Community Justice Learning

This procurement is subject to the 'Light Touch Regime' and, the procurement will therefore be governed by Section 7 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Nothing should be inferred from the fact that a full contract notice has been published or that reference is made to the Open Procedure.

The Authority invites you to take part in this procurement for the development, accreditation, delivery, and award of the level 6 degree honours/graduate diploma known as "the Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP)". The qualification is undertaken by all trainee Probation Officers (Learners) employed by the National Probation Service (NPS) across England and Wales. NPS is increasing trainee recruitment (from c.600 to 1200-1500 annually) in order to qualify probation officers at the scale and pace needed to match the Criminal Justice System demand. The course is to be delivered via a blended model that is majority distance learning.

The opportunity comprises initial learning delivery to the current curriculum framework "Continuity Services", the concurrent design of a new curriculum framework "Design Services" and learning delivery to subsequent cohorts under the new framework "Next Generation Services". One Contractor appointed under Lots 1-6 will also be appointed through Lot 7 as the Lead Designer for the design of the new framework. With the exception of where the Contractor is performing the role of Lead Designer, the Contractors appointed under Lots 1 – 6 will perform the role of Supporting Designers. The Lead Designer and Supporting Designers will work in partnership with the Authority to design the next generation curriculum. The qualification will continue to be level 6 in line with the agenda to professionalise the probation workforce. This is therefore a unique opportunity to shape capability within the future probation services workforce under a unified model.

Contractors will qualify Learners joining the NPS during 3 academic years, with an option to extend to cover those learners joining in a fourth academic year from October 2021. academic year . Up to 4 cohorts will be admitted in each academic year on a quarterly basis and there will be a run off period following the final intake in 2024 (or 2025 if contracts are extended) to enable the cohorts to qualify. During the lifetime of the contract there may be related work (e.g. specific short term items of academic research; mapping of qualifications; or support to develop curriculum in response to changes in practice or legislation) that the contractor may have the opportunity to deliver.

Lots are available to deliver learning within 6 Geographical Areas, coterminous with the twelve newly formed NPS Probation Regions, as further described in the ITT.