East Berkshire keyworker service for children and young people with a learning disability and or who are autistic

Frimley CCG (soon to be Frimley Integrated Care Board) has been successful in its bid for NHSE Funding to implement a Keyworker Service for Children and Young People (CYP) in Slough, Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead and Bracknell Forest with a Learning Disability (LD) and/or who are autistic.

The 'Key Working Function' has been developed as a response to the NHS England and NHS Improvement Long Term Plan(LTP) commitment that by 2023/24, children and young people with a learning disability, autism or both, with the most complex needs will have a designated Key Worker, implementing the recommendations made by Dame Christine Lenehan. The purpose of the Keyworker service is to support children and young people and their families to navigate a complex system, have their voices heard, and have their needs met at the right time.

The East Berkshire Keyworker Service will be delivered in two phases:

• Year 1: Keyworker support will be offered to Children and young people with a learning disability and autistic children and young people with most complex needs from ages 0-25 and their families, on the Dynamic Support Register as an inpatient or at risk of admission to a mental health hospital and

• Year 2: Keyworker support will be extended to those who face multiple vulnerabilities such as looked after and adopted children, and children and young people moving between services, like moving to adult services.

The contract is expected to be for 3 years with the option to extend for 2 further years and is anticipated to commence on the 1st January 2023.

This is a real opportunity for innovative and progressive providers to deliver a person-centred and needs based approach to support children and young people and their families. We are therefore keen to encourage providers of all sizes to take the opportunity to bid for this service.

The CCG invites interested providers to attend a virtual pre-procurement market engagement event on the 14th July 2022, which will be held on MS Teams.

The format of the event will be a presentation from the commissioners followed by Q&A for Bidders. The presentations will touch on the contract model, service specification, activity and finances. We will be seeking views on appetite and ability to provide the service as proposed and will provide opportunity for open discussion and feedback.

Providers interested in joining the event should contact Mark Stanbrook by emailing mstanbrook@nhs.net (and cc'ing Caitlin.dyke@nhs.net) to express their interest.