Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice

Published 4 Mar 2025, 12:37 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Higher Education Provider - Step Up to Social Work

Official notice

Authority: Stoke-on-Trent City Council (Local council)·Consortium: 12 public authorities

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable

Sectors: Education & Training (80) Delivery: West Midlands (UKG)

Published estimate£1,540,000≈ £440k / year · £1,864,800 inc. VAT8.6% above published estimate

Submissions closed 9 Apr 2025awarded 6 May 2025

Awarded to University of Birmingham

Contract term 3 yrs 6 moends 28 Oct 2028 · starts 28 Apr 2025

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Funded by the Department for Education (DfE) Step up to Social Work is an intensive, 14-month, full-time programme. On completion, students will qualify with a Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work. A Higher Education Institution (HEI) is required for delivery of the programme. Students are selected from across the West Midlands. Stoke-on-Trent City Council is the lead authority for this service, working in partnership with local authorities across the West Midlands

CPV: Adult and other education services · Higher education services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1Awarded 3 yrs 6 moSMEVCSEPublished value£1,540,000

Contract period: 28 Apr 2025 – 28 Oct 2028 (3 yrs 6 mo)Value: £1,540,000 exc. VAT · £1,864,800 inc. VAT

Delivery: West MidlandsEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible

80300000 Higher education services 80400000 Adult and other education services

Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2

Economic & financial standing
Capacity conditions are included within the tender questionnaire
Technical & professional ability
Equivalent qualifications and standards are included within the tender questionnaire

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: 50%Price: 40%Social value: 10%

Published sub-criteria (8)

Programme: 15%
Starting arrangements: 10%
Quality and Monitoring: 10%
Contact: 5%
Professional Standards: 5%
Health, Safety and Wellbeing: 5%
Price: 40%
Social value: 10%

Published award criteria (8)

Price
Programme
Starting arrangements
Quality and Monitoring
Social value
Contact
Professional Standards
Health, Safety and Wellbeing

Conditions of participation2

Economic & financial standing
Capacity conditions are included within the tender questionnaire
Technical & professional ability
Equivalent qualifications and standards are included within the tender questionnaire

What this means for your bid

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: Awarded
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: Unspecified in notice
First published: 4 Mar 2025, 12:37 GMT
Last source update: 12 Sept 2025, 11:42 BST
Award evaluation window: Submission end – 23 Apr 2025
Authority reference: CAFS/2025/257
FTS notice number: 2025/S 000-008652
Latest notice: Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV): Adult and other education servicesHigher education services
Delivery area: West Midlands (UKG)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04e952 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: 9 Apr 2025, 12:00 BST
Clarification deadline: 9 Apr 2025, 10:00 BST
Submission channel: Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission: Allowed
Accepted languages: en

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

To access tender documents go to procontract.due-north.com/Procurer/Advert/View ↗

Timeline

4 Mar 2025 → 12 Sept 2025 · 10 dates

Planning notice published
4 Mar 2025, 12:37 GMT
Next notice expected
6 Mar 2025, 23:59 GMT
Tender notice published
11 Mar 2025, 09:55 GMT
Clarification questions by
9 Apr 2025, 10:00 BST
Submission deadline
9 Apr 2025, 12:00 BST
Award decision expected by
23 Apr 2025, 23:59 BST
Contract starts
28 Apr 2025, 00:00 BST
Assessment summaries sent
6 May 2025, 00:00 BST
Standstill ends
15 May 2025, 23:59 BST
Latest notice published
12 Sept 2025, 11:42 BST

Notice history

8 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 4 Mar 2025

Planned procurement notice published
4 Mar 2025, 12:37 GMT
UK3
Tender notice published
11 Mar 2025, 09:55 GMT
UK4
Status changed to active
11 Mar 2025, 09:55 GMT
Deadline moved to 9 Apr 2025, 12:00 BST
11 Mar 2025, 09:55 GMT
+5 days · was 4 Apr 2025, 12:00 BST
Contract award notice published
6 May 2025, 15:46 BST
UK6
Status changed to complete
6 May 2025, 15:46 BST
Contract signature expected
16 May 2025, 23:59 BST
scheduled
Contract details notice published
12 Sept 2025, 11:42 BST
UK7

Routine re-releases (4)

2025-03: 1 release · 4 Mar 2025

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1

Awarded value £1,671,8581 award exc. VAT

Bids received 2

Contracts signed 1latest 6 Jun 2025

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
University of Birmingham19 May 2025 – 19 Nov 2028	£1,671,858	6 May 2025	Awarded

Contracts

Contract 1 · University of Birmingham
Signed
6 Jun 2025
Value
£1,671,858
Period
6 Jun 2025 – 5 Dec 2028
Status
active
3 agreed KPIs: Progamme Completion Rate · Placement Success Rate · Student Satisfaction
- Progamme Completion Rate
- Placement Success Rate
- Student Satisfaction

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
2final-stage tenders	0	0	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

12 public bodies on the notice

Stoke on Trent City Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PDQZ-1442-RZTZ Civic Centre, Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands, ST4 1HHContact email

Consortium members and other public bodies

BIRMINGHAM CHILDREN'S TRUST COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANYContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-COH: 10762047GB-PPON: PCJW-7359-HTYM Birmingham, West MidlandsContact email
Borough of Telford & WrekinContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PHHD-5776-GZNN Telford, Shropshire, West MidlandsContact email
Coventry City CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PMJC-6861-XJPP Coventry, West MidlandsContact email
Dudley Metropolitan Borough CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PWYJ-3537-GLBW Dudley, West MidlandsContact email
Herefordshire CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PDTG-2978-LHCN Hereford, West MidlandsContact email
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - central governmentGB-PPON: PJHD-8764-YRJJ Oldbury, West MidlandsContact email
Shropshire CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PCLL-9577-QDZW Shrewsbury, West MidlandsContact email
Solihull Metropolitan Borough CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PGWC-7578-LYDG Solihull, West MidlandsContact email
Staffordshire County CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PZDG-2995-QQMD Stafford, West MidlandsContact email
Walsall CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PHGR-7481-DHXR Walsall, West MidlandsContact email
Worcestershire County CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PRPQ-4584-WLPQ Worcester, West MidlandsContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAMAwarded supplierGB-COH: RC000645GB-PPON: PHCQ-3464-LVTM Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, B15 2TTContact email

Official documents & specifications (4)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender12 Sept 2025, 11:42 BST
Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender6 May 2025, 15:46 BST
Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender11 Mar 2025, 09:55 GMT
Planned procurement notice planningPlanned procurement noticeUK3Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender4 Mar 2025, 12:37 GMT