Case Study · Hertfordshire County Council · Framework
Hertfordshire Children and Young People with Disabilities Homecare Framework
Both lots awarded by SEND Commissioning, secured in a single standstill window without challenge.
From adult-derived defaults → both lots awarded by SEND Commissioning.
The Award Letter
Verified Source
Source: Hertfordshire County Council provisional award notifications HCC2314690 and HCC2314691 dated 11 August 2025. Standstill closed 21 August 2025.
Section 01Case Overview
This case study examines the route In-Home Carers Limited took onto Hertfordshire County Council's Framework Agreement for the Provision of Homecare and Support Services for Children and Young People (HCC2314690 and HCC2314691). Both lots were provisionally awarded on 11 August 2025 and the standstill closed at midnight on 21 August 2025 without challenge.
Section 04Starting Gaps & Limitations
The provider operated in adult homecare and had applied adult care planning language, assessment frameworks and safeguarding references to a SEND panel that was reading for children and young people-specific competency. The care planning language did not reference Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, and coproduction had been described in adult terms — key worker relationships — rather than in terms of family involvement and child voice, which the SEND commissioning panel expected.
Section 08Our Role
We took the engagement as lead writer on all quality method statements, recalibrating from adult homecare language to SEND-aligned children's services language. EHC plan references were introduced. Coproduction was rebuilt around family involvement and child voice. Safeguarding was updated to reflect the children's safeguarding framework — Working Together to Safeguard Children — rather than the adult safeguarding framework.
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Section 12What Changed the Trajectory
The introduction of EHC plan language and the rebuilding of the coproduction section around child voice and family involvement were the pivotal changes. These are the specific markers a SEND commissioning panel reads to distinguish a provider with genuine SEND competency from one applying adult homecare defaults. Both lots needed these signals to score above the award threshold.
Section 13Outcome Achieved
Both Lot 1 (HCC2314690) and Lot 2 (HCC2314691) were provisionally awarded by Hertfordshire County Council on 11 August 2025. The standstill closed at midnight on 21 August 2025 without challenge, and the framework moved into operation thereafter.
Measurable Uplift
| Lot | Reference | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 | HCC2314690 | Awarded |
| Lot 2 | HCC2314691 | Awarded |
| Standstill | 11–21 August 2025 | Closed without challenge |
The provider had no place on Hertfordshire County Council's children and young people homecare framework and no structured route to receive SEND Commissioning referrals across the county.
Both lots are awarded. The provider operates as an approved supplier on Hertfordshire's children and young people homecare framework, with SEND-aligned method statements as the basis for all future call-offs.