Castle School Education Trust ~ Catering Tender

The successful Supplier is expected to have a strong local presence, as specialist caterers in the Secondary and Primary school sector.

The contract will commence on 1 April 2022 for an initial period of three years, with the opportunity to extend for a further period of two years at the discretion of the governing body.

The contract covers the scope for the provision of catering services within the schools, which currently includes morning break, lunch, all hospitality and free issue requirements. Free School Meals in Secondary schools and Hospitality in all Schools will be charged at net cost on consumption. Free School Meals and UiFSM shall be charged at margin in Primary Schools.

The schools expect the successful Supplier to enable the continued development of catering through the provision of an innovative, healthy food service, prepared on-site.

All schools intend to focus heavily on healthy, fresh, seasonal, locally sourced produce and see the catering service as an exciting opportunity to complement the overall uptake, student and parent experience, through the regular introduction of new ingredients, themed and promotional events. The successful Supplier will be required to play their part in acting as a catalyst for improvement of the pupil experience.

The Senior Leadership Team and Trustees have identified ‘value for money’ as a priority to parents and this is perceived as key to encourage an increased uptake of the overall catering service provided. The successful Supplier will work closely with the schools to manage the provision of catering and the overall ‘meal experience’, with pupil education on making healthy dietary choices being an important part of their educational experience.

The client requires the successful contractor to be extremely engaged in leveraging the catering service, to the benefit of pupils across the Trust and the local community alike, proactively supporting an active school calendar, with multiple promotions in any given month. A pupil centric ethos is required in practise, continuing the high level of pupil engagement that the Schools have previously developed.

It is appreciated that a level of investment may be identified as a requirement of your bid, and therefore bidders are encouraged to provide details of such requirements by providing detailed information of the equipment necessary. Bidders must provide the equipment make, model and cost and also a justification of how this equipment will assist in fulfilling the proposal and potential of the service. All investment suggested must be fully justified within the Service Development and Finance sections of your Bidder Response. The level of investment provided will be at the Schools’ discretion, subject to the method of obtaining the investment for the required equipment.

Contract Value = £794K per annum

Please see SQ document for further information.