Best Start in Life Parent /carer panels

Leicestershire County Council is seeking a provider to establish and coordinate a dedicated parent and carer engagement forum as part of the Department for Education’s (DfE) 2026–2029 Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme.

The service will ensure families have opportunities to share their experiences and contribute to the design, delivery and ongoing improvement of Family Hubs and Best Start for Life services across Leicestershire.

Service Requirements

The successful provider will establish and coordinate parent and carer engagement forums, gathering the voices and experiences of families from conception to age two and during their transition into services for older children.

The service will include:

• Recruiting and engaging parents and carers to participate in co-production activities.
• Training and mentoring parents and carers to support their involvement.
• Creating opportunities for families to influence service design, delivery and improvement.
• Developing a sustainable model in which parents and carers are empowered to lead and support ongoing engagement forums.

The service will help ensure local family services reflect the needs and experiences of Leicestershire communities.

Contract Information

• Buyer: Leicestershire County Council
• Deadline: 2 December 2026, 12:00pm
• Enquiry Deadline: 18 November 2026, 12:00pm
• Contract Value: £98,000 excluding VAT (£117,600 including VAT)
• Contract Start: 11 January 2027
• Contract End: 10 January 2030
• Extension: Possible 12-month extension to 10 January 2031
• Total Delivery Length: Up to 4 years
• Tender Reference: DN828783
• Tender Link: East Midlands Tenders Portal – search for opportunity reference DN828783.

Supplier Requirements

The opportunity is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs).

Providers must demonstrate their ability to recruit, engage, train and mentor parents and carers, coordinate participation forums and support family involvement in co-production activities.

Further specific supplier requirements are detailed in the tender documents. Providers must express an interest through the East Midlands Tenders portal to access the documents.

Evaluation Criteria

The contract will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• Quality: 80%
• Price: 20%

Commercial Relevance

This opportunity offers family support organisations, community groups, charities and engagement specialists an opportunity to coordinate parent and carer participation in the development of Family Hubs and early years support services across Leicestershire.

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