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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Staying Close

Essex County Council · Contract award notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 22 Sept 2026, 10:46.

Opportunity overview

Essex County Council is procuring a specialist intensive coaching service to deliver the Staying Close programme for children in care and care leavers, primarily aged 16-25, who present with complex needs, placement instability and heightened risks. The service will provide relationship-based, trauma-informed coaching and practical support to vulnerable young people for up to 25 hours per week over a period of up to 18 months. The programme is designed to improve stability, safety, resilience and life outcomes by working closely with young people, their families, carers, social workers, placement providers and other relevant agencies. The appointed provider will recruit, manage and supervise skilled coaches who will deliver personalised, strengths-based interventions focused on reducing risk, improving emotional wellbeing, strengthening family and social relationships, supporting engagement in education, employment and training, and enabling successful transitions into adulthood. The service will also support young people to step down safely from higher-cost or higher-intensity care placements, return home where appropriate, or achieve greater stability within their existing placement arrangements. The provider will operate across Essex, delivering flexible support including evenings, weekends and out-of-hours arrangements, whilst maintaining strong multi-agency partnerships and robust safeguarding, performance monitoring and outcome measurement processes. The overall aim of the service is to achieve improved outcomes for vulnerable young people, reduce placement breakdowns, promote sustainable independence and resilience, and deliver a cost-effective alternative to more intensive care settings.

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.

Published award value
Value not stated
Awarded
30 Jun 2026
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH 04545124
Location
London, UKI43, EC1Y 8ST, United Kingdom

Classification

No classification was supplied.

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

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-06d25a
Status
complete
Procurement Method
direct
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - without competition

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Special regime

lightTouch

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
complete

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
Essex County Council
Id
GB-PPON-PWVM-4844-NRQH

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PWVM-4844-NRQH

Address

Street Address
County Hall, Market Road
Locality
Chelmsford
Postal Code
CM1 1QH
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKH36

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - sub-central government
Organisation 2
Name
THE CHILDREN'S SOCIETY (SERVICES) LIMITED
Id
GB-COH-04545124

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
04545124

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PBVM-8321-GNTW

Address

Street Address
Whitecross Studios
Locality
London
Postal Code
EC1Y 8ST
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKI43

Contact

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Vcse
Yes

Award information

Award 1
Id
1
Status
active
Date
1 Jul 2026, 00:00
Main Procurement Category
services
Above Threshold
No

Items

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
85311300
Description
Welfare services for children and young people

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKH3
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Value

Including VAT
445,493
Currency
GBP

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-COH-04545124
Name
THE CHILDREN'S SOCIETY (SERVICES) LIMITED

Contract period

Starts
22 Sept 2026, 00:00
Ends
30 Jun 2027, 23:59

Related lots

1

Documents

Entry 1
Id
089414-2026
Document Type
awardNotice
Notice Type
UK6
Description
Contract award notice on Find a Tender
Published
22 Sept 2026, 09:15
Format
text/html

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
1
Type
futureSignatureDate
Due
22 Sept 2026, 23:59
Status
scheduled

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Chelmsford · UKH36 · CM1 1QH · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

3 published notice versions reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

3 VERSIONS
  1. 069887-2026Transparency notice on Find a Tender ·
  2. 089414-2026Contract award notice on Find a Tender ·
  3. 089419-2026Contract details notice on Find a Tender ·