Hackney Council has awarded a contract worth over £2.2 million for children's speech and language therapy services, ensuring continuity of essential provision to local families.
The Hackney Procurement Board approved the decision to award the contract for the Children's Integrated Speech and Language Therapy Service to Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The rationale behind the direct award process, under Direct Award Process C of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR), was to ensure continuity of essential provision to children and families in Hackney. This approach was permissible as the existing contract was expiring, a subsequent contract was needed, the proposed arrangements were not changing considerably, and the existing provider was deemed to be satisfying the current contract to a sufficient standard.
The contract, valued at £2,202,101, will initially run for six months from October 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, with the possibility of two further six-month extensions. If both extensions are exercised, the total contract value would see inflationary uplifts applied in accordance with NHS Agenda for Change pay scales, with the exception of SEND Transformation costs, which are fixed at £81,157.50 per six-month extension.
The service is crucial for identifying and supporting children with speech, language, and communication needs, as well as difficulties with eating, drinking, and swallowing. It also helps Hackney Council fulfil its legal obligations under the Children and Families Act 2014, particularly for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) who have an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP).
Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has generally met or exceeded its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These include targets for SEND, such as completing 90% of EHCP needs advice for eligible children within six weeks. For Children Centres, the trust aims to offer 5 training sessions annually to nursery settings and receive 600 referrals for children under 5. In Youth Justice, 100% of YJS staff are expected to access SaLT training within their first six weeks, and 100% of young people are to be seen within four weeks of referral. For the Young Hackney prevention pathway, 100% of young people identified with SaLT needs are expected to report understanding their needs and receiving support, with a target of 75%. For Virtual Schools, a minimum of 20% of SaLT staff time is dedicated to therapy and intervention work with young people, staff, and families, with a target of 100% of young people being seen within five weeks of referral.
While the current contract has experienced some challenges with timely data reporting, mainly due to changes in KPIs, inconsistent reporting formats, and differing timeframes, the provider has generally met or exceeded its KPIs. Remaining data will be shared in the next contract monitoring meeting.
A competitive process is planned to recommission the service from April 2027. The new service specification will align SaLT support further with the principles of early intervention and prevention outlined in recent SEND reforms. It will ensure the service uses a tiered, graduated response model to manage demand for statutory SaLT input.
Minutes from the previous Hackney Procurement Board meeting, held on July 22, 2026, were also approved. An item concerning a framework for accommodation for individuals with no recourse to public funds was withdrawn from the agenda.
Read the full Public reports pack from the Hackney Procurement Board meeting on 11 August 2026 here.
See the Decisions from the Hackney Procurement Board meeting on 11 August 2026 here.