Official UK procurement notice
Invitation to Tender for the PE and School Sport Partnership Network
Authority: Department for Education (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionTHIS IS AN INVITATION TO BID
This is a notice seeking bids from interested parties in relation to the Department for Education procurement of a National Delivery Partner to establish and deliver the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network across England.
The National Delivery Partner will be responsible for the strategic leadership, design, implementation, and operational delivery of the PE and School Sport Partnerships Network.
The Partnerships Network will focus on reducing inequalities in access and participation and improving the quality and consistency of PE and school sport for all children. It will provide flexible local support, support schools to protect two hours of PE weekly, and strengthen school-to-club links through peer-to-peer learning and co-ordinated CPD creating a more equitable, sustainable system for physical activity and sport in schools.
Of the total circa £513m programme funding, the contract value for this opportunity is circa £426,000,000 for the initial contract term. A large proportion of this is pass through funding with a price cap placed on service element of this provision. For more information on the funding set up potential bidders are encouraged to carefully read the tender documentation provided.
Total values in this notice include the the value of all potential extensions. Any funding beyond the initial term will be confirmed in due course.
The DfE is keen to maximise opportunities to participate in procurement for Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs).
Consideration will also be given to consortia and collaborative bids from all forms of organisations
Note:
You will need to register on the Department’s e-tendering portal, Jaggaer education.app.jaggaer.com ↗ to be able to access this opportunity.
- How the procedure runs: This procurement will be conducted under a competitive flexible procedure comprising an initial tender stage, followed by evaluation and moderation of submissions. The two highest-scoring tenderers will then be invited to a BAFO / negotiation stage in order to refine their proposal, before submitting the final tenders. The final tenders will be evaluated and moderated, and the contract will be awarded to the successful supplier.
CPV: Administration services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£883,700,000
- Economic & financial standing
As a condition of participation in this tender process, bidders must demonstrate a minimum annual turnover of £55,000,000.
- Technical & professional ability
To progress to the tender evaluation stage, bidders must demonstrate that they satisfy the following Conditions of Participation relating to technical and professional ability, as evidenced through their responses to the Participation Stage Questionnaire (PSQ):
- Experience of delivering complex programmes and managing a wide range of stakeholders.
- Experience of administering and managing large-scale public funding and/or pass-through funding arrangements.
- Demonstrable financial controls, governance, and assurance capabilities appropriate to the scale and complexity of the contract.
Bidders must provide sufficient evidence in their PSQ response to demonstrate compliance with each of the above Conditions of Participation. Failure to do so may result in their exclusion from further participation in the procurement process.
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)
- Technical Questions: 70%
- Cost: 20%
- Social Value - Employment and training for those who face barriers to employment: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
- Technical Questions: Technical questions will assess bidders’ proposals for the end-to-end delivery of the PE and School Sport Partnerships Network, including service design, mobilisation, school-facing support, targeting and intervention, financial and grant management, supply chain arrangements, safeguarding and quality assurance, digital platform delivery, and governance and performance management. (Q1 - Q18)
- Social Value - Employment and training for those who face barriers to employment: This question covers bidders’ proposals to deliver employment and training-related social value by increasing opportunities for disabled people and under-represented groups, addressing workforce inequality, and putting in place clear delivery, monitoring and reporting arrangements. Outcome 6 - Employment and training for those who face barriers to employment Award Criteria (6b) - Increase the representation of disabled people in the contract workforce. Award Criteria (6c) – Identify and tackle inequality in employment, skills and pay in the contract workforce Q19
- Cost: The pricing schedule requires bidders to submit a detailed and transparent breakdown of the tendered price for delivery of the contract, including costs, pricing assumptions, payment arrangements, and associated financial information relating to core service delivery, subcontracting and grant management, for the purposes of tender evaluation and subsequent contract management
- Economic & financial standing
As a condition of participation in this tender process, bidders must demonstrate a minimum annual turnover of £55,000,000.
- Technical & professional ability
To progress to the tender evaluation stage, bidders must demonstrate that they satisfy the following Conditions of Participation relating to technical and professional ability, as evidenced through their responses to the Participation Stage Questionnaire (PSQ):
- Experience of delivering complex programmes and managing a wide range of stakeholders.
- Experience of administering and managing large-scale public funding and/or pass-through funding arrangements.
- Demonstrable financial controls, governance, and assurance capabilities appropriate to the scale and complexity of the contract.
Bidders must provide sufficient evidence in their PSQ response to demonstrate compliance with each of the above Conditions of Participation. Failure to do so may result in their exclusion from further participation in the procurement process.
- Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 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
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 10 Sept 2025, 16:07 BST
- Last source update
- 17 Jul 2026, 11:33 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 25 Nov 2026
- Authority reference
9967- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-067670- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0597dfFind a Tender
- How it runs
This procurement will be conducted under a competitive flexible procedure comprising an initial tender stage, followed by evaluation and moderation of submissions. The two highest-scoring tenderers will then be invited to a BAFO / negotiation stage in order to refine their proposal, before submitting the final tenders. The final tenders will be evaluated and moderated, and the contract will be awarded to the successful supplier.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 25 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Bids must be submitted via Jaggaer e- procurement portal - education.app.jaggaer.com ↗
Timeline
10 Sept 2025 → 7 Dec 2026 · 7 dates- Planning notice published10 Sept 2025, 16:07 BST
- Market engagement147 days ago1 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
Register on Jaggaer, express your interest and access event held via Teams.
- Next notice expected140 days ago8 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published101 days ago17 Jul 2026, 11:33 BST
- Submission deadline31 days ago25 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Today27 Oct 2026
- Award decision expected byin 29 days25 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 40 days7 Dec 2026
Notice history
10 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 10 Sept 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published10 Sept 2025, 16:07 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published10 Sept 2025, 17:27 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published22 Apr 2026, 16:19 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published22 May 2026, 12:51 BSTUK2
- Published value updated to £570,000,00022 May 2026, 12:51 BSTwas £45,000,000
- Tender notice published17 Jul 2026, 11:33 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £883,700,00017 Jul 2026, 11:33 BSTwas £570,000,000
- Status changed to active17 Jul 2026, 11:33 BST
- Procurement method changed17 Jul 2026, 11:33 BST
- Deadline published: 25 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST17 Jul 2026, 11:33 BST
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2025-09: 2 releases · 10 Sept 2025, 10 Sept 2025
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender