Official UK procurement notice
Market engagement for Specialist Speech and Language Therapy (AAC) for school age children
Authority: West Northamptonshire Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionFairfields School (Northampton) has been awarded the commission to deliver the local High-Tech Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) service for children across Northamptonshire.
As part of our service development, we are inviting independent Speech and Language Therapists and Speech and Language Therapy organisations with specialist AAC expertise to join an online market engagement event.
We are seeking specialist Speech and Language Therapy support to work alongside our multidisciplinary team in delivering the local High-Tech AAC service.
The initial requirement is anticipated to be:
• 2 days per week
• 40 weeks per year (term time only)
• Potential for extension subject to service demand and contract continuation
We are interested in engaging with providers who can demonstrate:
• Qualification as a Speech and Language Therapist with specialist AAC knowledge and experience (Band 6 or above equivalent)
• Experience undertaking comprehensive assessments and recommending appropriate communication pathways, devices and software solutions
• The ability to produce clear assessment reports and evidence-based recommendations
• Experience of working collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams across education, health and social care
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage a varied caseload
• Knowledge and application of Therapy Outcome Measures (TOMs) to evidence impact
• Experience delivering training and support to professionals, families and carers
• The ability to contribute to robust reports that demonstrate outcomes and impact through data and evidence
• A person-centred approach that actively involves children, young people and families in communication planning and goal setting
• The ability to motivate, engage and support young people throughout their communication journey
Essential Requirements
• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration
• Membership of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT)
CPV: Special education services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Planned
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage — how this market runs before the tender is published
How West Northamptonshire Council buys Special education services (CPV 8034) — and who usually turns up
West Northamptonshire Council’s own published record, next to the East Midlands market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Special education services (CPV 8034) →
How the contest usually goes
This buyer’s published record next to the market where the work is delivered — contested contracts only, counted per lot
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in East Midlands.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside East Midlands.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 33 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid2% / 15%
2–35% / 28%
4–68% / 27%
7+85% / 30%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate17% / 33%
Within ±2%56% / 51%
Above estimate28% / 16%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors — from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 8034Estimate not published
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 132 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid15%
2–328%
4–627%
7+30%
i
Where the winning price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A guide, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | ||||
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | ||||
Coverage and what to read with care
- Each figure explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two sides are never blended. A lot’s own market is read at its delivery region where the lot names one; where it names several, or none that can be resolved, the chart falls back to the UK-wide record for the same category and says so under the bar. An empty cell means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
- When we call out a difference. A buyer figure is only flagged against the market when the sample is large enough that the gap is unlikely to be chance; at most two callouts appear, always phrased as a comparison with both numbers and the sample size.
- Coverage (re-measured 5 Oct on the live record, 94,497 awarded procedures of the last three years). 51 % publish a bid count and 72 % a delivery region, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice names none, labelled. Of the 17,687 award-vs-estimate pairs, 34 % sit exactly on the estimate — the buyer published the award at the figure it advertised. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden, and a distribution is not drawn as percentages below ten observations.
- “Match”, text similarity, the expected-bid figure and the distribution drawn beneath it are model outputs, not published facts or win probabilities. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- 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
- 8 Oct 2026, 14:03 BST
- Last source update
- 8 Oct 2026, 14:03 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-095238- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0783d0Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
3 published dates · Europe/London- Planning notice publishedearlier today8 Oct 2026, 14:03 BST
- Market engagementin 22 days30 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMTAs part of our service development, we are inviting independent Speech and Language Therapists and Speech and Language Therapy organisations with specialist AAC expertise to join an online market engagement event. This session is an opportunity to learn more about the service, understand the requirements of the role, and explore potential opportunities to support the delivery of a high-quality AAC provision for children and young people across Northamptonshire. We would particularly welcome expressions of interest from: • Independent Speech and Language Therapists • Speech and Language Therapy companies and organisations • Professionals with specialist knowledge and experience in Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) • Therapists passionate about supporting children and young people with complex communication needs The purpose of the session is to: • Provide an overview of the Northamptonshire High-Tech AAC service • Outline the specialist support requirements • Discuss service delivery expectations • Understand market capacity and capability • Allow potential providers to ask questions and explore future opportunities Date: Tuesday 20th October 2026 Time: 4-5pm Platform: Microsoft Teams https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3280658678697594?p=jeG9qfKpMqlhPF90Y3 To register your expression of interest in attending, please email: [email protected]
- Contract startsin 53 days1 Dec 2026
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Notice history
2 events · 1 release on Find a Tender · since 8 Oct 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published8 Oct 2026, 14:03 BSTUK2
- First planning notice published8 Oct 2026, 14:03 BST
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender