Official UK procurement notice
Building Equal Access to Chess in Schools - Contract Details
Authority: Department for Education (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionMarket Notice:
This contract covers the delivery of a national programme to increase access to chess in state-funded schools across England, with a focus on expanding participation among pupils who may otherwise have limited access to structured enrichment activity.
The supplier will deliver an end-to-end package of support to schools, including the provision of chess equipment, teaching resources, and training for school staff to enable sustainable, school-led delivery. This will include the rollout of structured chess sessions, support for establishing and maintaining chess clubs, and the development of resources to ensure continuation beyond the life of the contract.
The programme will operate across approximately 350 to 450 eligible primary and secondary schools and is intended to reach a significant number of pupils nationally. Delivery will target areas of higher disadvantage and prioritise engagement with pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM), pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and girls. The supplier will engage directly with schools and coordinate with relevant partners to support effective delivery.
The contract will run for an initial period of three (3) years, with an option to extend for a further one (1) year. It is intended to support educational enrichment, improve pupil engagement, and contribute to outcomes such as enhanced problem-solving skills, concentration, and confidence.
CPV: Education and training services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£750,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality
- Price
- Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 9 Dec 2025, 16:16 GMT
- Last source update
- 11 Aug 2026, 13:50 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 6 May 2026
- Authority reference
PR_10185- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-026093- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05f218Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 20 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
9 Dec 2025 → 11 Aug 2026 · 9 dates- Planning notice published311 days ago9 Dec 2025, 16:16 GMT
- Market engagement301 days ago19 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
The Department is hosting an engagement event on Friday 19 December 2025 starting at 11am and ending 12 nooon.
The event will be hosted virtually on MS Teams.
Interested organisations must register for an account on Jaggaer before expressing an interest in this opportunity.
Access and further information are available via the Departments e-Tendering portal - Jaggaer education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html ↗.
Once registered on Jaggaer please view the “current opportunities” page at Jaggaer education.app.jaggaer.com ↗ and search for: Project_10185 or SSQ_659 Once you have located Project_10185 of SSQ_659 please confirm your interest in the Jaggaer system.
The next step is to reserve a place using the message facility in Jaggaer. Please state
Your interest in joining the event
- Your organisation name
- Names of attendee(s)
-Email address of attendees
- Role(s) in your organisation
We will send a Teams calendar invite with the joining instructions via Jaggaer. Please share the invite with your nominated attendees.
- Tender notice published207 days ago23 Mar 2026, 10:02 GMT
- Submission deadline179 days ago20 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by163 days ago6 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent148 days ago22 May 2026, 00:00 BST
- Standstill ends135 days ago3 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts128 days ago11 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published66 days ago11 Aug 2026, 13:50 BST
Notice history
11 events · 6 releases on Find a Tender · since 9 Dec 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published9 Dec 2025, 16:16 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published23 Mar 2026, 10:02 GMTUK4
- Status changed to active23 Mar 2026, 10:02 GMT
- Procurement method changed23 Mar 2026, 10:02 GMT
- Deadline published: 20 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST23 Mar 2026, 10:02 GMT
- Tender notice published23 Mar 2026, 11:40 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published22 May 2026, 12:31 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete22 May 2026, 12:31 BST
- Contract signature expected4 Jun 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published8 Jul 2026, 10:46 BSTUK7
- Contract details notice published11 Aug 2026, 13:50 BSTUK7
Routine re-releases (6)
- 2026-03: 2 releases · 23 Mar 2026, 23 Mar 2026
- 2025-12: 1 release · 9 Dec 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chess in Schools and CommunitiesVCSE4 Jun 2026 – 10 Jun 2029 · up to 10 Jun 2030Extensions: additional service for 12 months | £750,000 | 22 May 2026 | Awarded |
| Chess in Schools and CommunitiesVCSE | — | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Building Equal Access to Chess in Schools · Chess in Schools and CommunitiesVCSE
- Signed
- 22 Jun 2026
- Value
- £750,000
- Period
- 22 Jun 2026 – 17 Jun 2029 · up to 14 Jun 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- One single extension for 12 months
8 agreed KPIs: School recruitment and FSM % · Alternative Provision and Special School recruitment · Regional representation …
- School recruitment and FSM %, Recruit and engage schools in line with the overall target range of 350-450 schools over the contract period. Mainstream schools must be targeted FSM eligibility rates ≥ 30%, as set out in section 3.3 of the specification.
- Alternative Provision and Special School recruitment, Over the course of the contract period and within the overall target range of 350-450 recruited schools, the supplier must ensure that: ≥ 3% are Alternative Provision (AP) settings, and ≥ 8% are Special Schools.
- Regional representation, Over the course of the contract period and within the overall target of 350-450 recruited schools, the supplier must ensure that all 9 regions are represented
- Access to regular chess provision Deliver regular chess provision, Pupils have regular access to chess (at least one session every two weeks during term time) during a school’s active participation year
- Competition participation, Participation in competitive play during a school’s active year
- Participation of priority groups, Sustained pupil participation5 amongst FSM pupils, pupils with SEND and girls during their active year, measured against school level targets set out in each school‑level targets set out in each schools’ Inclusion Plan.
- Inclusion plans, The programme takes steps to remove barriers to participation for targeted groups
- Adaptations to chess delivery, Where applicable, adaptations are made to make chess provision more accessible for priority groups.
Contract 1 · Chess in Schools and CommunitiesVCSE
- Signed
- 4 Jun 2026
- Value
- £750,000
- Period
- 4 Jun 2026 – 10 Jun 2029 · up to 10 Jun 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- additional service for 12 months
12 agreed KPIs: Access and Reach KPIs - School recruitment and FSM % · Access and Reach KPIs - Alternative Provision and Special School recruitment · Access and Reach KPIs - Regional representation …
- Access and Reach KPIs - School recruitment and FSM %, Recruit and engage schools in line with the overall target range of 350-450 schools over the contract period. Mainstream schools must be targeted FSM eligibility rates ≥ 30%, as set out in section 3.3 of the specification.
- Access and Reach KPIs - Alternative Provision and Special School recruitment, Over the course of the contract period and within the overall target range of 350-450 recruited schools, the supplier must ensure that: ≥ 3% are Alternative Provision (AP) settings, and ≥ 8% are Special Schools.
- Access and Reach KPIs - Regional representation, Over the course of the contract period and within the overall target of 350-450 recruited schools, the supplier must ensure that all 9 regions are represented
- Access to regular chess provision - Deliver regular chess provision, Pupils have regular access to chess (at least one session every two weeks during term time) during a school’s active participation year
- Competition participation, Participation in competitive play during a school’s active year
- Participation and Inclusion KPIs - Participation of priority groups, Sustained pupil participation5 amongst FSM pupils, pupils with SEND and girls during their active year, measured against school level targets set out in each school‑level targets set out in each schools’ Inclusion Plan.
- Participation and Inclusion KPIs - Inclusion plans, The programme takes steps to remove barriers to participation for targeted groups
- Participation and Inclusion KPIs - Adaptations to chess delivery, Where applicable, adaptations are made to make chess provision more accessible for priority groups.
- Quality of delivery and capacity building KPIs - Resources Delivery, Ensure each school is equipped with chess resources within the first academic term of their active delivery period, in line with the individual needs of the school as per 4.2.2 and 4.2.3 of the specification.
- Quality of delivery and capacity building KPIs - Staff Training, Ensure Continuing Professional Development (CPD) or equivalent training sessions are offered to each school to enable school staff (including teachers and non-teaching staff) to support chess provision
- Ongoing support and long-term impact KPIs - Short sustainability plan delivery, Schools are supported and equipped to sustain provision following their active year in the programme.
- Ongoing support and long-term impact KPIs - Provision continuity after active involvement, Chess provision continues in schools after their active involvement year in the programme
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders | 1 | 1 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Chess in Schools and CommunitiesAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender