Official UK procurement notice
Children's External Placements Education & Tuition PDPS Reopening 1
Authority: Peterborough City Council (Local council)
What is being bought6 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe procurement is to reopen a multi supplier "pseudo DPS" (referred to as "PDPS"). As the PDPS Agreement will be "pseudo PDPS", it will look and feel similar to a DPS agreement set up under Regulation 34 of the PCR. This means that the Authority envisages the PDPS will re-open at (12) twelve-month intervals (or at other intervals at the Authority's discretion) for new providers to apply or previously unsuccessful providers to re-apply. Reopening of the PDPS is solely at the discretion of the Authority.
The Procurement is being run using a procedure similar to the open procedure described in Regulation 27of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended). However, the Authority reserves the right to deviate from the formalities of the open procedure given the flexibilities permitted by Regulation 76 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) in the conduct of procurements for "Social and Other Specific Services", otherwise referred to as "Light Touch Regime" procurement
- Lot 1 Independent Fostering Agencies
- Lot 2 Residential Children's Homes
- Lot 3 Independent Special Education Provisions/Post 16 Placements
- Lot 4 Out of School Tuition
- Lot 5 Post 16 Alternative Provision
There is an additional Lot 6 which will comprise of mini competition stage for block contracts, Please note that only those bidders that are awarded onto Lots as detailed below will be invited to participate in mini competition
- Lot 6a - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 1 Independent Fostering Agency will be invited to participate
- Lot 6b - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 2 Residential Children's Homes will be invited to participate
- Lot 6c - Only those successfully awarded ont Lot 3 Independent Special Education Provision will be invited to participate
- Lot 6d - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 4 Out of School Tuition and Alternative Provision will be invited to participate
- Lot 6e - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 5 Post 16 Education will be invited to participate
Where it is appropriate to do so, Peterborough is committed to supporting children and young people to remain living and learning in their local area.
It should be noted that for Independent Special Educational Provisions offering 38+ week boarding or 52 week placements, Providers will need to meet the requirements within both the Lot 3 Specification (for ISEPS) and Lot 2 Specification (for Residential Children's Homes)
The definition of Partner Organisation for the purpose of this procurement will be any Educational Establishment within Peterborough as defined at: www.peterborough.gov.uk/residents/schools-an… ↗, or
any Local Authority Council in England whether County, Unitary, District, Borough, Metropolitan, parish or community Council as defined at www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/L… ↗
CPV: Health and social work services · Health services · Social work and related services · Social work services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
3 yrs 3 mo from 9 Jun 2026, This is a procedure similar to the open procedure described in Regulation 27of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended). However, the Authority reserves the right to deviate from the formalities of the open procedure given the flexibilities permitted by Regulation 76 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) in the conduct of procurements for "Social and Other Specific Services", otherwise referred to as "Light Touch Regime" procurement. The total contract inclusive of extensions is 8 years.
Lots and requirements (6)Procurement structure
6 lots · all with a published value · win at most 5 of themLot #1Independent Fostering AgencyPublished value£93,632,012
Lot 1 will encompass placements for children and young people in care with foster carers registered to Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs), in accordance with the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011. Additional information: Suppliers must be awarded onto this Lot in order to be eligible for Lot 6a Competitive Tender should it be required. Lot 6 has no value attached and any award made under Lot 6a will be included in aggregated spend for this Lot.
Lot #2Residential Childrens HomesPublished value£277,003,148
Lot 2 is for placements for Children and young people in care in registered, Residential Children's Homes in accordance with the Children's Home (England) Regulations 2015. Additional information: Suppliers must be awarded onto this Lot in order to be eligible for Lot 6b Competitive Tender should it be required. Lot 6 has no value attached and any award made under Lot 6b will be included in aggregated spend for this Lot.
Lot #3Independent Special Education ProvisionPublished value£216,328,150
Lot 3 is for both registered Independent Specialist Education Placements (ISEPS) and Post 16 Placements; for children & young people with Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCPs). Additional information: Suppliers must be awarded onto this Lot in order to be eligible for Lot 6c Competitive Tender should it be required. Lot 6 has no value attached and any award made under Lot 6c will be included in aggregated spend for this Lot.
Lot #4Out of School Tuition and Alternative ProvisionPublished value£131,590,228
Lot 4 relates to both Out of School Tuition and Alternative Provision for children & young people with special educational needs & disabilities. Additional information: Suppliers must be awarded onto this Lot in order to be eligible for Lot 6d Competitive Tender should it be required. Lot 6 has no value attached and any award made under Lot 6d will be included in aggregated spend for this Lot.
Lot #5Post 16 EducationPublished value£19,608,773
Lot 5 relates to Post 16 Alternative Provision for young people & young adults with special educational needs & disabilities. Additional information: Suppliers must be awarded onto this Lot in order to be eligible for Lot 6eCompetitive Tender should it be required. Lot 6 has no value attached and any award made under Lot 6e will be included in aggregated spend for this Lot.
Lot #6Block Contracts (Mini Competition)Published value£1
Mini competition stage, Please note that only those bidders that are awarded onto Lots as detailed below will be invited to participate
- Lot 6a - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 1 Independent Fostering Agency will be invited to participate
- Lot 6b - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 2 Residential Children's Homes will be invited to participate
- Lot 6c - Only those successfully awarded ont Lot 3 Independent Special Education Provision will be invited to participate
- Lot 6d - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 4 Out of School Tuition and Alternative Provision will be invited to participate
- Lot 6e - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 5 Post 16 Education will be invited to participate Additional information: This lot has no value as any contracts awarded value is included in the appropriate lot value.
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).
The PDPS will follow a two-stage process:
All Lots - Stage 1: The first stage is concerned with reopening the PDPS. Under this stage Bidders are invited to apply for inclusion on the PDPS (i.e. this Invitation to Tender). Bidders complete and submit a response in the form of the standard selection questionnaire (SQ), and those who meet the Selection Criteria and Award Stage Criteria who are not excluded will be admitted onto the PDPS as a Supplier for the Lot(s) that they have applied for.
Lots 1-5 Stage 2: The second stage will be the referral stage. The Referral process is detailed in Appendix 11k and 11l to the ITT and a Call off Contract will be entered into with the successful provider.
Lot 6 - Stage 2: The second stage will be the mini competition stage, and the process is detailed in Appendix 12. Please note that only those bidders that are awarded onto Lots as detailed below will be invited to participate
- Lot 6a - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 1 Independent Fostering Agency will be invited to participate
- Lot 6b - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 2 Residential Children's Homes will be invited to participate
- Lot 6c - Only those successfully awarded ont Lot 3 Independent Special Education Provision will be invited to participate
- Lot 6d - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 4 Out of School Tuition and Alternative Provision will be invited to participate
- Lot 6e - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 5 Post 16 Education will be invited to participate
Appointment to the PDPS (Stage 1)
Any interested organisation/consortium may submit a Bid in response to this ITT.
Bids submitted for Lot 1, Lot 2 & Lot 3 will be evaluated on response to questions indicated below on the Selection Questionnaire (SQ)
Lot 1 Questions 8.1(a) and 8.1(b)
Lot 2 Questions 8.2(a) and 8.2(b)
Lot 3 Questions 8.3(a) and 8.3(b)
Bids for Lots 4 and 5 will be evaluated on both the Selection Questionnaire ("SQ") and Quality Questions and ITT response documents for each Lot being bid for. All aspects of this ITT should be completed in full and submitted as advised in the ITT
Lot 6 does not require any documents to be completed and will not be evaluated. Only those bidders that are awarded onto Lots 1 - 5 will be invited to participate in further competition.
The Authority will evaluate Bidders' responses to the selection questions in the SQ before evaluating the remainder of the Bid. All bidders for Lot 1, Lot 2 and Lot 3 that meet the selection criteria will be admitted onto the PDPS as a supplier for the Lot(s) All Bidders for Lot 4 and Lot 5 meeting the selection criteria set out in the SQ Explanatory Document (Appendix 5: SQ Explanatory Document) will proceed to the tender evaluation stage and will have the remainder of their Bids evaluated. Bids for Lot 4 and Lot 5 which do not meet the selection criteria, will not proceed to the tender evaluation stage. All bidders for Lots 4 and 5 who meet the quality threshold of 70% or more will be admitted onto the PDPS as a supplier for the Lot(s) which has been bid for.
Award of Call Off Contract (Stage 2)
Each Call off Contract awarded under this PDPS may be made following the referral process detailed in Appendix 11k and Appendix 11l to the ITT to appoint Suppliers. All Suppliers appointed to the relevant Lot (s) (Lot 1 - 5) will be invited to take part via the referral process for the specific Lot they have been appointed to. Suppliers are not obligated to respond at this stage. Lot 6 will be conducted as a mini competition
The questions that Bidders are required to answer in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) are set out for Lot 4 - Appendix 8a and Lot 5 - Appendix 8b Quality Questions. Appendix 9 - Financial Submissions are not applicable at PDPS award stage. Financial Submissions will be reviewed at referral stage for Lots 1,2,3,4 and 5 but will not be evaluated. For Lot 6 evaluation methodology will be published in mini-competition documentation.
- “Children's External Placements Education & Tuition PDPS Reopening 1” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 2 Feb 2026, 15:51 GMT
- Last source update
- 4 Feb 2026, 13:16 GMT
- Authority reference
DN794100- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-009975- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06148bFind a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Publisher note: Lot 6a - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 1 Independent Fostering Agency will be invited to participate • Lot 6b - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 2 Residential Children's Homes will be invited to participate • Lot 6c - Only those successfully awarded on to Lot 3 Independent Special Education Provision will be invited to participate • Lot 6d - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 4 Out of School Tuition and Alternative Provision will be invited to participate • Lot 6e - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 5 Post 16 Education will be invited to participate Lot 6 has no value and any contracts awarded following a competitive process will have value included in the appropriate lot for the purpose of ensuring advertised amounts are not breached. The definition of Partner Organisation for the purpose of this procurement will be any Educational Establishment within Peterborough as defined in link: Primary, Secondary, Special schools and FE colleges | Peterborough City Council, or any Local Authority Council in England whether County, Unitary, District, Borough, Metropolitan, parish or community Council as defined in link http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/index.htm All referenced Appendices may be found in the attachment section of the ITT on the e-procurement portal Initial Contract Term is 09/06/2026 - 31/08/2029 with 2 x 24 month Extensions available (01/09/2029 - 31/08/2031 and 01/09/2031 - 31/08/2033) Total Maximum Contract Length 8 years
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 4 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission","written"}
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
4 Feb 2026 → 9 Jun 2026 · 3 dates- Notice published266 days ago4 Feb 2026, 13:16 GMT
- Admission / appointment period ends238 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown4 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Contract starts141 days ago9 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
2 releases on Find a TenderPublished amendments (1 · 0 deadline changes)
| When | What | Before | After | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | TextCommunication · I.3 | The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at https://procontract.due-north.com/Procurer/Advert/View?advertId=8ccfd6da-4500-f111-813c-005056b64545&fromAdvertEvent=True | The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=8ccfd6da-4500-f111-813c-005056b64545 | |
| — | TextCommunication · I.3 | Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via https://procontract.due-north.com/Procurer/Advert/View?advertId=8ccfd6da-4500-f111-813c-005056b64545&fromAdvertEvent=True Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted to the above-mentioned address | Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=8ccfd6da-4500-f111-813c-005056b64545 Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted to the above-mentioned address |
In section I.3 (Communication) the ProContract link was not working as intended. A new link has been provided to take interested economic operators directly to the opportunity on ProContract.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.