The Department for Education (DfE) is inviting tender applications from interested partners to support delivery of a new network of Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs.
The Stronger Practice Hubs will support other early years settings with adopting evidence-based practice improvements to address key COVID-19 recovery issues, particularly for settings and children most in need, and building local networks for sharing effective practice.
Building on the Early Years Foundation Stage reforms, the Hubs will be existing, well-established early years settings with expertise and knowledge of what works to support child outcomes, and the supporting evidence base. The programme is part of the Department for Education’s £180 million investment in recovery support in the early years sector.
The delivery partner’s role will involve co-designing and running an exercise to select up to 18 Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs, as well as providing oversight and quality assurance of the Hubs, and facilitating best practice and intelligence sharing between Hubs, the DfE, and other partners.
This contract will run from July 2022 to December 2024, with selection of Hubs taking place between August and October 2022. There will be a possible contract extension of one year.
The Invitation to Tender was published on Monday 11 April and will close at 8:00am on Wednesday 11 May 2022.