Provision of Psychotherapy and Counselling Services and Clinical Psychologists to Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB) schools and centres

AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.

1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

This procurement establishes a panel for the provision of psychotherapy, counselling services, and clinical psychologists to Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB) schools and centres. The services are required on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis, varying with the needs of individual schools and centres. LMETB is one of the largest Education and Training Boards, serving approximately 12,000 students at second and post-Leaving Certificate level, and 10,000 students in adult programmes, training centres, and Youthreach programmes.

The core activities for successful panel members include:

• Confidential Counselling Services: Providing a confidential service to students experiencing personal, social, academic, mental health, or welfare issues. This aims to facilitate self-awareness and develop coping mechanisms.
• Therapeutic Work: Offering therapeutic interventions for students referred by school principals, within Department of Education and Skills guidelines.
• Clinical Psychology Services: Including clinical psychology assessments, consultations, and reports for learners.
• Referral to External Services: Directing students to appropriate external support when necessary.
• Liaison and Reporting: Communicating with school management regarding referrals, progress, recommendations, and linked issues. This includes reporting on the counselling service's progress and providing annual reports on work undertaken.
• Child and Adult Safeguarding Compliance: Adhering to the Child Protection Policy of each school and the Adult Safeguarding Policy.
• Care Team and Critical Incident Team Participation: Attending care team meetings and acting as a key member of Critical Incident Teams within schools when required.
• Mental Health Promotion: Assisting schools in promoting positive mental health on a school-wide basis.
• Record Keeping: Maintaining accurate case records and evidence of work performed.
• Professional Standards: Upholding high standards of professional practice in compliance with school and professional body standards (e.g., IACP or equivalent).
• Flexible Working Hours: Working designated hours as agreed with local school principals, with potential flexibility required outside of school days.
• Delivery Modalities: Services will primarily be delivered within school and centre environments. However, online, telephone consultation, or services at the provider's place of practice will also be available depending on needs. Services may be required throughout the year, including outside the academic calendar.
• Administrative Confidentiality: Maintaining confidentiality of all administrative matters related to the contract or learner counselling service, communicating only with nominated staff members.

3. Background & buyer context

Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB) is a statutory authority established on July 1st, 2013, following the merger of Co Louth VEC and Co Meath VEC. LMETB manages 18 post-primary schools, 4 community national schools, a community special school, and a Centre for European Schooling, and is a joint patron of 6 community schools. It also operates 3 colleges of further education and extensive adult services, including Adult Learning Services, Community Education, Back to Education Initiative, VTOS, and Adult Guidance. Eight Youthreach centres and two training centres are also under its remit. LMETB is funded by the Department of Education for primary and post-primary education and by SOLAS for further education and training. The procurement is driven by LMETB's need to provide essential mental health and welfare support services to its student population across its diverse educational and training facilities.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Bidders must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered for the panel:

• Turnover requirement: Not specified for this tender.
• Insurance:
• Employers Liability: €13,000,000
• Public Liability: €6,500,000
• Professional Liability: €1,000,000
• Note: Evidence of current cover or a letter from an insurer confirming cover can be put in place within one week of award is required.
• Certifications:
• Counsellors must be accredited members of IACP or equivalent.
• Compliance with all Health & Safety legislation is required.
• Past experience: Applicants must demonstrate previous relevant experience in dealing with groups of participants similar to the proposed student body.
• Personnel:
• Counsellors must hold a qualification in counselling and psychotherapy, at least to diploma level.
• Clinical Psychologists must be suitably qualified.
• Experience in counselling adolescents, young adults, and adults is required.
• Interest in ‘Mindfulness for young people’ is desirable.
• Geographic / facility constraints: Services are to be provided to schools and centres within the LMETB remit (Louth and Meath). Online, remote, and telephone consultations may also be required.

5. Award criteria & scoring

Contracts awarded under the panel will be selected based on the following criteria when LMETB has a specific requirement:

Note: LMETB will consult panel members and select the most appropriate provider(s) based on these criteria for each specific booking.

6. Submission requirements

Bidders must submit their responses electronically via the eTenders postbox facility. The submission must adhere to the following:

• Method statement / response document: Tenderers must use the provided Tender Response Document and respond to each element in the order presented. The response should ideally be a single, clearly labelled, page-numbered, and indexed file.
• CVs: Not explicitly specified with page limits, but qualifications and experience of personnel are key.
• Pricing schedule: Not specified as a separate document; pricing must be submitted within the Tender Response Document and remain valid for the contract term. Prices must be in Euro (€) and exclusive of VAT.
• Case studies: Not specified.
• Declarations:
• Declaration of Bona Fides (as per Art. 57 of Directive 2014/24/EU).
• Self-Declaration Form confirming tax compliance status.
• Self-Declaration Form confirming insurance types and agreement to required levels.
• Confirmation of compliance with Health & Safety legislation.
• Copy of Health & Safety Statement on request.
• Copy of Child Safety Statements and Risk Assessment required.
• Mandatory site visit: Not specified.
• Submission portal: eTenders.gov.ie. Responses must be uploaded as a Zip file if possible. File size limit per file is 250MB, total limit 2GB. Tenders must be submitted before the deadline; late submissions will not be accepted.

7. Key dates & process

Note: The panel will operate for 3 years and is open to ongoing applications, re-advertised annually via a PIN notice.

8. Contract terms that matter

• Term + extension: The panel duration is 3 years, subject to satisfactory annual performance review. Contracts awarded under the panel may extend beyond the panel's expiry date.
• Payment terms: All invoices must include a purchase order number. Schools and centres will issue separate purchase orders for each requirement.
• Key SLAs/KPIs: Successful performance is essential. Poor performance may lead to contract termination and/or removal from the panel.
• Liquidated damages or penalty regimes: Not specified.
• Termination clauses: Poor performance can result in termination.
• IP ownership: Not specified.
• Sub-contracting rules: Not specified.
• Parent-company guarantee or bond requirements: Not specified.

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

• Panel Process: This is a panel procurement, meaning all qualified bidders will be admitted. Contracts are then awarded from the panel based on specific criteria for each requirement. This differs from a direct award tender.
• Indicative Value: The estimated value (€400,000 - €750,000) is for the entire panel over its lifetime and is explicitly stated as indicative with no guaranteed expenditure. This suggests demand may fluctuate.
• Ongoing Applications: The panel remains open for applications throughout its 3-year duration, with annual re-advertisements. This means new providers can join after the initial deadline.
• Discretionary Award: LMETB reserves the right to operate outside the framework agreement if it offers better value for money, though the framework aims for efficiencies.
• No Lowest Price Guarantee: LMETB is not bound to accept the lowest priced or any tender. Selection for individual contracts will consider multiple factors beyond price.
• Data Protection Questionnaire: Successful tenderers must complete a Data Protection Questionnaire, which may lead to a Data Processing Agreement.

10. SME fit assessment

This tender is structured as a panel, meaning multiple providers can be appointed. It is open to suitably qualified and accredited psychotherapy, counselling, and clinical psychology service providers.

• Who can credibly bid: Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with accredited counsellors (IACP or equivalent) and qualified clinical psychologists can bid. The key requirements are professional accreditation, relevant experience with young people and adults, and the specified insurance levels. The financial capacity requirement is a letter from an auditor/accountant confirming ability to pay debts, which is generally achievable for established SMEs.
• Consortium or sub-contracting: The documents mention "Consortia and Prime Subcontractors" in the table of contents but do not detail specific rules or permissions within the provided text. However, the nature of a panel suggests individual providers or established firms are the primary target.
• Indicative bid-prep effort: Preparing the response will require gathering evidence of accreditation, experience, developing service specifications, and ensuring insurance and financial documentation are in order. This could take 5-10 working days for a well-prepared SME.
• Pwin signal: There is no clear incumbent mentioned. The panel structure and ongoing application process suggest a competitive environment. The selection for individual contracts will depend on the specific needs and the provider's alignment with the award criteria (qualifications, experience, availability, value for money).

11. Where to dig deeper

• Source RFT filename: 2026 07 - Invitation to Tender for the panel for Psychotherapy and Counselling Services.docx
• eTenders CFT ID: 8771483
• Contact for Queries: Questions and Answers facility on www.etenders.gov.ie
• Most Important Attachments:
• Tender Response Document (format must be used)
• Data Protection Questionnaire (DPQ) (for information)
• Instructions to Tenderers (Appendix 1)