Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) Questionnaire for Early Intervention and Prevention Service

Descriptions

The Isle of Wight Council's Children's Services Directorate is undertaking early engagement with the market to inform the commissioning of an Early Intervention and Prevention Service. The Local Authority is seeking the views and professional expertise of stakeholders to support the development of a service specification that is robust, outcomes focused, and evidence informed, and which reflects national best practice while responding to the specific needs of babies, children, young people, and families on the Isle of Wight. This engagement is intended to inform the Local Authority's understanding of effective service models, capacity and workforce considerations, and approaches that support early identification, prevention, and improved outcomes. The Local Authority is inviting potential suppliers to provide feedback on the information issued and the accompanying questionnaire. Responses will be used to assess market capability and readiness, explore opportunities for innovation and partnership working, and inform decisions regarding the future commissioning approach and procurement of the Early Intervention and Prevention Service.

Engagement

The current Early Help provision on the Isle of Wight is delivered through the 0-19 Early Help Service, which has been commissioned by the Isle of Wight Council's Children's Services Directorate and delivered by Barnardo's since 2020. The service provides Early Intervention and Prevention support to babies, children, young people, and families from the early stages of pregnancy through to age 19 and 25 for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with the aim of identifying emerging needs at the earliest opportunity, reducing escalation to statutory services, and improving outcomes across health, education, safeguarding, and wellbeing. Further information regarding the existing 0-19 Early Help Service, including service offer and delivery locations, can be accessed via the Isle of Wight Family Centres website https://www.isleofwightfamilycentres.org.uk/. The Isle of Wight Council has identified a continued and evolving need to commission a high quality, evidence informed Early Intervention and Prevention Service that supports babies, children, young people, and families at the earliest possible stage. The business need is driven by the requirement to improve outcomes for families, reduce demand on statutory and specialist services, and ensure services are aligned with current national policy, local priorities, and emerging needs across the Island. Children's Services is experiencing increasing and more complex levels of need linked to factors such as family adversity, parental mental health, poverty, domestic abuse, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and rising emotional wellbeing concerns. There is a clear requirement for a consistent, accessible early help offer that enables timely identification of need, coordinated support, and effective step down from statutory intervention where appropriate. The Local Authority seeks to ensure that the future service model delivers clear, measurable outcomes, including improved family resilience, reduced escalation to statutory social care and specialist services, improved school readiness and attendance, and enhanced emotional health and wellbeing for babies, children and young people. This requires a service that is responsive, flexible, and able to operate across universal, targeted, and preventative pathways, working in close partnership with health, education, voluntary and community sector providers, and wider system partners. The purpose of this Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire is to seek views and feedback from potential suppliers to inform the ongoing development of the service specification and the Local Authority's future commissioning approach. The questionnaire includes a range of questions; however, respondents are not required to answer all questions and are invited to provide any additional feedback or insight they wish to offer. Participation in this market engagement exercise is entirely voluntary. Responses submitted will not create any obligation on suppliers to participate in any subsequent procurement process, nor will they confer any advantage, preferential treatment, or guarantee of inclusion in any future procurement to suppliers who respond. The Local Authority shall not be liable for any costs, expenses, or losses incurred by suppliers as a result of participating in this process. The Local Authority further reserves the right to amend, suspend, or withdraw the questionnaire or this engagement process at any time, without any incurred liability. The Isle of Wight Council's vision is to commission an integrated, outcomes focused Early Intervention and Prevention Service that ensures babies, children, young people, and families receive the right help, at the right time, in the right way. The service will prioritise early identification of need, build family resilience, and prevent escalation to statutory and specialist services wherever possible. The Local Authority seeks a service model that is child and family centred, strengths based, and inclusive, supporting families from pregnancy through adolescence. Services should be accessible, proportionate, and responsive to the diverse needs of island communities, reducing inequalities and improving life chances for children and young people. The vision is for a whole system approach to Early Help, delivered through effective partnership working across Children's Services, health, education, the voluntary and community sector, and other key system partners. Providers will be expected to work collaboratively to deliver joined up support, clear pathways, and seamless transitions between universal, targeted, and specialist services. The Local Authority is seeking a service that: • Focuses on measurable outcomes and impact, demonstrating clear improvements in babies, children's and young person's safety, wellbeing, development, and educational engagement. • Embeds early intervention and prevention as core principles, supporting families to address challenges before they escalate. • Is flexible and innovative, making effective use of digital solutions, community assets, and evidence-based interventions. • Promotes continuous improvement, using data, performance management, and feedback from children, young people and families to shape service delivery. • Delivers value for money and long-term sustainability while maintaining high quality standards. Through this commissioning, the Local Authority aims to strengthen the local Early Help system, reduce demand on statutory services, and enable children, young people, and families on the Isle of Wight to thrive within their communities. The PME questionnaire must be returned by the deadline via the Local Authority's ProContract e-Tendering portal. Please leave sufficient time to do this, as uploading times can vary depending on the file size. Documents must be uploaded in an Open Document format, and all attachments will ideally be Zipped into one file. (Use PDF documents where possible to reduce file sizes). Please note: Suppliers can upload / amend their response via the ProContract e-Tendering Portal at any time prior to the submission deadline. The response is secure and only visible to the organisation up until the closing deadline date / time at which point the system is locked to the organisation and contents become visible to the Isle of Wight Council (the Local Authority). Please upload your completed document to the ProContract e-Tendering portal by the closing date 24th February 2026 for this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) questionnaire. PLEASE REMEMBER: This is not an Invitation to Tender (ITT) exercise. The Local Authority is intending to initiate a procurement process for the provision of Early Intervention and Prevention Service in the future, but this Preliminary Market (PME) Engagement Questionnaire is a call for information only. The purpose of this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise is for the Local Authority to gain a deeper understanding of the need as well as assisting the Local Authority in ensuring the most efficient and effective methods of providing it are reviewed for the future procurement. The potential scale and scope of the procurement itself is such that it could offer A significant opportunity to suppliers. Prior to initiating the potential procurement process, the Local Authority wishes to establish the level of market interest from suppliers. The information gathered from this exercise may inform how the Local Authority takes this procurement forward. Information from this Questionnaire may be anonymised and shared with others, in the interests of transparency.