National Advocacy Information, Advice and Safety Net Service

The Department for Education is seeking market feedback on the re-procurement of a national Advocacy Helpline and Safety Net Service for looked after children, care leavers, children in need, and other eligible children and young people in England.

The service will provide clear, child-friendly information on advocacy rights; a national multi-channel information, advice and signposting service; and a Safety Net advocacy function where local advocacy provision is unavailable, unreasonably delayed, inaccessible or denied.

In addition, the Department is exploring the inclusion of a pilot to test an opt-out advocacy model for children living in residential care. Under this model, advocacy would be routinely offered to children unless they choose to decline participation. The Department intends to use this market engagement to gather feedback on the feasibility, affordability and practical delivery considerations associated with incorporating such a pilot within the future contract. The scope, scale and final design of the pilot are therefore subject to further development and market testing.

The provider will also be expected to:

• maintain accurate information on advocacy provision across England and support children and young people to access appropriate local services;

• provide national intelligence to the Department on advocacy demand, access, waiting times, barriers to provision and emerging themes;

• maintain appropriate digital, telephony, case management and reporting systems;

• comply with safeguarding, information governance, cyber security and data protection requirements;

• ensure appropriate workforce capacity, skills, training and quality assurance arrangements;

• support performance monitoring, evaluation and continuous improvement; and

• ensure continuity of service throughout the contract period.

The Department is particularly interested in market views on the delivery model, affordability, workforce implications and implementation requirements associated with integrating an opt-out advocacy pilot within the wider Advocacy Helpline and Safety Net Service.