Maidstone Grammar School ~ Catering Tender

Maidstone Grammar School will be celebrating its 475 anniversary in 2025. It is a boys’ grammar school with girls in the sixth form. There are over 1400 students in the school and 130 staff. The Tender The tender project is seeking to appoint a Contractor whose initiative and innovation will be welcomed for the provision of service within the existing facilities of the school with a focus on exciting new food concepts to satisfy a wide range of pupil tastes and dietary requirements. The School would wish the successful contractor to review the current range of services offered and make recommendations accordingly. There will be a requirement for the successful contractor to demonstrate a commitment to the ‘Green Agenda.’ The tender must also be able to demonstrate ways in which they will work in a positive way to not just reduce the school’s carbon footprint but also to avoid including single use plastic in the contract. The contract being tendered is for three years in duration from 1st August 2023 to 31st July 2026 with the option to extend for up to a further 2 years at the discretion of the client. This contract will operate as a Guaranteed Performance Contract, with the successful Contractor offering the School a guaranteed return / cost per annum for the provision of catering services. Sovereignty of the cash tariff is to remain with the School for the duration of this contract. The School year is based on a calendar of 193 days. Three days are designated as staff professional development days. Although the School will be open for the legal minimum of 190 days there will be special events on at the School for up to five days when students are dismissed from school before lunch is served. Therefore the School should be fully open for 185 days. The contract offered covers the scope for the provision of all catering services within the School, which currently includes morning break, lunch, all hospitality and free issue requirements. Free School meals are to be charged per pupil on uptake with a margin attached, and hospitality will be charged based on consumption and at net food cost. Whilst the School prioritises value for money as a key objective of the Competitive Tender Process, it is not obliged to accept the lowest price. The School expects the successful contractor to enable the continued development of catering through the provision of an innovative, healthy food service, with fresh, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients being prepared on-site. The School expects the successful tenderer to evidence, through their bid, how they shall support and complement its values and support the principles of Every Child Matters. The School believes that success should be celebrated and that pupils should enjoy their time at school; if lessons are stimulating and challenging then students will love learning. As a school who are continually seeking ways to improve and develop the ethos and environment for students and staff, to give them the facilities they deserve and need to meet the challenges of the 21st Century, any consideration regarding funding improvements as part of the Contractor’s tender submission would be welcomed. Contract value: Sales performance per annum is circa £424,000 The value of the new contract is circa £2,120,000 (Total annual sales, multiplied by the maximum 5 year term of the contract) Other notes:

• Please be advised that this contract will be let on a 3 + maximum of 2 years basis.
• Please be advised that there are not any current catering staff in the LGPS
• Please be advised that the catering service is currently contracted to Cucina
• Please be advised that the School has a minimum requirement for a contractor’s employers liability/ public liability and professional indemnity insurance of £10m
• The minimum annual turnover that your company must have achieved to be considered for this opportunity is £1m