Home Visiting Family Support Service

Bracknell Forest Council (BFC) are putting out this notice as a PIN (Prior Information Notice) to support a market consultation process we are currently completing.

At BFC we are considering seeking a provider for a home visiting family support service. This provision is part of the council’s Early Help Services, which can contribute to protecting families from harm, reduce referrals to child protection services and improve families’ long-term outcomes.

The provider will support families with a Tier 2 level of need, with children aged 0-11 years, with at least one child under the age of 5 years. The aim is to provide tailored support to families in response to identified need, through a combination of home visits, other separately funded activities, family group meetings and signposting to other community services.

The provider will be required to provide the following:

• One to one support to a minimum of 60 families per annum in their homes for a minimum of 20 hours per week
• Contact with families within 5 working days of receipt of referral
• An agreed Family Plan within 15 working days of first contact
• Support to families to be stepped down from the Service within a year from referral, usually within 6 months
• A broad range of communication methods to maximise the reach of the service to all sectors of the community
• Access to suitably trained employed staff and volunteers who have undertaken all required minimum training, within 3 months of starting employment, especially safeguarding training.

The success of this service requires a Provider with the ability to operate within the borough in families’ homes.

The provider will need to have the appropriate infrastructure in place to support suitably qualified, trained and volunteer staffing with progression and in-role training provided, which includes professional supervision as appropriate to the role.

BFC is currently conducting a market consultation to determine the level of interest from the wider market in a service of this kind. This market consultation will be conducted through our E-sourcing portal as defined below.