CR: Kinship Peer Support CF

The Department for Education are looking for a provider to facilitate peer to peer support groups for kinship carers in areas of most need across the country. The contract is due to commence on 1 July 2024 and will be for an initial period of 21 months, with a further optional extension of 2 years (+1, +1). The maximum budget for this contract is £1,399,992 (ExVAT).

Kinship carers play a vital role in caring for children who may otherwise have entered care. Many struggle emotionally, physically and financially due to the caring responsibilities they take on. The service aligns with the recommendations in the Independent Review of Children's Social Care Case for Change report, which was published in June 2021, calling for kinship care to be "prioritised and supported". Establishing a better infrastructure for peer support groups is one way of responding to this.

Peer groups are a high impact way of supporting thousands of kinship carers, and research shows that emotional support from kinship carers in similar positions is the most important form of support need after financial support.

We are nearing the end of a 2 year contract aimed at creating and maintaining peer groups and peer support services. We want to maintain this high-quality peer support across the country, to ensure provision is sustained and continues to be available to those who need it. Therefore, we are seeking a supplier to maintain and deliver the peer support groups which have been created.

You can access the Invitation to Tender and all relevant documents through the Jaggaer Portal (https://education.app.jaggaer.com). Please submit any questions and tender responses via Jaggaer.

The closing date for this opportunity will be 12:00 Midday on Monday 15th January 2024.