Groundwork UK is looking for a Specialist Partner or Partners to help support the high proportion of young people engaging with Progress who are demonstrating mild to moderate mental health concerns. These conditions are both diagnosed and undiagnosed, and can act as a barrier to the young person progressing into education, employment, or training. The specialist service should be designed to address local need in Coventry and/ or Warwickshire, offering a rapid, responsive service to Progress participants, and that helps the programme dovetail effectively with other, existing mental health services.
‘Progress’ is a tailored programme of coaching and support to help NEET young people access training and employment opportunities that is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and European Social Fund.
Proposals are sought from organisations that can help increase the scope and variety of services that Progress Coaches are able to offer young people, helping to build the confidence and skills needed to progress toward positive outcomes, and to remove barriers. Consultation with existing partners has highlighted high concentrations of low level mental health concerns amongst the young people engaged in Progress to date, with the need for an appropriate, responsive service to help address and manage these concerns. It is anticipated that severe or chronic mental health conditions will need to be referred to existing health services.
We are looking for organisations:
- Able to deliver specialist provision in line with the service description and delivery model.
- With delivery history and capacity in Coventry & Warwickshire – ideally with experience of working with NEET / at risk of NEET young people and/or young people with complex or specific barriers to engagement with education, employment or training.
- With experience and track record in supporting young people.
- Committed to open communication and collaborative, partnership-focussed working.
- Ready to commence delivery from September 2021
- Who will add value to the Progress partnership overall, supporting other partners to recruit and progress suitable young people.
- With the experience, capacity and capability to manage the requirements of the European Social Fund.
Existing partners are welcome to apply in the interests of diversifying or increasing their role in the programme, but they will not be at an advantage, with all tenders reviewed objectively and awards made on merit.
How to apply
1. With reference to the Scoring Matrix (Appendix C), please complete the following, submitting both documents to karen.field@groundwork.org.uk and contracts@groundwork.org.uk by 12pm MIDDAY on Friday 27th August 2021:
a. Tender Submission (Appendix B) and
b. Form of Tender (Appendix D)
BBO_ITT_SpecialistPartners_August21_MH2021_Specification&AppA
BBO_ITT_SpecialistPartners_August21_MH2021_AppB_SubmissionTemplate
BBO_ITT_SpecialistPartners_August21_MH2021_AppC_ScoringMatrix
BBO_ITT_APPENDIX D_FormOfTender_CovW-1-3-MH2021
2. Groundwork will assess and score tenders and respond to all tenderers by 5pm on Friday 3rd September 2021.
3. The highest scoring tenderers may be invited to interview at Groundwork UK (Central Birmingham) or via MS Teams on Wednesday 8th September 2021. Please ensure suitable representatives are available on one of these dates.
4. The outcome of the interviews will be communicated by Friday 10th September.
5. The successful tenderer(s) to meet with Groundwork UK on week commencing 13th September 2021.
6. Delivery to commence on or before 20th September 2021.
Further Information
For further information or clarification please email progress@groundwork.org.uk stating “BBO Partnership Tender” in the email subject line.
The final deadline for tender-related questions is midday, Wednesday 25th August 2021.
More information regarding BBO Progress, can be found on the Groundwork website
https://www.groundwork.org.uk/progress
Full details of the Building Better Opportunities programme, and the original specification for this project (Coventry and Warwickshire, Project 3 of 3 – Sustainable integration for young people) can be found on the National Lottery Community Fund website: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/building-better-opportunities
Full guidance documents from The National Lottery Community Fund can be found here: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/building-better-opportunities/building-better-opportunities-resources