Common use of Outreach Education Clause in Contracts

Outreach Education. Currently, a number of Young People do not attend designated education for one of three main reasons: refusal to attend; a Young Person is prevented from attending by the Custodial Operator due to their risk assessment or because of specific needs/appointments (e.g. healthcare needs); or a Young Person has been sent out of education. As a result, Young People can often remain either in their residential accommodation or in care and separation units, if they are deemed as posing a risk either to themselves or to others, and, as a result, receive little or no education. Historic data on the number of such Young People, the hours of education missed or the specific reasons for missing education is limited. The Authority however estimates that ten (10) percent of learners (i.e. ten (10) percent of the population assigned to education) are not in designated education at any given time. As part of the newly commissioned service, the Authority will expect that the Contractor provides a fifteen (15) hour weekly timetable of education services to each Young Person in designated outreach (this is exclusive of PE provided by the Custodial Operator). In addition, the Authority requires that efforts should be made to reintegrate these Young People such that they are able to attend designated education areas alongside their peers and be taught in the same class sizes as the rest of the custodial population as soon as possible. The Authority refers to the service being delivered to those Young People as Outreach Education. The Authority recognises that this group varies in number and profile and this makes the delivery of a service to them challenging. It is the Authority's requirement that the Contractor put in place a clearly identified level of resource to serve a fixed number of Young People through an Outreach Education model. That level of resource will be fixed and monitored by the Authority to ensure that it is deployed to support the delivery of Outreach Education services as per the Contractor's bid submission. The level of resource deployed will result in an average ratio of Contractor's Staff to Young People of no fewer than a ratio of 1:3. The exact size of the staffing resource necessary to support this group will be for the Contractor to develop. In the event that the number of Young People requiring education in this way increases beyond the fixed number the Authority expects, the Contractor will use the available Outreach Education staffing to provide the most optimum level of service to the group of Young People. In these circumstances, the Authority will accept a change in the staffing ratios and/or delivered hours. Where the number of Young People requiring Outreach Education falls below the volumes set out in Schedule 5 (Pricing and Payment Mechanism), the Contractor will redeploy any under-utilised staff with the intention of maximising educational outcomes for all Young People in the YOI. The Authority recognises the challenges of implementing an Outreach Education service. As a result, the Contractor will not be required to implement the Outreach Education service in full at the Services Commencement Date and will instead start at the end of the second Payment Period. The Authority intends that the Outreach Education service be reviewed after six (6) Payment Periods of operation, with the express intention of recalibrating the service to ensure it is operating as effectively and efficiently as possible. The Outreach Education requirement is specified under section 4.3 (Outreach Education Services) of paragraph 4 (Individual Service Requirements). Future Education in YOIs The current contracts for education provision in public sector under-18 YOIs are due to expire in 2015. This provides a unique opportunity to take a fresh look at the existing provision and make improvements which will realise the Government's ambition for youth custody and secure better outcomes for Young People. The objectives for YOI education provision is to deliver a Service which: meets the needs of Young People and enables them to make good progress during their time in custody; contributes to reducing the risk of a Young Person re-offending; is fully integrated with custodial and health services; contributes to the successful resettlement of Young People leaving custody; and represents good value for money. By increasing the education provision in YOIs, the Authority aims to ensure that education provision becomes a core component of the YOI regime and establishes an unequivocal focus on Young People's progress and achievement during their time in custody, ultimately enabling improved outcomes for Young People resettling back into their communities.