Provision of the Aspire Education Programme within the City of Newport

Procurement reference

NCC-2024-02351

Procurement description

This Transparency Notice is to inform the market of Newport City Council's intention to direct award a contract to Newport Live to deliver the Aspire Education Programme. The Aspire Education Programme delivered by Newport Live in their own community venues, including use of sport venues, provides pre-16 learning and educational opportunities to young people from Year 10 and Year 11 from three high schools across the city who are at risk of becoming NEET (young people not in education, employment or training. The current high schools are Lliswerry High School, Llanwern High School and The John Frost High School. The programme will be expanded to include Newport High School as from 1 April 2025. The community venues accommodate up to 12 pupils from each high school at any one time, with a current total of 36 places available on a rolling programme which will expand to 48 when Newport High School commence to use the service. There is a variety of bespoke provision delivered from each individual Aspire school site to support the individual needs of learners who require specialist support. The contract will be for a 3 year period commencing on 1 April 2025 with a possible extension of 2 years years to offer stability and consistency to young people who use it and will allow for the development of the market to increase supplier interest in tendering in the future. The extension of a possible 2 years will only be granted after the market has been reviewed, whether funding is available and a review of contract management.

Newport City Council

Newport Live

Procedure type

Direct award

Description of how these justifications apply

Newport Live, a Leisure Trust, has delivered the Aspire programme since April 2023 in community venues across the city, delivering vocational/alternative qualifications (Princes Trust, B-Tech, Highfields, Sweet as well as external providers such as SWFRS Phoenix Project) with success to young people from Llanwern High School, Lliswerry High School and John Frost High School. A total of 137 vocational/alternative qualifications were achieved in 2023/2024. They are also able to provide work experience within the Trust for Arts & Theatre, Sport Science and admin functions to the young people who attend the programme to ready them to enter into employment. The community venues near the high schools detailed and around the city means that the young people can be part of their own school community rather than being placed out of county which may result in disengagement from education. In a limited market within the city, Newport Live have the skillset, knowledge, experience and understanding to be able to continue to deliver the Aspire Education Programme to meet the individual needs of young people at risk of exclusion within Newport, including those who currently attend, enabling them to reintegrate with mainstream education provision or remain within their school community whilst receiving an alternative curriculum model.

Direct award justification

Single suppliers technical reasons

Is this procurement under a special regime?

Light touch

Sustainability

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)

Extension end date (if all the extensions are used): 31 March 2030