Official UK procurement notice
Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust Provision of Supply Agency Services
Authority: Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust (Central government)·On behalf of: PHP Law LLP
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDartmoor Multi Academy Trust is seeking up to four providers to deliver supply agency services across its primary, secondary and other Trust sites when cover cannot be provided in-house. The highest-ranked provider will act as the primary supplier, with the remaining providers forming a preferred supplier list used where required. Schools may arrange short-term cover directly, while longer-term placements must be commissioned through the Trust's central team. Work allocation will be based on factors including responsiveness, quality, compliance, reliability and value for money. No minimum volume or exclusivity is guaranteed. The contract term is three years, with the option to extend by up to two further years in 12-month increments (3+1+1).
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 6 Jan 2031, 23:59 GMT.
- No preliminary market engagement: The Trust did not carry out preliminary market engagement (PME) prior to tender publication to prepare for this procurement. Tenderers shall be aware that under the Act, the Trust is not obligated to carry out PME. The justification is that the requirements are not complex, or niche and the Contracting Authority already has an understanding of what they want the service to deliver and the market is known.
CPV: Supply services of personnel including temporary staff
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£1,750,000
- Economic & financial standing
a. Employer’s (Compulsory) Liability Insurance* = [£10m] b. Public Liability Insurance = [£5m] c. Professional Indemnity Insurance = [£1m]
- Technical & professional ability
Relevant experience and contract examples - Please provide details of up to three contracts to meet conditions of participation relating to technical ability set out in the relevant notice or procurement documents, -The contracts must be within the education sector and similar complexity in terms of multi site. - Where this procurement is for goods or services, the examples must be from the past three years. - The named contact provided should be able to provide written evidence to confirm the accuracy of the information provided.
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 (8)
- Supply Agency Provider: 20%
- Provision of Supply Agency Workers: 20%
- Vetting Processes: 10%
- Contract Mobilisation & Management: 10%
- Lowest Pay Rate Charge to the Trust Per Staff Member – Casual Cover under 12 weeks: 24%
- Lowest Average Pay Rate Charge to the Trust Per Staff Member – Full Responsibility under 12 weeks: 8%
- Lowest Average Pay Rate Charge to the Trust Per Staff Member – Full Responsibility over 12 weeks: 4%
- Temporary to Permanent Fee % 60 days or below: 4%
Published award criteria (8)
- Supply Agency Provider
- Provision of Supply Agency Workers
- Vetting Processes
- Contract Mobilisation & Management
- Lowest Pay Rate Charge to the Trust Per Staff Member – Casual Cover under 12 weeks
- Lowest Average Pay Rate Charge to the Trust Per Staff Member – Full Responsibility under 12 weeks
- Lowest Average Pay Rate Charge to the Trust Per Staff Member – Full Responsibility over 12 weeks
- Temporary to Permanent Fee % 60 days or below
- Economic & financial standing
a. Employer’s (Compulsory) Liability Insurance* = [£10m] b. Public Liability Insurance = [£5m] c. Professional Indemnity Insurance = [£1m]
- Technical & professional ability
Relevant experience and contract examples - Please provide details of up to three contracts to meet conditions of participation relating to technical ability set out in the relevant notice or procurement documents, -The contracts must be within the education sector and similar complexity in terms of multi site. - Where this procurement is for goods or services, the examples must be from the past three years. - The named contact provided should be able to provide written evidence to confirm the accuracy of the information provided.
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 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
- Closed
- 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
- Yes · next expected 6 Jan 2031
- First published
- 27 Jul 2026, 15:01 BST
- Last source update
- 27 Jul 2026, 15:01 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 7 Oct 2026
- Authority reference
DMAT01.34- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-070856- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area in notice
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06d46cFind a Tender- Contract terms summary
The payment and pricing arrangements require monthly invoices in arrears, supported by authorised electronic timesheets and detailed data in a format compatible with the Trust’s financial systems. Payments will be made by BACS within 30 days, with disputed amounts excluded until resolved. Charge rates are fixed for the initial three-year term and any extensions, with increases limited to agreed National Living Wage or teacher pay uplifts through a formal change control process. Introduction fees are tightly controlled, capped at 10% of annual salary (or a lower tendered rate), apply only where a valid introduction has been made, and are waived where the worker has completed more than 60 days at the relevant school. Alternatively, the Trust may elect an extended hire period of 60 school working days instead of paying an introduction fee.
- Risks
Key risks to contract performance include failure to provide suitably qualified and compliant agency workers, safeguarding or vetting issues, insufficient candidate availability, slow response times for urgent bookings, poor quality placements, lack of continuity for pupils, billing inaccuracies, and ineffective account management. These risks could impact continuity of provision, safeguarding compliance, operational flexibility and value for money across the Trust.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 7 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 31 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
27 Jul 2026 → 2 Nov 2026 · 5 dates- Tender notice published93 days ago27 Jul 2026, 15:01 BST
- Clarification questions by58 days ago31 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline51 days ago7 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by21 days ago7 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today29 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 3 days2 Nov 2026
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published27 Jul 2026, 15:01 BSTUK4
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- PHP Law LLPProcess contact pointProcuring entityTender process support
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender