Upcoming
Provision of Community Short Breaks for Children with Disabilities and their Families in Bedford Borough 2026
Bedford Borough Council · Local authority
In brief
Bedford Borough Council has announced plans to buy care work. This is an early notice: there is nothing to bid on yet, but it tells you a tender may follow.
The notice does not state a value.
The contract runs for 2 years, up to 4 years with extensions, starting 1 April 2026.
The buyer says it is suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.
Built from the notice's own fields. Always check the official notice before you bid.
Can I win this?
Competition
Typical: a median of 3 bids per contract for this buyer (from 15 awards in the last 12 months).
What the notice says
Bedford Borough Council provides a range of Short Break Services that are designed to assist individuals who provide care for CYP with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND). The provision of short breaks is a statutory requirement under the Children and Families Act 2014. Local authorities are required to provide access to services that are designed to assist individuals who provide care for children with SEND to continue to do so, or to do so more effectively, by giving them breaks from caring. Local authorities must offer short breaks as part of a preventative model in keeping families together, preventing family breakdown and preventing CYP with SEND becoming children looked after.
Short Breaks Services have been defined as services that give CYP with SEND enjoyable experiences away from their primary carers, thereby contributing to their personal and social development and reducing social isolation; and services that provide parents and families a necessary and valuable break from their caring responsibilities.
Short Breaks Services can include day-time or overnight care in the homes of CYP with SEND or elsewhere, educational or leisure activities outside their homes, or services available to assist carers in the evenings, at weekends and during the school holidays.
How to bid
- Read the full notice on Find a Tender, including any tender documents it links to.
- Register your organisation on the Central Digital Platform (through Find a Tender) if you have not already. Suppliers need to be registered to take part in procurements under the Procurement Act 2023.
- Follow the submission instructions in the notice; it does not name an e-tendering portal.
Timeline
- Preliminary market engagement notice · UK2, notice 077133-2025
About the buyer
Bedford Borough CouncilLast 12 months
Procurements
112Awards
78Suppliers it has used most for care
- A Wilderness Way Group Limited1 contract
- Arnfield Care Ltd1 contract
- Barnardo Services Limited1 contract
- Barton Lodge Ltd (Barton Lodge Care Home)1 contract
- Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity1 contract
Similar open tenders
All open care tenders- £164mestimated
- £82kestimated
- £12.7mestimated
- £44.1mestimated
- £1.3mestimated
From notice 077133-2025 on Find a Tender, first published 26 November 2025. We last checked for changes on 28 September 2026.