Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Essex County Council
County Hall, Market Road
Chelmsford
CM1 1QH
Contact
Ms Eileen Attwood
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
one.3) Communication
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
CO0530 Inclusion Framework Digital Solution
Reference number
DN730967
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 48000000 - Software package and information systems
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
We are seeking a system designed to facilitate the high level assessment, profiling and action planning, of individual students and cohorts within educational settings. This system will support the Inclusion Framework, which was introduced in Essex in 2020/21 to support early intervention and inclusion in education.
We are open to development opportunities in order to achieve this. The solution will need to be compliant with both Essex County Council and national policies and regulations.
Please see the full description below for further information.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
We are seeking a system designed to facilitate the high level assessment, profiling and action planning, of individual students and cohorts within educational settings.
We are open to development opportunities in order to achieve this. The solution will need to be compliant with both Essex County Council and national policies and regulations.
The system will support the Inclusion Framework, which was introduced in Essex in 2020/21 to support early intervention and inclusion in education, following the principle of ‘Life without Labels’. The Framework supports timely intervention to remove barriers to education at the earliest opportunity, to avoid escalation of need and as a result to avoid unnecessary escalation to statutory processes related to SEND, exclusion and social care.
Staff profile students on a regular basis against a pre-defined list of capabilities and choose areas to focus on. From this, staff produce an action plan for an individual or group of students based on Inclusion Framework guidance, and will share this with the student, their parents/carers and ECC.
To enable this to happen, it will be essential that the system can capture and store student profiles which can be managed at user level (with appropriate access levels in place). The system must enable educational staff to access in-tool reporting that profiles the assessment results of individual students, custom groups and cohorts. This must include the ability to view a ‘heatmap’ style report with colour coded ratings. All system data must be exportable, potentially with the option for ECC staff to access in-tool reporting. The system must be accessible from multiple device types.
This early market engagement activity has been published on Procontract. Please respond to this PIN to express your interest by close of business on Wednesday 31st July 2024.
We will be sending out a questionnaire to all those whose express their interest to gather more information. The questionnaire will be sent on the 1st August 2024, with responses required no later than Friday 30th August 2024.
Depending on responses received, we are intending to hold a virtual Bidder’s event on Tuesday 17th September 2024 at 2pm for interested suppliers. This is subject to change.
The Council considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are Small or Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
For this early market engagement activity, the Authority will be using the Procontract (Due North) eSourcing portal https://procontract.due-north.com throughout this activity, and all expressions of interest to Essex County Council relating to this exercise must be via the portal.
Supplier registration on the portal is free of charge and can be done via: https:/ /procontract.due-north.com/
If you have any issues with responding to this PIN please contact: Eileen.Attwood@essex.gov.uk
two.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice
17 December 2025
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No