Official UK procurement notice
AI Tutoring Tools for Education
Authority: Department for Education (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionPurpose of the Engagement
The Department is engaging with the market to gather insight that will help shape thinking around the development of safe, curriculum‑aligned AI tutoring tools. This work follows the government’s commitment to explore how AI‑powered tutoring tools, co‑designed with teachers and aligned to the National Curriculum could support disadvantaged pupils and complement high‑quality teaching.
CPV: Information technology services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Department for Education buys Systems and technical consultancy services (CPV 7222), and who usually turns up
Department for Education’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Systems and technical consultancy services (CPV 7222) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside the delivery region.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 50 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The buyer’s share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid9%
2–335%
4–624%
7+31%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate39%
Within ±2%50%
Above estimate11%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7222Published estimate£1.5m
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How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 136 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid13%
2–332%
4–624%
7+30%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Learncycle LtdEarlier contract | Project_9906 AI Tools for Education Phase 2ended Jun 2026 | AI Tools for Education: Phase 2 | £191k | Matched as the earlier contract |
| Lettingsowl LtdEarlier contract | Project_9906 AI Tools for Education Phase 2ended Jun 2026 | AI Tools for Education: Phase 2 | £131k | Matched as the earlier contract |
| Kita Education LtdEarlier contract | Project_9906 AI Tools for Education Phase 2ended Jun 2026 | AI Tools for Education: Phase 2 | £128k | Matched as the earlier contract |
| King's College LondonEarlier contract | Project_9906 AI Tools for Education Phase 2ended Jun 2026 | AI Tools for Education: Phase 2 | £122k | Matched as the earlier contract |
| Corduroy Dinosaur LtdEarlier contract | Project_9906 AI Tools for Education Phase 2ended Jun 2026 | AI Tools for Education: Phase 2 | £112k | Matched as the earlier contract |
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
45% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
45% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (45% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
Project_9906 AI Tools for Education Phase 2 — held by Learncycle Ltd and Lettingsowl Ltd (+1 more); the published contract ends 30 Jun 2026.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 13 Feb 2026, 14:11 GMT
- Last source update
- 19 Feb 2026, 15:41 GMT
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-015370- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-065408Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
13 Feb 2026 → 15 Jun 2026 · 5 dates- Planning notice published251 days ago13 Feb 2026, 14:11 GMT
- Latest notice published245 days ago19 Feb 2026, 15:41 GMT
- Market engagement238 days ago25 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
Aims of the Pre‑Market Engagement
- Present the Policy Context and Emerging Vision
We will outline the government’s intent to support the development of safe, trusted AI tutoring tools that enhance learning while maintaining strong safeguards and preserving the central role of teachers.
- Gather Insight from the Market
The Department is seeking active feedback to improve its understanding of:
a. Key Development Challenges
Obstacles suppliers face in creating safe, effective, curriculum‑aligned tools, particularly those designed to support disadvantaged pupils.
b. Opportunities for Collaboration
-How government and industry can work together on shared challenges, including:
-Safety and safeguarding expectations
-Evidence generation and evaluation
-Data integration and interoperability with school systems
-Approaches to scaling solutions nationally
These areas relate to the government’s ambition for tools to be co‑developed with teachers, robustly tested, and aligned with the National Curriculum ahead of any potential wider use.
- Inform Future Commercial Thinking
Feedback from suppliers, including responses to a forthcoming Request for Information, will help the Department consider potential future commercial options. This may include defining scope, delivery models, and possible commercial approaches that would support the safe and equitable adoption of AI tutoring tools.
The pre-market engagement will be carried out via the Microsoft Teams on 18/02/2026 between 14:00 and 15:55 (full time may not be needed, but please be there from the start).
Interested suppliers should register their interest and by completing the following Microsoft Form. Please submit the form by 17/02/2026 at 17:00 to guarantee an invite to the event:
- Tender notice expected224 days ago11 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts129 days ago15 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
3 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 13 Feb 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published13 Feb 2026, 14:11 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published18 Feb 2026, 17:21 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published19 Feb 2026, 15:41 GMTUK2
Published amendments (2)
Following the pre-market engagement held 18/02/2026, all suppliers are invited to respond to this Request for Information to help us shape the commercial strategy https://forms.office.com/e/qp3vxEkcz5 We greatly look forward to reviewing your responses
Suppliers advised that the previous link to the RFI wasn't functional. The Form has been generated anew, identical to before. Please reach out to [email protected] if you're unable to access the form still, and a link will be sent to you directly. Link to RFI: https://forms.office.com/e/qp3vxEkcz5 For any suppliers that need a copy of the Pre-Market Engagement Slides, please submit …
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender