Find a TenderAwardedContract award notice
Published 27 Oct 2025, 11:47 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

F002PA - Education Healthcare Plan Writing

Official notice

Authority: Essex County Council (Local council)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdLight touch regimeSME suitableVCSE suitable
Published estimate£900,000≈ £320k / year · 1 value update
Submissions closed 28 May 2026awarded 25 Jun 2026
Award (standstill) to Enhance EHC Ltd
Contract term 3 yrsends 2 Aug 2029 · starts 3 Aug 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Essex County Council ("the Council") is seeking to commission an external provider to prepare Education Healthcare Plans (EHCP) to enable the Council to fulfil its statutory duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice.

Please be advised that whilst the Council is working towards a model where EHCPs are written internally, this procurement is also designed to facilitate the Council's ability to meet the demand for EHCPs during peak times in the academic year where the number of plans (new and amendments) exceed the internal capacity. Therefore, there is no guarantee of numbers under this contract and the resource needs to be flexible to meet demand. However, please note that further details regarding the current and projected demand for EHCPs is provided within the service specification which has been published as part of the tender documents.

The successful bidder will be required to prepare EHCPs for children and young people (0-25) with significant special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The EHCPs will detail the young person's:

  • Needs across education, health, and care
  • The young person's support requirements and desired outcomes

The EHCPs will ensure that eligible children and young people receive coordinated, tailored support and help to secure resources for specialist provision.

Please be advised that as a minimum, the EHCPs must be prepared in line with the following principles:

  • Fully comply with the Essex process for initiating assessments, undertaking assessments and drafting EHCPs (see: www.essexlocaloffer.org.uk ↗)
  • Write EHCPs for individual children and young people using information contained in a variety of report formats
  • EHCPs must comply with the requirements within the SEN Code of Practice www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s… ↗
  • Account needs to be taken of any guidance provided by the Department for Education or Essex County Council
  • Appoint and manage appropriately experienced and qualified staff to write the EHCPs
  • Ensure that there is sufficiency of trained staff to meet and deliver to Local Authority requirements and that there will be a continuous service delivery.
  • Ensure strict compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and all updates.

Please be advised that further details regarding the Council's requirements for this service will be accessible from the dedicated specification which will be published on the Council's e-tendering platform, ProContract which can be accessed via: procontract.due-north.com ↗

Please register for a user account to gain access to the tender documentation for this procurement opportunity, noting that the Council envisages that this opportunity will be published on Tuesday 28 April 2026.

Explanatory notes:

The contracting authority is Essex County Council and any Successor Body meaning one or more entities which assumes any of the Council's functions (as applicable) as a result of Local Government Reform (LGR). Such successor body or bodies may be, without limitation, a local authority, a combined authority, a combined county authority, a strategic authority or any other status determined pursuant to the Devolution and LGR Legislation.

In addition, please note that the budgetary information within this notice is stated inclusive of VAT due to the requirements of the form and the total budget for this service is £900,000. Similarly, please be advised that the contract for this service includes annual break clauses and the requirements are being commissioned under a 1+1+1 year term. Due to the constraints of the fields within this notice, the stated three (3) year contract duration represents the maximum contract term for this service.

CPV: Special education services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Awarded 3 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£900,000
Contract period: 3 Aug 2026 – 2 Aug 2029 (3 yrs)Value: £900,000 exc. VAT · £900,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: East of EnglandEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2
  • Economic & financial standing

    Please note that the full details regarding the conditions of participation for this procurement are detailed in the tender documents. However, for ease of reference, the successful bidder must satisfy the published evaluation criteria in relation to the following requirements:

    Insurance - bidders must either already hold or commit to obtain prior to the commencement of the contract, the levels of insurance cover indicated below:

    Employer's (Compulsory) Liability Insurance = £5 million

    Public Liability Insurance = £5 million

    Professional Indemnity Insurance = £2 million

    E-procurement: bidders must commit to adhere to the published requirements regarding the use of electronic ordering, e-mail invoices and credit.

    Financial standing: bidders must complete the published financial self-certification form which will be assessed on a risk basis to determine whether any form of guarantee or bond is required. If the latter applies to the highest ranked bidder, the Council will liaise with the affected bidder to confirm the precise requirements regarding obtaining any financial guarantees or bonds prior to the contractual award.

  • Technical & professional ability

    Please note that the full details regarding the conditions of participation for this procurement are detailed in the tender documents. However, for ease of reference, the successful bidder must satisfy the published evaluation criteria in relation to the following requirements:

    Modern slavery - bidders must confirm whether they are a relevant commercial organisation for the purposes of Modern Slavery.

    Equality and Diversity -bidders must confirm whether they have been subject to any finding of unlawful discrimination by an Employment Tribunal, an Employment Appeal Tribunal or any other court (or in comparable proceedings in any jurisdiction other than the UK) in the last three (3) years. If this situation applies, the bidder is required to provide a written summary of the nature and outcome of the investigation. In addition, the bidder must explain what action (if any) they have taken to prevent unlawful discrimination from reoccurring.

    In addition, bidders who are intending to rely on sub-contractors to deliver this service must confirm whether they hold processes to check whether the sub-contractors satisfy the specified conditions of participation regarding equality and diversity.

    Environmental Management - bidders must confirm whether they have been convicted of breaching environmental legislation, or had any notice served upon it, in the last three years by any environmental regulator or authority (including local authority). If this situation applies, the bidder is required to provide provide details of the conviction or notice and details of any remedial action or changes they have implemented as a result of the conviction or notices served.

    The Authority will not select bidder(s) that have been prosecuted or served notice under environmental legislation in the last 3 years, unless the Authority is satisfied that appropriate remedial action has been taken to prevent future occurrences/breaches.

    In addition, bidders who are intending to rely on sub-contractors to deliver this service must confirm whether they hold processes to check whether any of the sub-contractors have been convicted or had a notice served upon them for infringement of environmental legislation.

    Health and safety - bidders must self-certify that they hold a Health and Safety policy which complies with current legislative requirements. In addition, bidders must confirm whether their organisation or any of its Directors or Executive Officers been in receipt of enforcement/remedial orders in relation to the Health and Safety Executive (or equivalent body) in the last 3 years. If the latter situation applies, the affected bidder is required to provide details of any enforcement/remedial orders served and give details of any remedial action or changes to procedures they have resultantly undertaken.

    The Authority will exclude bidder(s) that have been in receipt of enforcement/remedial action orders unless the bidder(s) can demonstrate to the Authority's satisfaction that appropriate remedial action has been taken to prevent future occurrences or breaches.

    In addition, bidders who are intending to rely on sub-contractors to deliver this service must confirm whether they hold processes to check whether any of the sub-contractors hold the requisite Health and Safety policies and if they are affected by the aforementioned issues regarding Health and Safety.

    Where the Bidder does not meet any of these requirements regarding Modern Slavery, Equality and Diversity, Environmental Management and Health and Safety, they have the opportunity to provide details of any mitigating/remedial actions which they have undertaken to address the issues. However, unless the Bidder can demonstrate to the Council's satisfaction that appropriate remedial action has been taken to prevent future occurrences or breaches, their bid will be excluded from this tender.

    Information governance - bidders must complete and satisfy the published requirements of the data protection compliance questionnaire for this procurement.

    Safeguarding - bidders must self-certify that they hold and will continue to adhere to the specified safeguarding requirements for this procurement, including but not limited to, safeguarding responsibility within the organisation, holding a safeguarding policy and the associated review date, holding a safe recruitment policy and safeguarding training.

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids were scored
Quality: 45%Price: 50%Social value: 5%
Published award criteria (3)
  • Price: As detailed in the tender documents which are accessible via ProContract: https://procontract.due-north.com/
  • Quality: As detailed in the tender documents which are accessible via ProContract: https://procontract.due-north.com/
  • Social Value: Please note that 5% of the qualitative evaluation weighting for this procurement has been assigned to Social Value. Full details of the Social Value requirements for this procurement are published within the tender documentation which is accessible via ProContract: https://procontract.due-north.com/
Conditions of participation2
  • Economic & financial standing

    Please note that the full details regarding the conditions of participation for this procurement are detailed in the tender documents. However, for ease of reference, the successful bidder must satisfy the published evaluation criteria in relation to the following requirements:

    Insurance - bidders must either already hold or commit to obtain prior to the commencement of the contract, the levels of insurance cover indicated below:

    Employer's (Compulsory) Liability Insurance = £5 million

    Public Liability Insurance = £5 million

    Professional Indemnity Insurance = £2 million

    E-procurement: bidders must commit to adhere to the published requirements regarding the use of electronic ordering, e-mail invoices and credit.

    Financial standing: bidders must complete the published financial self-certification form which will be assessed on a risk basis to determine whether any form of guarantee or bond is required. If the latter applies to the highest ranked bidder, the Council will liaise with the affected bidder to confirm the precise requirements regarding obtaining any financial guarantees or bonds prior to the contractual award.

  • Technical & professional ability

    Please note that the full details regarding the conditions of participation for this procurement are detailed in the tender documents. However, for ease of reference, the successful bidder must satisfy the published evaluation criteria in relation to the following requirements:

    Modern slavery - bidders must confirm whether they are a relevant commercial organisation for the purposes of Modern Slavery.

    Equality and Diversity -bidders must confirm whether they have been subject to any finding of unlawful discrimination by an Employment Tribunal, an Employment Appeal Tribunal or any other court (or in comparable proceedings in any jurisdiction other than the UK) in the last three (3) years. If this situation applies, the bidder is required to provide a written summary of the nature and outcome of the investigation. In addition, the bidder must explain what action (if any) they have taken to prevent unlawful discrimination from reoccurring.

    In addition, bidders who are intending to rely on sub-contractors to deliver this service must confirm whether they hold processes to check whether the sub-contractors satisfy the specified conditions of participation regarding equality and diversity.

    Environmental Management - bidders must confirm whether they have been convicted of breaching environmental legislation, or had any notice served upon it, in the last three years by any environmental regulator or authority (including local authority). If this situation applies, the bidder is requ…

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 50 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 5 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.

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
27 Oct 2025, 11:47 GMT
Last source update
25 Jun 2026, 18:35 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 29 Jun 2026
Authority reference
F002PA
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-038649
Latest notice
Contract award notice (UK6)
Classification (CPV)
Special education services
Delivery area
East of England (UKH3)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d40e Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list
Submission deadline
28 May 2026, 12:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Electronically via the inbuilt functionality within the Council's e-sender, ProContract:

procontract.due-north.com ↗

Timeline

27 Oct 2025 → 3 Aug 2026 · 10 dates
  1. Planning notice published366 days ago
    27 Oct 2025, 11:47 GMT
  2. Next notice expected335 days ago
    26 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
  3. Market engagement335 days ago
    26 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT

    Essex County Council are working towards a model where EHCPs are written internally, however there are peak times in the academic year where the number of plans (new and amendments) exceed the internal capacity. There is therefore no guarantee of numbers under this contract and the resource needs to be flexible to meet demand.

    We are intending to run a series of drop in market engagement sessions with suitably experienced organisations to support our requirement moving forward.

    We would like to hear from organisations interested in this requirement and who are able to demonstrate the following relevant experience:

    • Understand the Essex process for initiating assessments, undertaking assessments and drafting EHCPs www.essexlocaloffer.org.uk ↗
    • Write EHCPs for individual children and young people using information contained in a variety of report formats
    • EHCPs must comply with the requirements within the SEN Code of Practice www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s… ↗
    • Account needs to be taken of any guidance provided by the Department for Education or Essex County Council
    • Appoint and manage appropriately experienced and qualified staff to write the EHCPs
    • Ensure that there is sufficiency of trained staff to meet and deliver to Local Authority requirements and that there will be a continuous service delivery.
    • Ensure strict compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and all updates.

    Please send your expression of interest to [email protected] who will share a microsoft forms to be complete in time for the drop in sessions

  4. Tender notice published183 days ago
    28 Apr 2026, 14:27 BST
  5. Submission deadline153 days ago
    28 May 2026, 12:00 BST
  6. Assessment summaries sent125 days ago
    25 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
  7. Latest notice published124 days ago
    25 Jun 2026, 18:35 BST
  8. Award decision expected by120 days ago
    29 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
  9. Standstill ends112 days ago
    7 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
  10. Contract starts86 days ago
    3 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST

Notice history

9 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 27 Oct 2025
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    27 Oct 2025, 11:47 GMT
    UK2
  2. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    12 Nov 2025, 10:59 GMT
    UK2
  3. Tender notice published
    28 Apr 2026, 14:27 BST
    UK4
  4. Status changed to active
    28 Apr 2026, 14:27 BST
  5. Procurement method changed
    28 Apr 2026, 14:27 BST
  6. Deadline published: 28 May 2026, 12:00 BST
    28 Apr 2026, 14:27 BST
  7. Contract award notice published
    25 Jun 2026, 18:35 BST
    UK6
  8. Status changed to complete
    25 Jun 2026, 18:35 BST
  9. Contract signature expected
    15 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
    scheduled
Published amendments (1)

We have moved the date of tender release to allow more time for submission over the holiday period

Routine re-releases (4)
  • 2025-10: 1 release · 27 Oct 2025

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £900,0001 award exc. VAT
Bids received 43 from SMEs
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Enhance EHC LtdEducation Healthcare Plan Writing Service1 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2027 · up to 31 Jul 2029Extensions: This is a one year contract with the option to extend one year at the end of each year to a maximum of 3 years (1+1+1).£900,00025 Jun 2026standstill to 7 Jul 2026Standstill

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
4final-stage tenders · 11 at stage one30—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Essex County Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PWVM-4844-NRQH County Hall, Market Road, Chelmsford, East of England, CM1 1QHContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • ENHANCE EHC LTDAwarded supplierGB-COH: 06598971GB-PPON: PYHW-8349-HNXX Office G7 The Plaza 1 Rutherford Park, Braintree, East of England, CM77 7AUContact email

Official documents & specifications (4)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure