Market Engagement for the Delivery of an Emotional Health and Wellbeing Service

Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council are undertaking a Market Engagement consultation with suitably qualified and experienced organisations to seek the views and feasibility of a formal tender for a Provider to deliver an Emotional Health and Wellbeing Service. This consultation is not an invitation to tender. As part of a pre procurement exercise, Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council are issuing this request for information and feedback only in order to assess the reaction of the market and seek the views and feedback of potential Providers to ensure that any subsequent procurement process is focused and efficient. The service being consulted on will be a specialist trauma informed Emotional Health and Wellbeing for Children in Care and Care Leavers, which may include Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC), Young People displaying harmful Sexual Behaviour and Children on Special Guardianship Orders (SGO's). This cohort of children will have experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and will therefore need trauma informed practitioners, including psychologist, who understand how to work with them most effectively. Some of these children and young people will also have additional needs such as Autism, Learning Disabilities or undiagnosed Neuro Diversity. Not all the children in these cohorts will need the specialist provision that this service will offer. For some children a lower level of mental and emotional well-being support will be sufficient to address their needs; and it is important that this service triages referrals according to need in order to ensure that each child or young person receives the support that they as an individual will find most beneficial. Where it is assessed that the child does not need such specialist interventions, the service will be responsible for providing supportive personalised referrals to whichever service is most appropriate. We are looking to consult and learn from providers who are able to work effectively with carers to improve placement stability and to reduce the number of children in care who have to be cared for outside the area in specialist 'therapeutic' homes or admitted to Tier 4 provision.