DfE to offer £3m contract to support 30 hours' childcare

The DfE is proposing to tender for a national organisation, or a consortium, to support 152 local authorities in England to implement 30 hours of free childcare for working parents.

The invitation to tender will be issued on 6 June with bids open until 1 July. The winning provider will be awarded the contract in the first week of August.

The contract will run from 1 August until August 2018, with the option to extend the contract for one year, although ‘the extension is not guaranteed at this stage and will be dependent on Government priorities at the time.’

In a document announcing the tender the DfE says that it 'wants to ensure that parents are able to access their entitlement quickly and conveniently in a way that supports their working patterns and the needs of their child. The implementation of the programme will create several challenges and we will need LAs and providers to work closely together to provide sufficiency of places.'

It adds that the Government also wants to provide business support to childcare providers, particularly in areas where 'sufficiency is a significant risk'.

The winning organisation will monitor how the early implementer pilots, which start in September, and the other local authorities in England are reviewing their childcare markets to provide the number of childcare places needed to meet parental demand.

An information document published on the contracts area of gov.uk says that the preferred supplier will also monitor how councils are 'helping their providers to identify effecient ways of working to maximise the funding given them and maintain a viable and sustainable business.'

Other work will include supporting local authorities to:

• share data and information with the Department on progress with capital strategy planning;
• provide access to the 30 hours for children with special educational needs and disabilities;
• develop their approaches to checking the eligibility of children of working parents for the extra hours.

The contractor will also monitor the progress of local authorities in offering flexible childcare.

The supplier will also workwith a separate IT contractor, who will be responsible for ensuring that local authorities have automated IT systems for as much of the eligibility checking process as possible.

Liz Bayram, chief executive of PACEY, said, ‘Given the challenges ahead for providers and local authorities, and that some early implementers are already struggling, any support has to be good news. However, this £3m contract is unlikely to do anything to address the key issue of fair funding levels. The successful organisation will need to demonstrate a strong commitment to understanding local providers’ experience and sharing good practice or it could end up adding little value.’

The DfE is holding an information event for prospective providers in the week of 30 May about the procurement process and timetable.

Interested suppliers will need to pre-register to attend the event.