RCC and Fostering Hubs Delivery Partner Preliminary Market Engagement Notice

Tender Notice – Regional Care Cooperatives and Fostering Recruitment & Retention Programme The Department for Education intends to procure a Delivery Partner to support the establishment and early operation of up to six new Regional Care Cooperatives (RCCs) and to deliver the expanded Fostering Recruitment and Retention Programme. This contract is intended to run from July 2026 to 31 March 2028 (final timelines will be set out in the tendering documentation), with activity delivered across England through a mix of virtual and in person engagement. This notice is being issued to inform the market of the forthcoming opportunity. Regional Care Cooperatives Every child deserves safe, high-quality care close to home. Regional care cooperatives (RCCs) will help make this a reality by transforming the approach local areas take to commissioning and providing homes for children in care. Further background on RCCs and the policy intent behind this reform can be found here: Regional care cooperatives policy statement - GOV.UK The Delivery Partner will provide structured coaching, facilitation, and technical expertise to support regions through the RCC staged progression model—Foundation and Development—so that they are prepared to transition into Delivery, as set out in the RCC Design Specification Guidance here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-to-set-up-a-regional-care-cooperative. This will include support for: • diagnostics, planning and governance • co design and development of sufficiency strategies • market shaping approaches • adoption of the national common data model • establishment of core regional functions for sustainable forecasting and commissioning Further information please see tender documentation. Fostering Recruitment and Retention Programme The Department is also seeking a Delivery Partner to support the next phase of the Fostering Recruitment and Retention Programme, delivered under the same contract as the RCC support package. In this expanded phase, Fos