Official UK procurement notice
Invitation to Tender for Provision of Catering Services (Framework Agreement) at Pendle Education Trust
Authority: Pendle Education Trust (Public body)·On behalf of: RED BOX CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionPendle Education Trust (PET) have decided to tender their catering services contract to investigate the financial and qualitative benefits they could be offered through this process.
Services include catering provision for 3 Primary Schools and 2 Secondary Schools Mon- Fri term time (190 days). Approximately 678 primary School meals are served daily and Secondary income is circa 2k per day combined. All Schools have existing kitchens and staff, with good equipment.
Here is a little information about the Trust's strategy, taken from their website Pendle Education Trust - Home
"Our Trust has the opportunity to influence and shape the children in our family to reach their full potential and more. We have over 2200 (2019-20) children in our schools, three primary and two secondary, with over 300 staff dedicated to their education and wellbeing. We are committed to the communities in which we work and recognise the uniqueness of each of these five communities with the local area in which we chose to work. Whilst we have ambition to increase the size of our family this will not be growth without thought. We are committed to working in our local area and to reaping the benefits of being geographically close - are schools are all within a thirteen-mile radius. We intend to protect our schools and ensure that we do not destabilise our family when we do grow. We have the support of our sponsor, Nelson & Colne College to ensure that we are relentless in our focus on the teaching and learning experience of our children and the improved opportunities this will bring to their lives."
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Feb 2031, 23:59 GMT.
CPV: School catering services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs are awarded directly to appointed suppliers, without further competition
- Framework period
- 3 yrs · up to 5 yrs from 1 Sept 2026
Published description of the framework
Internal Framework Agreement for Trust to enable any new Schools joining to engage the awarded contractor, within the contract terms & duration, including any extensions.
There will be no further market engagement or tender process required within the initial contract period and any extensions.
There will be no cost for joining schools to award the contract via the Framework.
Any schools joining the Framework will expect the same delivery standard, as outlines in the ITT & Contract,
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£2,190,578
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 (2)
- Quality: 50%
- Commercial Submission: 50%
Published award criteria (2)
- Commercial Submission: The Trust shall be under no obligation to accept the lowest of any tender prices submitted hereunder. Full points will be awarded to best value in terms of profit/subsidy (*Commercial Submission- Max 150) with scaled deductions for other bids. We also ask for a 3-year budget projection within this section.
- Quality: Within this evaluation framework the Trust have emphasised the importance of food quality & menu flexibility/inclusivity with meals that demonstrate value for money. They need a strong management support system to ensure compliance with tender bid, provide continuous improvement & innovation. Sustainability & Social Value are also important to the Trust, as is a well-supported Mobilisation with care and empathy demonstrated towards the team. 12 questions have been weighted for scoring in partnership with the Trust. Red Box will evaluate responses and award a score following the matrix below: 5-Excellent - Exceeds requirements significantly with clear added value. 4-Good - Meets all requirements with some added value. 3- Satisfactory - Meets minimum requirements with no significant added value. 2-Weak - Fails to meet some key requirements; improvement needed. 1-Poor - Does not meet key requirements or lacks sufficient evidence.
- 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.
- “Invitation to Tender for Provision of Catering Services (Framework…” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract, and call-offs are awarded directly: getting appointed is the whole game.
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
- 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
- Yes · next expected 1 Feb 2031
- First published
- 19 Jan 2026, 09:27 GMT
- Last source update
- 10 Feb 2026, 11:20 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 8 May 2026
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-011745- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-060854Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 3 Apr 2026, 16:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 1 Apr 2026, 16:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
19 Jan 2026 → 1 Sept 2026 · 7 dates- Planning notice published275 days ago19 Jan 2026, 09:27 GMT
- Tender notice published253 days ago10 Feb 2026, 11:20 GMT
- Clarification questions by203 days ago1 Apr 2026, 16:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period ends201 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown3 Apr 2026, 16:00 BST
- Award decision expected by165 days ago8 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Next notice expected165 days ago8 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts50 days ago1 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
5 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 19 Jan 2026- Pipeline notice published19 Jan 2026, 09:27 GMTUK1
- Tender notice published10 Feb 2026, 11:20 GMTUK4
- Published value published: £2,190,57810 Feb 2026, 11:20 GMT
- Status changed to active10 Feb 2026, 11:20 GMT
- Deadline published: 3 Apr 2026, 16:00 BST10 Feb 2026, 11:20 GMT
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- RED BOX CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITEDProcess contact pointProcuring entityContractor engagement, creation of ITT and supporting docs, hosting site visits, evaluating bids & presentations
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender