Halton Borough Council is undertaking preliminary market engagement to understand the current software solutions available to support the delivery of its Education Services. The Council is currently an Access Synergy customer and is seeking to test the market and review the range of alternative solutions available. The purpose of this exercise is to understand current market capability, functionality, technology, integration opportunities, implementation approaches and indicative costs for a modern Education Services software solution. The Council is interested in solutions that can support a number of Education Service functions, ideally through an integrated platform. The anticipated scope includes the following key functional areas: • Admissions – supporting the end-to-end school admissions process, including applications, preferences, eligibility, allocations, offers, waiting lists, appeals, correspondence and reporting. Creation, export and importing of statutory admission files. • FIS / Early Years – supporting Early Years services, including funding, eligibility, applications, provider management, claims, payments, reconciliation and reporting, EY Census production. FIS Childcare Directory, ‘OFSTED Feed’ api data import • Free School Meals (FSM) – supporting applications, eligibility, verification, notifications, records and reporting. • SAM – supports the LA’s Schools, (School Admissions Module), allows school to access their admissions round allocation and FSM entitlement for their children in Realtime. • SEND – supporting the end-to-end management of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities processes, including referrals, assessments, EHC needs assessments and plans, parent and professional portals, reviews, consultations, placements, provision, funding, correspondence, transport and statutory reporting (SEN2). • PSS – supporting Pupil Support Services requirements, including referrals, case management, interventions, actions, outcomes, professional involvement and reporting. Work of Education Welfare Team, penalty notices, Exclusions, AP, EOTAS, Elective home education, Entertainment Licences and chaperones • Children's Centres (Hubs) – capturing activity data across Family Hubs within the Borough and reporting. • EIS – Case Management – providing flexible case management functionality to support workflows, referrals, tasks, alerts, contacts, chronology, document management, correspondence, assessments, outcomes, audit trails and reporting. The Council is particularly interested in solutions that provide a single, modern and secure platform, enabling appropriate information to be shared across services and providing a consistent approach to the management of children, young people, families, providers, cases and associated information.

Procurement Act 2023

Access to the documentation to be completed and submitted is via The Chest e-procurement facility (www.the-chest.org.uk) Project ID - DN830291 All dialogue and correspondence must be via the portal, suppliers should use the 'messages' facility for questions/queries and the completed document with supporting information should be uploaded via the portal prior to the deadline at 11am on 09/10/2026.