Valuing Care
As part of Telford and Wrekin’s ongoing strategy to improve outcomes for children and young people in care, we are trialling an approach to understand and communicate the needs of our children and young people called Valuing Care.
The approach aims to achieve this by capturing and scoring the needs of children and using this information to ensure children's needs are best supported. A benefit of this approach is that it enables us to have clear and consistent language and approach to describing needs and identifying support. This will improve our referral processes, sharing better information at the point of placement about the support that will meet children’s needs.
We held a workshop on Wednesday 20 March 2024 with residential and supported accommodation providers who had expressed their interest in joining the event. The aim of the workshop was to introduce the Valuing Care approach, understand providers perspective of the home finding process and how we can make Valuing Care work best for providers. The outputs of the discussions from the workshop can be downloaded.
If anybody is interested in being involved in Valuing Care or has any questions please contact Charlotte Marlor via email: CMarlor@impower.co.uk.
Workforce
Adult Social Care, Care Provider Workforce Position Statement
People who work in Adult Social Care play a crucial role in ensuring consistent, good quality care and support for our residents in Telford and Wrekin.
Over the next few months, we will be developing an Adult Social Care, Care Providers workforce strategy.
We will be working with partners to shape a delivery plan that both recognises the challenges facing the social care workforce in Telford & Wrekin and defines the actions we need to take over the next three years. This will help to ensure the Borough has a highly skilled, resilient, and diverse care provider workforce that can provide quality care and support to residents who need help and support.
Download our Adult Social Care Provider Workforce Position Statement
International recruitment
For information and guidance for International Workers and Care Providers in the Care Industry please visit the Partners in Care webpages.
Tender opportunities
DPS - Dynamic Purchasing System
What support will this enable you to deliver: General non-specialised care and support services for domiciliary, residential and nursing, day care, extra care and support with more complex needs (such as MS or Huntington's) to Children and Adults Services. This will run across all ages.
Background: Telford and Wrekin Council utilise a Dynamic Purchasing System for Support and Personal Care Service for Adults and Children. This is a flexible agreement for Support and Personal Care Services that works to The Authority Commitment Statement; Right Help, Right Time to Promote Independence. This DPS is aligned to the national range of Government policies and initiatives for Support and Personal Care services and the Authority seeks Providers who are focussed on a whole family approach.
The DPS will set out guidelines for the governance of contracting terms, quality standards and expectations from both parties. For any provider wanting to actively deliver services within the borough, this will form the foundations of the business relationship.
The DPS will be split into separate lots, with each provider being required to state which lots they would like to sign up to. A lot will define the type of care the provider will supply, for example, domiciliary care. Providers will be required to sign up to and complete the elements for each type of care they wish to deliver.
- Lot 1 – Adults Domiciliary Care.
- Lot 2 – Children and Young People Community Care and Support.
- Lot 3 – Adults Residential Placements.
- Lot 4 – Adults Nursing Placements.
- Lot 5 – Adults Day Care.
The support Telford & Wrekin expect to source using the above lots would predominantly be:
- Adults: Frail and elderly support, Dementia support, Physical disability support, and slightly more complex support (for example, with conditions such as (but not limited to) Multiple Sclerosis, Huntingtons, Bariatric support)
- Children's: Community Based Support – Community based outreach support to children and their families in their own homes or in a community setting to support their residential placement or as an alternative to residential short breaks. This could include daytime or overnight support in their own home
- Overnight Short Breaks – an overnight short break in an appropriate setting.
For more specialised care and support, please see the FCA and CAFSS below.
Standard rates
Domiciliary care packages and extra care packages: This will be advertised on the fees tab of this webpage.
Residential and Nursing: No standard rate, providers are required to submit their most competitive quote
Day Centres: No standard rate, providers are required to submit their most competitive quote.
Signing up to and being approved on the DPS will bring fast access to any available packages and placements relevant to your organisation, a structured approach to contract management. To apply, please follow the below link and register as a provider. The Support and Personal Care DPS will then be available to view under the ‘Tenders’ section.
Visit the In-Tend website to apply for Support and Personal Care DPS.
All Age Learning Disability, Autism and Mental Health Care, Support and Supervision Services Flexible Contracting Arrangement (FCA)
What support will this enable you to deliver: Care and support for people of all ages with Learning Disabilities, Autism and Mental Health living in the community and in residential settings.
Background: We understand that individuals need different levels of care and support. Needs can range from support with managing daily living tasks, support to access the community and develop life skills and occupation, or where individuals may have more complex needs, or a forensic history.
Therefore the framework is split into 3 categories:
Living well
- Supporting individuals’ who are unable to live independently and may require support with maintaining their wellbeing including a variety of activities of daily living, which may include meeting personal care and nutritional needs, medication management, tenancy and finance management and support when out in the community.
- Supporting individuals to develop their independence and increase their activity and occupation. Although unable to live independently, these individuals present no risks to themselves or others and do not display behaviours of concern.
- This support may range from minimal weekly support hours up to 24 hours per day, including sleep or waking night support.
Positive Behaviour Support
- Supporting individuals that may sometimes do things that can be challenging and may put themselves or others around them at risk (Behaviours of concern).
- When supporting these individuals, we expect providers to provide a specialist Positive Behaviour Support service to improve their quality of life.
- The least restrictive options must always be implemented, though restrictive interventions may be required if all other alternatives have been exhausted.
- Individuals may be subject to DoLS and are likely to lack capacity in some areas of decision making and may require 24-hour support.
Forensic Support and Supervision
- Supporting individuals who have a forensic history or considered to be of high risk of offending, display behaviours of concern (behaviours that challenge) that carry a higher risk to themselves or others.
- Individuals may require constant supervision in order to safely access community re-sources and may have a high risk of significant self-harm.
- Individuals may have a court order which could restrict the activity they take part in and/or where they choose to live.
- Individuals may be unable to live independently, they are likely to require 24-hour support and supervision, but this may not always be the case.
The Tender for the Flexible Contracting Agreement framework is always open but we evaluate twice per year, so submissions need to be made by end of February and August each year to evaluate across March and September, with Contracts commencing April and October.
In order to be accredited, all providers must meet the minimum requirement of the ‘Living Well’ category.
The successful care and support providers accredited will be used by both Telford & Wrekin and Shropshire Local Authorities, and the Individual Commissioning Board (ICB), to buy services from.
Children's and Families Support Services (CAFSS)
What support will this enable you to deliver:
CAFSS contains 20 Lots across a wide of non-accommodation services, including.
- Therapy
- Psychological Assessment Specification
- Parent & Child Community and Residential Assessment
- Supervised Contact
- Family Group Conference
- Mediation and SEND Mediation
- Secure Transport
- Occupational Therapy
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Independent Service
- Form F and Form C
- Special Guardianship Order
- Return Home Interviews
- Positive Behaviour Support
- Parental Advocacy
- Mentoring
- Positive Activities
Background: The Children's and Family Support Services (CAFSS) framework has been developed by Telford & Wrekin Council in conjunction with all of the West Midlands Local Authorities/Trusts. The CAFSS framework provides a go to list of providers and their services across twenty specialisms which Children's services practitioners can draw from.
CAFSS replaces the Non Accommodation Services Framework which contained six specialisms or Lots. We have built on the success on the previous framework to develop a much larger opportunity for providers large and small.
We have used intelligence gathered from commissioning and social care colleagues from the previous framework to develop CAFSS to meet the growing needs arising across the areas of children in need, child protection, children in care and care leavers.
The West Midlands region covers 14 local authority areas with a mixture of some of the country’s largest and diverse cities, towns and rural areas. Whether urban or rural children and families need to be supported and therefore there is an increased requirement for a wide range of non-accommodation services that local authorities can use to support children and families in their areas.
The 14 West Midlands Local Authorities/Trusts Commissioners have a long history of working collaboratively together to commission the very best services for children across the region.
Access code TWC000006
Download the slides and questions and answers from the Provider launch event held 13 January 2022.
Market Position Statement
The Market Position Statement is a document which should help you to understand local need and plan the services you offer to meet that local need. We are interested in hearing your views on the document, does it give you the information you need or conversely contain information you don't need, would you like to see anything else in it?
Download the Market Position Statement.
The Calm Cafe
The Calm cafe opened in January 2020 to support those people who need it with their emotional and mental health. The cafe offers space to meet like-minded people and gain support from trained staff. Further information can be found on the Live Well Telford website.
Bidding for and delivering services as part of a consortium is both challenging and rewarding. From our experience we think the key issues are:
- it is about delivering a single discrete service better by working collaboratively, bringing a range of expertise together into one service rather than providing a collection of independent services funded from a single pot
- trust is essential, built on due diligence, openness and transparency, shared values and vision
- partners need to be flexible and adaptable to change
- commitment is needed from each partner agency from all their Trustees, staff, volunteers and other stakeholders
- there is need to work closely with commissioners, being creative and solution focused but also realistic. Consortium partners, commissioners and Council staff should work together to create a culture of co-operation rather than 'us and them'.
Prime provider - a few tips:
- don't underestimate the time required as the main point of contact for both partners and commissioners
- be realistic about what you are offering from the outset in the bidding process
- learn about your partners, how they work, how the contract fits with their other services etc
- work together to identify risks, anticipate problems and find solutions.
Disadvantages:
- a lot of time is needed to support the consortium - meetings, financial arrangements etc. and the funding is likely to be insufficient to cover all of these costs
- knock on effect on other parts of your organisation - the consortium contract can distract from other roles.
Advantages:
- the opportunity to attract additional funding through the consortium
- stronger and fitter organisations from shared learning, new staff with additional skills and experience, sharing resources, building capacity to change etc
- stronger relationships with commissioners and new networks
- better service for our clients.
More information can be found in the Cabinet Office Document - Working in a consortium - A guide for third sector organisations involved in public service delivery.
Cold Weather Alerts and Business Continuity Plans
Please note we will be in contact with you when we receive any updates.
Visit the GOV.UK website to view the Public Health England Cold Weather Plan 2016.
Business Continuity Plans
Please ensure that Business Continuity Plans are in place and up to date. If you need support contact Helen Gordon in our Civil Resilience team at Helen.Gordon@telford.gov.uk or 01952 381958 for further advice or help.
Wellbeing and Independence Partnership (WIP)
The Wellbeing and Independence Partnership (WIP) provides information, advice and guidance to residents of the Borough of Telford & Wrekin. Download a leaflet of their services.
Last updated: 06/03/2025 14:33
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