South Tyneside Council is seeking expressions of interest to develop a children's residential care service in the borough.

If you wish to express an interest, you will need to register, free of charge, and log into the NEPO e-tendering system https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=850477d4-7ea0-ed11-811f-005056b64545&p=1c9e782c-541e-e611-8114-000c29c9ba21, where you can download the soft market testing exercise questionnaire.

Currently we have limited levels of service and capacity to meet the needs of our children and young people who require residential care in borough.

Many of our children who are in residential care, are cared for outside of South Tyneside and away from their families and communities.

The current children's residential care market means it is increasingly difficult to place our children and young people who require residential care either in or out of borough.

We are looking to develop our capacity in borough for the provision of high quality and sustainable residential care services.

We would welcome your input on the best approach to accommodation and are open to exploring the potential for South Tyneside Council to provide the building/accommodation.

Any new residential care services must meet the national requirements for the provision of children's residential care provision and be registered with Ofsted. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/541/contents/made https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-and-cqc-joint-registration-guidance-childrens-homes-and-health-care/childrens-homes-and-health-care-registration-with-ofsted-or-cqc Regulated Childrens Home's providing care for between 1 and 6 Children/Young People.

The Childrens Home must be located within the South Tyneside borough.

Primary needs of the Children and Young People may vary, we would encourage consideration of the categories of registration in relation to your organisational experience of working within these.

The categories are: • children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties (EBD) • children with physical disabilities (PD) • children with learning disabilities (LD) • children with mental disorders, excluding learning disability (MD) • children with present drug dependence (D) • children with present alcohol dependence (A) • children with sensory impairment (SI) The Children's Home will provide 24/7 accommodation and care, delivered by experienced and qualified staff, under The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015.

The key principles for residential childcare should be embedded within the culture and ethos of the Home (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards).