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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

CN250157 - Speech, Language and Communication Needs - Delivering Inclusion within the Curriculum for Education (DICE) Service

Kent County Council · compiled

Tender information last checkedLast checked 29 Sept 2026, 20:47.

Opportunity overview

Speech, Language and Communication Needs - Delivering Inclusion within the Curriculum for Education (DICE) Service : Tender Notice Kent County Council is seeking to commission a Speech, Language and Communication Needs - Delivering Inclusion within the Curriculum for Education (DICE) Service, that supports children and young people in mainstream schools and across community settings, such as Family Hubs, during both term time and school holiday periods. The service will hold a key role in supporting those children and young people who are either in mainstream schools and those who for various reasons are not attending school regularly (e.g. such as those home educated, non/low-school attendance, living in Refuges, etc) and have Speech and Language needs. This will be referred to as place-based settings. This service will initially sit alongside the wider Community Services provided by the NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) with an ambition for the services to be seamless provision to those accessing the Services. The Balanced System® Framework is a framework for commissioning Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) for children and young people. The aim is to use the framework to understand, plan and evaluate services to support children and young people with SLCN within place-based settings across Kent. The Framework has been developed in line with both national policy and legislation, as well as professional guidance for Speech and Language Therapists, to deliver integrated services for children and young people. Subject to acquiring approval, it is Kent County Council's intention to commission a Speech, Language and Communication Needs - Delivering Inclusion within the Curriculum for Education (DICE) Service, commencing 27 October 2025. Service delivery will be in partnership and working with the wider stakeholders, including, but not limited to NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB), 12 District and Borough Councils, Medway Council. This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Contract value
£13m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
31 Aug 2025
Award ID
053658-2025-CN250157-1
Status
active
Location
Ashford TN25 4AZ, UK, TN25 4AZ, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV85323000 — Community health services

Lots

  • Speech, Language and Communication Needs - Delivering Inclusion within the Curriculum for Education (DICE) Service : Tender Notice Kent County Council is seeking to commission a Speech, Language and Communication Needs - Delivering Inclusion within the Curriculum for Education (DICE) Service, that supports children and young people in mainstream schools and across community settings, such as Family Hubs, during both term time and school holiday periods. The service will hold a key role in supporting those children and young people who are either in mainstream schools and those who for various reasons are not attending school regularly (e.g. such as those home educated, non/low-school attendance, living in Refuges, etc) and have Speech and Language needs. This will be referred to as place-based settings. This service will initially sit alongside the wider Community Services provided by the NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) with an ambition for the services to be seamless provision to those accessing the Services. The Balanced System® Framework is a framework for commissioning Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) for children and young people. The aim is to use the framework to understand, plan and evaluate services to support children and young people with SLCN within place-based settings across Kent. The Framework has been developed in line with both national policy and legislation, as well as professional guidance for Speech and Language Therapists, to deliver integrated services for children and young people. Subject to acquiring approval, it is Kent County Council's intention to commission a Speech, Language and Communication Needs - Delivering Inclusion within the Curriculum for Education (DICE) Service, commencing 27 October 2025. Service delivery will be in partnership and working with the wider stakeholders, including, but not limited to NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB), 12 District and Borough Councils, Medway Council. This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. Additional information: To ensure that the successful bid meets an acceptable standard, the quality score must be at least 50%. The Council will award the contract using the Value per Other Key Criteria Point evaluation method. This method involves dividing the total price of the bid by the score achieved against the key criteria. The formula used is: Value per Other Key Criteria Point = Price (£) / Key Criteria Score Only bids that meet the minimum quality threshold will be considered. Among those, the bid with the lowest Value per Other Key Criteria Point will be ranked highest. This bidder will be selected as the Council's Preferred Supplier.£13m

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
ocds-h6vhtk-04cecd
Status
complete
Has Recurrence
No
Review Details
A standstill period of 8 working days will apply from the day after the publication of the notice (see CN220350 (previously SC21032) Therapies - SEN, Adoption Support Service and VSK Kent County Council F03 Contract Award Notice for initial announcement on 1 September 2025). This period concludes at midnight on 11 September 2025. During this period, representations may be made to the contracting authority using the contact details provided. The contract will not be awarded until the standstill period has expired, subject to no representations being received.
Procurement Method
open
Main Procurement Category
services
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure

Bid Opening

Date
4 Jul 2025, 12:05
Description
Seal will be broke by Senior Commercial and Procurement Officer - will be witnessed by Commercial and Procurement Officer

Address

Street Address
Responses received electronically - seal broken by two KCC procurement officers present.

Legal basis

Id
32014L0024
Scheme
CELEX

Expected award period

Starts
4 Jul 2025, 12:05

Tender Period

Ends
4 Jul 2025, 12:00

Communication

Future Notice Date
3 Feb 2025, 00:00

Classification

Id
85323000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Community health services

Submission terms

Languages

en

Bid Validity Period

Duration In Days
90

Submission Method

electronicSubmission

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
cancelled
Has Options
No
Has Renewal
Yes
Description
Speech, Language and Communication Needs - Delivering Inclusion within the Curriculum for Education (DICE) Service : Tender Notice Kent County Council is seeking to commission a Speech, Language and Communication Needs - Delivering Inclusion within the Curriculum for Education (DICE) Service, that supports children and young people in mainstream schools and across community settings, such as Family Hubs, during both term time and school holiday periods. The service will hold a key role in supporting those children and young people who are either in mainstream schools and those who for various reasons are not attending school regularly (e.g. such as those home educated, non/low-school attendance, living in Refuges, etc) and have Speech and Language needs. This will be referred to as place-based settings. This service will initially sit alongside the wider Community Services provided by the NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) with an ambition for the services to be seamless provision to those accessing the Services. The Balanced System® Framework is a framework for commissioning Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) for children and young people. The aim is to use the framework to understand, plan and evaluate services to support children and young people with SLCN within place-based settings across Kent. The Framework has been developed in line with both national policy and legislation, as well as professional guidance for Speech and Language Therapists, to deliver integrated services for children and young people. Subject to acquiring approval, it is Kent County Council's intention to commission a Speech, Language and Communication Needs - Delivering Inclusion within the Curriculum for Education (DICE) Service, commencing 27 October 2025. Service delivery will be in partnership and working with the wider stakeholders, including, but not limited to NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB), 12 District and Borough Councils, Medway Council. This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. Additional information: To ensure that the successful bid meets an acceptable standard, the quality score must be at least 50%. The Council will award the contract using the Value per Other Key Criteria Point evaluation method. This method involves dividing the total price of the bid by the score achieved against the key criteria. The formula used is: Value per Other Key Criteria Point = Price (£) / Key Criteria Score Only bids that meet the minimum quality threshold will be considered. Among those, the bid with the lowest Value per Other Key Criteria Point will be ranked highest. This bidder will be selected as the Council's Preferred Supplier.

Value

Amount
13,020,000
Currency
GBP

Renewal

Description
Available extension up to 24 months

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Key Criteria 1 - Quality and Innovation
Type
quality
Description
25
Criterion 2
Name
Key Criteria 2 - Mobilisation and Contract Resourcing
Type
quality
Description
20
Criterion 3
Name
Key Criteria 3 - Integration and Collaboration
Type
quality
Description
20
Criterion 4
Name
Key Criteria 4 - Improving access, reducing health inequalities, and facilitating choice
Type
quality
Description
20
Criterion 5
Name
Key Criteria 5 - Social Value
Type
quality
Description
15
Criterion 6
Type
price
Description
50

Contract period

Duration In Days
1,800

Submission terms

Variant Policy
notAllowed

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKJ4
Entry 2
Region
UKJ4
Entry 3
Region
UKJ4
Entry 4
Region
UKJ4

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-FTS-462
Name
Kent County Council

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKJ4
Locality
Maidstone
Postal Code
ME14 1XQ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Sessions House

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
REGIONAL_AUTHORITY
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Regional or local authority
Entry 2
Id
01
Scheme
COFOG
Description
General public services

Identifier

Legal Name
Kent County Council
No Identifier Rationale
notOnAnyRegister

Contact

Name
Ms Orla Miller
Telephone
+44 3000412878
Organisation 2
Id
GB-FTS-1195
Name
Kent County Council

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
Maidstone
Country Name
United Kingdom

Identifier

Legal Name
Kent County Council
Organisation 3
Id
GB-FTS-30181
Name
Kent County Council

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKJ45
Locality
Maidstone
Postal Code
ME141XQ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
County Hall

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
REGIONAL_AUTHORITY
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Regional or local authority
Entry 2
Scheme
COFOG
Description
Local Authority

Identifier

Legal Name
Kent County Council
No Identifier Rationale
notOnAnyRegister

Contact

Name
Jordan Gurr
Organisation 4
Id
GB-FTS-159466
Name
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UK
Locality
Ashford
Postal Code
TN25 4AZ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Trinity House 110/120 Upper Pemberton Eureka Business Park

Details

Scale
large

Identifier

Legal Name
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
No Identifier Rationale
notOnAnyRegister
Organisation 5
Id
GB-FTS-4518
Name
Kent County Council

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
Maidstone
Postal Code
ME14 1XQ
Country Name
United Kingdom

Details

Identifier

Legal Name
Kent County Council
Organisation 6
Id
GB-FTS-159806
Name
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UK
Locality
Ashford TN25 4AZ
Postal Code
TN25 4AZ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Trinity House 110/120 Upper Pemberton Eureka Business Park

Details

Scale
large

Identifier

Legal Name
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
No Identifier Rationale
notOnAnyRegister

Award information

Award 1
Id
052928-2025-1
Status
active

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-FTS-159466
Name
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

Related lots

1
Award 2
Id
053658-2025-CN250157-1
Status
active

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-FTS-159806
Name
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

Related lots

1

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
052928-2025-1
Status
active
Award ID
052928-2025-1
Date Signed
1 Sept 2025, 00:00

Value

Amount
13,020,000
Currency
GBP
Entry 2
Id
053658-2025-CN250157-1
Status
active
Award ID
053658-2025-CN250157-1
Date Signed
1 Sept 2025, 00:00

Value

Amount
13,020,000
Currency
GBP

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Maidstone · UKJ45 · ME141XQ · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKJ4

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-04cecd-2025-09-03T16:13:43+01:00compiled ·