Where Care Excellence Meets Business Success. Transform your operations today - 0333 577 0877
We are here to help 24/7.

Coming up· published 23 Nov 2025

Soft Market Testing - Nottinghamshire County Council Assessment placement framework for children-in-care

Nottinghamshire County Council · Rushcliffe, East Midlands

Nottinghamshire County Council is planning this contract. It is a contract for other health and social care in Rushcliffe.

Source: Contracts Finder, published 24 Nov 2025. Details are refreshed every 30 minutes.

Key dates

  1. 2025

    Pipeline notice published

    Market Engagement Notice · 11:39

    View notice
  2. 2025

    Tender notice expected

    Date given in the buyer's earlier notice

01

About this tender

In brief

Nottinghamshire County Council is planning this contract. It is a contract for other health and social care in Rushcliffe. The buyer has published an early notice. It gives providers time to prepare before the tender opens.

The buyer marks it as suitable for SMEs and VCSEs. Contracts Finder published it on 24 November 2025. The OCDS ID is ocds-b5fd17-e19ef8f7-5e73-4b28-8a13-5b026a61cdde.

Summary of the contracting process

Nottinghamshire County Council is currently in the planning stage of a procurement process titled "Soft Market Testing - Nottinghamshire County Council Assessment placement framework for children-in-care." This initiative is tagged under the health and social work services industry category, specifically aiming to enhance assessment placements for children-in-care.

Set in the East Midlands, United Kingdom, the council intends to engage with market providers until the engagement end date on 12 December 2025. This soft market test, led by the council's Children's Placement and Commissioning team, seeks to explore possibilities for developing a future framework to support emergency and planned assessment provisions.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) are encouraged to participate as the council values insights that can shape future commissioning strategies.

The notice in full

Nottinghamshire County Council's Children's Placement and Commissioning team are conducting a soft market test exercise to explore the possibility of developing a framework to support assessment placements for children-in-care. This exercise is designed to gather insights from providers about capacity, appetite, challenges, and innovative approaches to emergency and planned assessment provisions to support the long-term home finding process.

It is also an opportunity to shape future commissioning strategies with Nottinghamshire County Council. Your feedback will help us better understand market conditions, refine our commissioning strategy, and ensure that any potential future framework is informed by provider experience. We value your input and expertise in the market, and welcome open and honest conversations throughout the process.

We will share a summary of our findings with all participants, which of course will be anonymised. Following this, we may hold a further provider forum if required. To reiterate, this is not a procurement exercise but rather a data gathering exercise.

Lots: no lot details came through with this notice. The official notice and the tender pack have the full breakdown.

02

Key facts

Every field the notice carries. Anything it leaves blank is listed under its table.

Contract

Service
Other
Procurement type
Standard
Contract period
Not specified - Not specified
Suitable for
Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs); Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs)

Not stated in the notice: category.

Procedure

Notice type
Market Engagement Notice
Current stage
Planning
Stages so far
Planning
Published on
Contracts Finder

Not stated in the notice: procurement method, awardee scale.

Values

Not stated in the notice: tender value, lots value, awards value, contracts value.

Status

Tender
Planning

Not stated in the notice: lots, awards, contracts.

References

CPV code
85000000 - Health and social work services
CPV division
85 - Health and social work services
03

Location

Nottinghamshire County Council is based in Rushcliffe. The area the service covers can be wider, so check the notice and the lots.
Local authority
Rushcliffe
Town
Nottingham
Postcode
NG2 7QP
Electoral ward
Trent Bridge
Constituency
Rushcliffe
Delivery area
East Midlands (England)
Region
East Midlands
Sub-region
South Nottinghamshire
Area
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Country
England
04

Buyer

Contracting authority

Organisation
Nottinghamshire County Council
Contact
Samantha Gilbert
Phone
+44 1158546049
Address
Nottinghamshire, NG2 7QP · East Midlands · England

Not stated in the notice: category.

Call +44 1158546049
05

Documents and links

Official sources for this notice. The tender pack itself sits on the buyer's portal.
06

Questions about this tender

When will the Soft Market Testing - Nottinghamshire County Council Assessment placement… tender open?

Nottinghamshire County Council has not yet given a date for the tender notice. An early notice is the time to answer any market engagement questions and gather the evidence a bid will need.

Who is the buyer for Soft Market Testing - Nottinghamshire County Council Assessment placement…?

Nottinghamshire County Council, based in Rushcliffe, East Midlands. The named contact is Samantha Gilbert, on +44 1158546049.

How do I bid for Soft Market Testing - Nottinghamshire County Council Assessment placement…?

Register on the buyer's portal named in the notice, download the tender pack and check every condition of participation before you start writing. The buyer has marked it as suitable for SMEs and VCSEs. Care Sync Experts writes and reviews care tender bids from £1,500 + VAT.

Want help winning this tender?

We write and review care tender bids: quality answers, case studies and social value, checked against how the buyer scores before you submit.

What to do next

  1. Read the early notice in full.
  2. Answer any market engagement questions.
  3. Gather your evidence and case studies now.
  4. Check your policies are up to date.
  5. Watch for the tender notice.