Official UK procurement notice
Independent Specialist Education Provision Light Touch Framework
Authority: Wolverhampton City Council (Local council)
What is being bought4 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe City of Wolverhampton Council is commissioning a range of Independent Specialist Education Providers who will meet the needs of our children and young people whilst promoting choice in the local market and delivering best value for money.
Provision under this Independent Specialist Education Providers (ISEP) Light Touch Framework is for children and young people with a range of special educational needs between the ages of 5-25 with an EHCP as set out in the SEND Code of Practice 2015.
The framework is separated into 4 Lots:
Lot 1: Primary phase - ages 5 - 11 national curriculum years 1 - 6
Lot 2: Secondary phase - ages 11- 16 national curriculum years 7 - 11
Lot 3: Post-16 phase - ages 16 - 19
Lot 4: Post-19 phase - age 19+
Due to procurement legislation, all maintained (publicly owned) schools do not need to apply for the framework as the authority can contract with them outside of the framework.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Oct 2032, 23:59 BST.
CPV: Health and social work services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
- Bids received
- 4 bids on the busiest of 4 lots · 5 suppliers appointed
- Framework period
- 5 yrs · up to 7 yrs from 1 Apr 2026
Published description of the framework
Prices are submitted within provider's initial bids.
The call-off process is detailed within Appendix B - Specification at Section 24.
Lots and requirements (4)Procurement structure
4 lots · all with a published value · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Secondary Phase Independent Specialist PlacementsAwardedRenewalPublished value£45,200,428
The source published no individual description for this lot.
Lot #2Post 16 Independent Specialist PlacementsAwardedRenewalPublished value£10,263,744
The source published no individual description for this lot.
Lot #3Post 19 Independent Specialist PlacementsAwardedRenewalPublished value£4,398,748
The source published no individual description for this lot.
Lot #4Primary Phase Independent Specialist PlacementsAwardedRenewalPublished value£30,133,619
The source published no individual description for this lot.
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 sub-criteria (3)
- Quality: 85%
- Equality, Diversity & Inclusion: 5%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
- Quality
- Social Value
- Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
- “Independent Specialist Education Provision Light Touch Framework” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract: call-offs may be direct or by further competition.
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
- Framework agreement
- Who may use the vehicle
- 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
- Yes · next expected 1 Oct 2032
- First published
- 13 Jun 2025, 15:48 BST
- Last source update
- 16 Jun 2026, 14:09 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 16 Feb 2026
- Authority reference
CWC25011- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-071027- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0548bfFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 4 Dec 2025, 17:00 GMT
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
13 Jun 2025 → 16 Jun 2026 · 9 dates- Planning notice published13 Jun 2025, 15:48 BST
- Market engagement26 Jun 2025, 00:59 BST
We are inviting potential providers to attend our online market engagement session on Wednesday 25th June 2025.
To sign up for the market engagement event, please complete the form on www.wolverhamptontenders.com ↗.
The engagement will take the form of a presentation containing information about our requirements, commissioning intentions and planned procurement process; there will also be an opportunity to ask questions via the attendance form which will be answered once the presentation is completed.
We previously undertook a market engagement presentation on Friday 31st January 2025. This also took the form of a presentation and the intention is for the June event to build upon the information provided in the initial market engagement. If you would like further details of this event, please contact [email protected]
- Tender notice published346 days ago4 Nov 2025, 16:39 GMT
- Admission / appointment period ends316 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown4 Dec 2025, 17:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by241 days ago16 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts198 days ago1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent185 days ago14 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
- Standstill ends174 days ago24 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published122 days ago16 Jun 2026, 14:09 BST
Notice history
12 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 13 Jun 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published13 Jun 2025, 15:48 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published4 Nov 2025, 16:39 GMTUK4
- Published value updated4 Nov 2025, 16:39 GMT
- Status changed to active4 Nov 2025, 16:39 GMT
- Procurement method changed4 Nov 2025, 16:39 GMT
- Deadline published: 2 Dec 2025, 12:00 GMT4 Nov 2025, 16:39 GMT
- Tender notice published1 Dec 2025, 13:25 GMTUK4
- Deadline moved to 4 Dec 2025, 17:00 GMT1 Dec 2025, 13:25 GMT+2 days · was 2 Dec 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Contract award notice published15 Apr 2026, 12:26 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete15 Apr 2026, 12:26 BST
- Contract signature expected30 Apr 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published16 Jun 2026, 14:09 BSTUK7
Published amendments (1)
Tender deadline extended to 17:00 Thursday 4th December 2025.
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2025-11: 1 release · 4 Nov 2025
- 2025-06: 1 release · 13 Jun 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · Secondary Phase Independent Specialist Placements1 award | |||
| BOW STREET SCHOOL LIMITEDSME, COOMBSWOOD EDUCATION LIMITEDSME, OMG EIS LTDSME, Progress SchoolsSME1 May 2026 – 30 Apr 2031 · up to 30 Apr 2033Extensions: There will be 2 optional extensions of 1 year each (total of 2 years). | £37,667,023 | 14 Apr 2026 | Awarded |
| Lot 2 · Post 16 Independent Specialist Placements1 award | |||
| OMG EIS LTDSME1 May 2026 – 30 Apr 2031 · up to 30 Apr 2033Extensions: There will be 2 optional extensions of 1 year each (total of 2 years) | £8,553,125 | 14 Apr 2026 | Awarded |
| Lot 3 · Post 19 Independent Specialist Placements1 award | |||
| supplier not published | — | 14 Apr 2026 | Awarded |
| Lot 4 · Primary Phase Independent Specialist Placements1 award | |||
| THE ROWAN SCHOOL LTDSME1 May 2026 – 30 Apr 2031 · up to 30 Apr 2033Extensions: There will be 2 optional extensions of 1 year each (total of 2 years). | £25,111,349 | 14 Apr 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · THE ROWAN SCHOOL LTDSME
- Signed
- 1 May 2026
- Value
- £25,111,349
- Period
- 1 May 2026 – 30 Apr 2031 · up to 30 Apr 2033 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- There will be 2 optional extensions of 1 year each (total of 2 years).
Contract 2 · BOW STREET SCHOOL LIMITEDSME, COOMBSWOOD EDUCATION LIMITEDSME, OMG EIS LTDSME, Progress SchoolsSME
- Signed
- 1 May 2026
- Value
- £37,667,023
- Period
- 1 May 2026 – 30 Apr 2031 · up to 30 Apr 2033 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- There will be 2 optional extensions of 1 year each (total of 2 years).
Contract 3 · OMG EIS LTDSME
- Signed
- 1 May 2026
- Value
- £8,553,125
- Period
- 1 May 2026 – 30 Apr 2031 · up to 30 Apr 2033 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- There will be 2 optional extensions of 1 year each (total of 2 years).
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Secondary Phase Independent Specialist Placements | 4final-stage tenders | 4 | 0 | — |
| 2 · Post 16 Independent Specialist Placements | 1final-stage tenders | 1 | 0 | — |
| 3 · Post 19 Independent Specialist Placements | 0final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
| 4 · Primary Phase Independent Specialist Placements | 1final-stage tenders | 1 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonTHE ROWAN SCHOOL LTDSME · South East England · 4
- wonBOW STREET SCHOOL LIMITEDSME · West Midlands · 1
- wonCOOMBSWOOD EDUCATION LIMITEDSME · South East England · 1
- wonOMG EIS LTDSME · Greater London · 1, 2
- wonPROGRESS SCHOOLS LIMITEDSME · North West England · 1
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Framework contractors & participating bidders
5 commercial parties on the notice- BOW STREET SCHOOL LIMITEDFramework contractor
- COOMBSWOOD EDUCATION LIMITEDFramework contractor
- OMG EIS LTDFramework contractor
- PROGRESS SCHOOLS LIMITEDFramework contractor
- THE ROWAN SCHOOL LTDFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (10)
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 details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
Show 2 more notices
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender