City of Doncaster Council has established a Flexible Procurement System (FPS) for the provision of Children’s Short Breaks Services. It’s an open framework designed to bring in a range of providers who can deliver personal support, unregulated support, group activities, overnight residential support and personal home care for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Because it’s an FPS with no cap on the number of providers, admittance is not competitive. Every provider that meets the exclusion and selection criteria will be admitted to the framework. That makes this a genuinely accessible route for children’s services providers already delivering to Ofsted or CQC standards.
Our children’s services and Ofsted registration support works closely with providers bidding into frameworks like this one.
What services are required?
The framework covers Children’s Short Breaks Services across five distinct lots, each with its own regulatory profile and operating model:
- Lot 1: Regulated Personal Support. Personalised support services for children and young people, including personal care (help or prompting with eating, drinking, toileting, washing, bathing, health needs, nail and hair care in the community).
- Lot 2: Unregulated Support. Tailored community-based support without regulated personal care, helping children and young people access suitable community or leisure activities.
- Lot 3: Play, Leisure and Group Activities. After-school, weekend and holiday activities giving children the opportunity to socialise, develop skills and have the same opportunities as non-disabled peers.
- Lot 4: Overnight Residential Support. Ofsted-registered overnight residential support in home-like settings.
- Lot 5: Regulated Personal Home Care. Short home-based care sessions, typically 30 to 60 minutes, in the early morning or evening to maintain personal care routines around school.
Pricing isn’t specified in the tender documents. Providers should be ready to price at call-off stage in line with their submitted rates.
What is it solving?
Two connected pressures sit behind this FPS. First, statutory duty to disabled children: Doncaster needs a live pool of providers to deliver short breaks in line with the Children Act 1989 and the Council’s SEND commissioning strategy. Second, breadth of provision: children with SEND have very different needs, from light-touch play activities to overnight residential care. A single framework with five lots lets the Council match the right provider type to the right service without running five separate procurements.
For the children and young people being supported, the goal is choice, quality and continuity, delivered by providers held to a consistent quality standard through DBS, safeguarding, and CQC or Ofsted regulation where applicable.
Who is it ideal for?
This FPS is built for established children’s services providers with the regulatory standing and operational capacity to deliver one or more of the five lots. It suits:
- Domiciliary care and personal support providers (Lots 1 and 5)
- Community-based support providers and youth workers (Lot 2)
- Play, leisure and group activity providers (Lot 3)
- Ofsted-registered residential children’s home operators (Lot 4)
Because admittance is not competitive and there’s no cap on providers, this is a strong long-term opportunity for providers who meet the standards. Our case studies show how we have supported children’s services providers to secure similar frameworks across England.
Service type and user group
The framework is for children and young people aged 0 to 18 years with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
Lot structure
Five lots with different regulatory and operational profiles:
| Lot | Service | Regulator |
| Lot 1 | Regulated Personal Support | CQC registration required |
| Lot 2 | Unregulated Support | Not regulated |
| Lot 3 | Play, Leisure and Group Activities | Not regulated |
| Lot 4 | Overnight Residential Support | CQC registration required; Ofsted registration preferred |
| Lot 5 | Regulated Personal Home Care | CQC registration required |
Providers can express interest in one or more lots based on their regulatory position and service offer.
Location
Delivery is to City of Doncaster Council. Providers don’t need to be Doncaster-based, but you need the operational capability to deliver locally. The tender documents don’t specify a physical office requirement in the area.
Mandatory eligibility requirements
These are the pass-or-fail conditions:
- CQC registration is mandatory for Lots 1, 4 and 5. Ofsted registration is preferred for Lot 4.
- CQC / Ofsted rating of “Good” or above is required before participating in call-offs. This is a firm pass-or-fail threshold.
- Two completed Certificates of Technical and Professional Ability (COTPA) per lot. These must demonstrate experience with SEND children, relevant service user groups, and achieving specified outcomes.
- Pass all economic and financial standing questions (questions 5.1 to 5.5 of the PSQ). Specific thresholds are not detailed in the tender extracts.
- DBS checks for all staff delivering the service.
- Safeguarding policy compliant with Doncaster Safeguarding Children Partnership principles.
- Medical malpractice insurance where applicable.
- Minimum score of 2 on all Key Business Requirements questions.
- Pass all further pass-or-fail criteria covering Conduct, Taxes and Social Security, Breaches and Conflicts, Insurance, Data Protection, and Health and Safety.
Required policies
- Safeguarding policy reflecting Doncaster Safeguarding Children Partnership principles
- Quality assurance system
- Complaints process
- Business continuity plan
- Data protection compliance
Accommodation responsibility
Providers are only required to provide accommodation for Lot 4 (Overnight Residential Support). All other lots deliver support in family homes, community settings or provider venues.
What should providers have in place?
- CQC registration for Lots 1, 4 and 5, with a current rating of “Good” or above.
- Ofsted registration for Lot 4 (preferred, though CQC is the mandatory regulator).
- Two COTPA certificates per lot evidencing SEND experience and outcomes achieved.
- DBS-checked workforce for all staff delivering the service.
- Safeguarding governance aligned to Doncaster Safeguarding Children Partnership.
- Specialist workforce trained to support children with SEND, including personal care, behavioural support and communication.
- Quality assurance and complaints systems meeting the Council’s expectations.
- Business continuity plan covering staffing, service disruption and safeguarding escalation.
- Insurance cover including medical malpractice where applicable.
- Local delivery capability in Doncaster.
For further reading on how outcomes-based commissioning, regulatory thresholds and pass-or-fail criteria are shaping children’s services tenders, visit our blog.
Watch: tender summary video
Next steps
If you want to speak to a sales manager about your application, contact the AssuredBID team. We’ll talk through your regulatory position across the five lots, your COTPA evidence, your safeguarding governance, and your bid strategy. Our specialist bid writers can then support your submission.
To browse all current opportunities we’re tracking, visit our open tenders page.
