AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Isle of Wight Council has awarded and signed a contract with POLARIS CHILDREN'S SERVICES LIMITED for Best Start Inclusion Practitioner SENDIAS services. The service will provide specialist SEND advice, guidance and support through Family Hubs.
Published outcomeOne active award and active contract are recorded for lot 1. The contract was signed on 30 September 2026 and runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, with potential extensions of up to 12 months.
Market significanceThis is a below-threshold, direct award without competition for social work services without accommodation, valued at £100,000 excluding VAT (£120,000 including VAT).
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
POLARIS CHILDREN'S SERVICES LIMITED
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · £100,000 excluding VAT; £120,000 including VAT GBP · Verified legal supplier; active award and contract
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Supplier is identified on award 1; GB-COH number 06537039 is matched by company number and verified. The published contract value applies to contract 1, awarded to this sole supplier.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice type
99% confidenceContract details notice on Find a Tender
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Process notice_type and contract document description.
Award status
99% confidenceActive
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Award 1 status is active.
Contract status
99% confidenceActive
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Contract 1 status is active.
Contract signature
99% confidenceSigned 30 September 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned: 2026-09-30.
Contract term
99% confidence1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027
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Contract 1 period startDate and endDate.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value excluding VAT
99% confidence£100,000
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Contract 1 value amount: 100000 GBP.
Contract value including VAT
99% confidence£120,000
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Contract 1 value amountGross: 120000 GBP.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Contract signed
99% confidence30 September 2026
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Contract 1 dateSigned.
Contract start
99% confidence1 October 2026
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Contract 1 period startDate.
Contract end
99% confidence30 September 2027
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Contract 1 period endDate.
Notice published
99% confidence8 October 2026
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Contract document datePublished and process published_at.
Maximum possible end date
99% confidence30 September 2028
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Contract 1 period maxExtentDate.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Service requirement
99% confidenceSpecialist advice, guidance and support for families and professionals to identify and respond to emerging SEND needs within Family Hubs, supporting early intervention and clear pathways.
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Published process description.
Procurement category
99% confidenceServices
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Award 1 mainProcurementCategory.
CPV classification
99% confidence85312000 — Social work services without accommodation
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Award item additional classification.
Delivery area
95% confidenceUKJ34
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Award item delivery address region.
Lot structure
99% confidenceOne recorded lot: lot 1
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Tender and award data identify lot 1 only.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement method
99% confidenceDirect
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Tender procurementMethod.
Procedure detail
99% confidenceBelow threshold - without competition
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Tender procurementMethodDetails.
Regime
99% confidenceLight touch
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Tender specialRegime lists lightTouch.
Competition information
98% confidenceNo competition was used under the published procedure. Information on other potential suppliers, quotations or evaluation is not supplied.
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Tender procurementMethodDetails states without competition; no competition or evaluation data is published.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term
99% confidence12 months
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Contract period is 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027.
Extension provision
99% confidenceThe authority may extend for one or more periods totalling up to 12 months, at its sole discretion.
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Contract renewal description.
Maximum term
99% confidenceUp to 24 months, ending no later than 30 September 2028
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Contract maxExtentDate and renewal description.
Above-threshold status
99% confidenceNo
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Contract aboveThreshold: false.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial structure
99% confidenceA single-supplier direct award covers the sole recorded lot.
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One active award, one supplier and one lot are recorded.
Value basis
99% confidenceThe published £100,000 contract amount is excluding VAT; the corresponding gross amount is £120,000.
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Contract value fields amount and amountGross.
Market access implication
98% confidenceThe published procedure was below threshold and without competition, so this notice does not evidence an open competitive route to market for this requirement.
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Tender procurementMethodDetails.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Published contract evidence
99% confidenceThe record contains an active contract, explicit signature date, contract dates, values and extension terms.
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Contract 1 fields.
Lot detail limitation
99% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or separate lot value.
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Lot 1 fields are null for title, description and value.
Competition and evaluation limitation
98% confidenceInformation on bid numbers, bidder identities, evaluation criteria, scores and award rationale is not supplied in the published notice.
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No such fields are present in the supplied data; procedure is recorded as without competition.
Pricing limitation
98% confidenceNo pricing breakdown, rate card, payment mechanism or spend profile is supplied.
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Only aggregate contract value fields are provided.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or individual value.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: bid counts, bidder identities, evaluation criteria, scores, award rationale and detailed pricing.
- No published extension decision date or renewal timetable is provided; the timing observation is an estimate based only on the initial end date.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Isle of Wight CouncilPOLARIS CHILDREN'S SERVICES LIMITEDBSIP SENDIASBest Start Inclusion PractitionerSEND servicesFamily Hubsdirect awardsocial work services
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the BSIP SENDIAS contract?
POLARIS CHILDREN'S SERVICES LIMITED (company number 06537039) is the verified legal supplier recorded for award 1.
What is the contract value?
The published value is £100,000 excluding VAT and £120,000 including VAT.
When does the contract run?
It was signed on 30 September 2026 and has an initial term from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027.
Can the contract be extended?
Yes. Isle of Wight Council may extend it by one or more periods totalling up to 12 months, potentially to 30 September 2028.
Was this competitively tendered?
The published procedure is direct, below threshold and without competition.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.