand Team must consist of SLT, OT, Educational Psychology and specialist teachers. Provider will need to mobilise at the beginning of November 2026 and meet the specification requirements. ### Lot Information Lot 1 The aim of the service is to recruit 1 Occupational Therapy (OT) and 5 Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) professionals. This is one of the key components of the Experts at Hand model, and guidance is clear that our Experts at Hand Team must consist of SLT, OT, Educational Psychology and specialist teachers. Through early engagement with education settings and practitioners, SLTs can support the identification and management of speech, language and communication needs, helping to improve children's ability to access learning, develop relationships and participate fully in school life. By embedding SLT expertise within the Experts at Hand approach, schools and professionals will be better equipped to meet needs at an earlier stage, reducing escalation, strengthening ordinarily available provision and ensuring that children receive timely, coordinated support within their local communities. Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) service supports children, young people and adults who experience difficulties with communication, speech, language, social communication or swallowing. They work in people's homes schools, nurseries, health centres, family hubs and at the hospital. The Occupational Therapy Service provides intervention, support and/or advice to children, young people, and their families, where they have a difficulty which impacts on their performance and participation in activities of everyday life to help them to reach their full potential. This service will focus on mainstream school settings. Phase one of Boltons Experts at Hand work will include the following, for which will need the expertise of SLT and OT colleagues: * The delivery of speech and language training to all schools to improve their ability to identify speech and language needs early and how to support children with these needs effectively. * Engagement with the senior leaders in schools to engage in strategic planning meetings to identify current school practice and gaps in provision, analyse the information gathered from these meetings and plan for Phase two of Experts at Hand. * Support with the facilitation of solution circles for schools. * Support with environmental audits of school estates to identify capital work needed to improve the inclusivity of schools both in terms of the physical environment and the communication environment. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095767-2026 | | Notice type | Planning Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 9 Oct 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 26 Oct 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £440,400 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planned | | Lots status | Planned | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council | | Locality | BOLTON | | Postcode area | Bolton | | Postcode | BL1 1RU | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLD North West (England) | | ITL 2 | TLD3 Greater Manchester | | ITL 3 | TLD36 Greater Manchester North West | | Local authority | Bolton | | Electoral ward | Queens Park & Central | | Westminster constituency | Bolton North East | | Delivery location | TLD3 Greater Manchester | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 85100000 - Health services ## Release History - 9 Oct 2026 at 15:26 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095767-2026 ## Notice URLs - http://www.bolton.gov.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-0784fa. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0784fa.json.