Early Market Engagement - Home and Community Care for Children with Disabilities

The Council wishes to create a framework that will allow it to purchase services from multiple Suppliers (on a non exclusive basis) for individual disabled children and their families through a variety of targeted and specialist services delivered within the home and/or community.

The framework is required to provide disabled children and young people aged 0-18 with an individual support service that is personalised to meet their needs. These needs will be identified by the Council via an assessment and both the need and the way it will be met will be communicated to the Supplier via the Care Plan.

Children and young people may be eligible for support and services if they:

• Have a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term effect on their ability to carry out day to day activities; and
• Need some support to enable them to live in the family home and the community.

The Services provided should take into account the individual and unique nature of each child and young person and should be planned to meet assessed needs. It follows that the nature and complexity of need will vary depending upon the age of the child and the level of disability. This may include a physical or learning disability, a hearing or visual impairment. It includes children with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome and children who may have challenging behaviour as a result of their learning disability. It also includes children who have complex health needs and who may have a palliative, life limiting or life threatening condition.

Suppliers should be able to demonstrate that they understand the differing needs of children when compared to adults and that their Service is able to meet the needs of children and young people across the full 0-18 age range. This includes the ability to understand and respect the role and wishes of the parent/carer and understand the sensitivities of delivering a service within a family home where people other than the child/young person receiving the service may live. Parent carers may have other children to support and the service shall give support to a child, which enables the whole family to function in a positive way.

Families may require support to build capacity within the home and the community and develop skills and strategies in order to assist with the management of their child’s condition. Children and families may also require support in order to access social and leisure opportunities.

The Council are seeking to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to meet the assessed needs of children and young people and to ensure that need is met via high quality, value for money Framework arrangements.

Complementary Information:

A provider information and engagement event is scheduled to be held as follows:

Thursday 8th September 11.00 - 12.00, via Teams Call

Please register your place at this event by contacting Karen Davison on telephone number 01670 623960 or email: Karen.Davison01@northumberland.gov.uk. who will forward a link to the Teams meeting