Hackney Council has approved a contract worth up to £15.1 million to commission children's homes, aiming to improve care and keep young people closer to their communities. The decision, made by the Cabinet Procurement and Insourcing Committee on Monday, June 1, 2026, will see a partner provider deliver residential care and support for children aged 11-17. The contract is for an initial five years, with an option to extend for a further two years.
The new homes, named Blossom House and Starbright House, are intended to minimise disruption for children looked after by Hackney, ensuring they can maintain connections with friends, family, and support networks. This initiative is part of the council's commitment to its corporate parenting duty and aims to address a shortage of local children's homes. Currently, Hackney only has two registered children's homes in the borough: one for disabled children and a small private home. The creation of the two new homes proposed in this report will provide 6 new local places for Hackney children.
Following the approval of the contract award, the new contract is set to commence by June 15, 2026. Pending Ofsted registration by December 2026, the homes should be ready for children to move into by early 2027.
The partner provider will be required to deliver systemic, trauma-informed and anti-racist care aligned with Hackney's STAR Practice Model. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the contract cover quality of care, education, employment, outcomes for children, health and wellbeing, social and emotional development, service management and efficiency, and children's voice.
During the meeting, the committee considered three options: doing nothing, insourcing the service, or commissioning a partner provider. Insourcing was deemed not viable at this stage due to significant financial, regulatory, and operational risks. Hackney Council currently lacks the internal infrastructure, workforce, and regulatory experience required to run Ofsted-registered homes. Financial modelling indicated higher overall costs (approximately £18.8m whole-life cost), and the reputational and compliance risks of an unsatisfactory Ofsted outcome were also considered significant. The chosen option of commissioning a partner provider was approved for delivering improved outcomes for children and financial efficiency.
The procurement process involved extensive engagement with care-experienced young people, councillors, and local communities, with their feedback incorporated into the service design. Key messages from young people, such as the importance of personalised rooms and staying close to loved ones, were prioritised. The evaluation criteria for the provider's bid included quality (70%), social value (15%), and price (30%). Within the quality criteria, specific sub-categories were: Service Principles and Model of Care (15%), Staffing and Leadership (10%), Mobilisation (10%), Young People's Voice and Partnership Working (5%), Risk and Business Continuity (10%), and Young People's Evaluation (5%).
The successful provider, Provider B, achieved the highest overall score of 91% in the evaluation. The provider is committed to reducing its environmental impact through a robust sustainability policy. They have committed to prioritising sustainability through: energy-efficient appliances, durable materials, environmentally conscious purchasing, waste reduction contributing to net-zero commitments, and child-led energy-saving initiatives such as turning off lights and unplugging devices. The provider has also made a commitment to digital-first systems to reduce unnecessary printing. Specific measurable targets for reduction were not detailed in the provided text, but the provider's environmental commitments are detailed in Exempt Appendix 3.
The contract is expected to result in an estimated cost avoidance of approximately £2.1 million over its term. The council will retain ownership of the two properties that will house the new homes.
The contract will be managed by the Senior Commissioning Manager in the Children's Integrated Commissioning Service, with oversight from the Head of Commissioning and Head of Corporate Parenting. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will cover various aspects of care and service delivery, and these will be monitored as part of the contract management process. Contract performance meetings will be held at least once per quarter, with monthly meetings anticipated for the first six months to support contract embedding. The Council's Contract Management System will be used to manage the provider and collect performance information. For more details on the committee's decisions, see the Decisions document.