Official UK procurement notice
Non-Statutory Specialist Pre-School Provision (NSP) for Children with Complex Needs and Severe Learning Difficulties
Authority: the Education Authority (Central government)
Sectors: Education & Training (80) Delivery: Northern Ireland (UKN)
Published estimate£1,666,666≈ £1.7m / year · £2,000,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 23 Jun 2025awarded 4 Aug 2025
Awarded to Kids Together Belfast +4 more
Contract term 1 yrends 31 Aug 2026 · up to 31 Aug 2028 with extensions · starts 1 Sept 2025
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe purpose of this Contract(s) is for the provision of Non-Statutory Specialist Pre-School Provision (NSP) for Children with Complex Needs and Severe Learning Difficulties for a period of 12 months with the option to extend for period(s) of up to and including 24
months. Value is estimated at £1,666,666 excluding VAT (£2,000,000 including VAT).
- No preliminary market engagement: A Pre-Market Engagement exercise was carried in January 2025 prior to the implementation of the Procurement Act 2023. A PIN was published for this PME exercise under the FTS notice reference 2025/S 000-001740, published 17/01/2025.
CPV: Education and training services · Operation of an educational centre · Pre-school education services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£1,666,666
80000000 Education and training services80110000 Pre-school education services80490000 Operation of an educational centre
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2
- Economic & financial standing
None.
- Technical & professional ability
Technical ability to perform the contract – Previous Experience
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).
How bids were scored
Published sub-criteria (4)
- AC1 Key Personnel Experience: 30%
- AC2 Service Delivery Plan: 50%
- AC4 Price: 10%
- AC3 Social Value (Alternative approach): 10%
Published award criteria (4)
- AC1 Key Personnel Experience: Suppliers must provide detail on the key personnel who will be involved in the delivery of the service throughout the contract period. Suppliers must demonstrate their capacity and resources in terms of their key personnel to deliver an efficient and effective service within the requirements of the contract. Give details on: • How key personnel meet the minimum level of qualifications required as outlined in document 02 Specification Schedule. • How key personnel have accredited and non-accredited training to meet the needs of pupils with complex needs and severe learning difficulties. E.g. Augmentative Communication, Sensory Integration, Emotional Regulation, Hearing and Vision, PEG, Epilepsy Awareness, Allergy awareness, Diabetes, Oxygen, Manual Handling, Team Teach, Autism, Nurture. • How safeguarding/child protection training and policy is disseminated to key personnel within the setting. • How key personnel devise and follow risk assessments and subsequent plans appropriate to the needs of pupils with complex needs/SLD within your setting. E.g. behaviour, manual handling, medical needs etc. • Any additional training key personnel in your setting have accessed. E.g. Food hygiene, First Aid, Fire Safety, GDPR. • How key personnel engage in appropriate curriculum planning/ baselining and assessment of pupils with SEN in your setting as informed by their statement of special educational needs.
- AC2 Service Delivery Plan: Suppliers must submit a Service Delivery Plan which demonstrates how they plan to deliver an efficient and effective service within the requirements of the contract with specific reference to the following Give details on: • How classes will be staffed appropriately to meet the needs of children with SLD in Early Years. • Details of how daily, medium-term and long-term planning appropriate to Early Years will be implemented in the setting. • What adaptations will be made to the classroom environment and structures. • What additional plan/risk assessments will be put in place to meet the needs of children with SLD and complex behavioural, physical and medical needs. • An outline of a typical session within the setting appropriate to the needs of pupils with SLD in Early Years. • Provide information current and future class capacity. i.e. if your organisation plans to increase capacity by running additional sessions.
- AC3 Social Value (Alternative approach): With reference to the Social Value Delivery Plan (Annex 6 of document 02 Specification Schedule), describe HOW you will support and ensure the delivery of: Theme 1 – SECURE EMPLOYMENT AND SKILLS Theme 4 – PROMOTING WELLBEING
- AC4 Price: Suppliers must download and fully complete the document 03 Pricing Schedule. The document must then be uploaded into the financial envelope on eTendersNI.
Conditions of participation2
- Economic & financial standing
None.
- Technical & professional ability
Technical ability to perform the contract – Previous Experience
What this means for your bid
- Price carries 10 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 1 point. 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
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 27 May 2025, 14:18 BST
- Last source update
- 19 Sept 2025, 08:33 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 1 Aug 2025
- Authority reference
EDR-25-006- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-027772- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05271bFind a Tender
How it was run
Official noticeRun through: eTendersNI · Who buys & how to bid on eTendersNI
Access & registration note: Free Northern Ireland registration
- Submission deadline
- 23 Jun 2025, 15:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 13 Jun 2025, 15:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Tender submissions must be submitted electronically via the eTendersNI platform - www.etendersni.gov.uk ↗
Tenderers should review the '01 Specific Tender Instructions and Assessment Methodology' document in conjunction with the '02 Specification Schedule' document. Tenderers should also review the '05 General Instructions and the Tender Competition Rules' document.
Timeline
27 May 2025 → 19 Sept 2025 · 8 dates- Tender notice published27 May 2025, 14:18 BST
- Clarification questions by13 Jun 2025, 15:00 BST
- Submission deadline23 Jun 2025, 15:00 BST
- Award decision expected by1 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent4 Aug 2025, 00:00 BST
- Standstill ends14 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts1 Sept 2025, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published19 Sept 2025, 08:33 BST
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 27 May 2025- Tender notice published27 May 2025, 14:18 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published4 Aug 2025, 17:04 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete4 Aug 2025, 17:04 BST
- Contract signature expected15 Aug 2025, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published19 Sept 2025, 08:33 BSTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastAwards 1
Awarded value £1,666,6661 award exc. VAT
Bids received 5
Contracts signed 1latest 15 Aug 2025
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kids Together BelfastVCSE, Royal Mencap SocietyVCSE, SEN Space Care and Respite Services CICVCSE, Sensations Nest LTDVCSE, SólásVCSEjoint award1 Sept 2025 – 31 Aug 2026 · up to 31 Aug 2028Extensions: Option to extend for any periods up to and including 24 months. Prior to entering into any extension to this contract the Education Authority will assess the following: - The availability of adequate funding for the service. - Changes/increase in need in relation to the service and scope of the existing contract. - If the contract is continuing to deliver value for money. · Options: The right to additional purchases while the contract is operational is valid. Optional additional purchases may be made under this contract, subject to the availability of budget and provided such purchases are consistent with the scope and intended purpose of the contract, and represent value for money in line with procurement regulations. | £1,666,666 | 4 Aug 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
Non-Statutory Specialist Pre-School Provision (NSP) for Children with Complex Needs and Severe Learning Difficulties · Kids Together BelfastVCSE, Royal Mencap SocietyVCSE, SEN Space Care and Respite Services CICVCSE, Sensations Nest LTDVCSE, SólásVCSE
- Signed
- 15 Aug 2025
- Value
- £1,666,666
- Period
- 1 Sept 2025 – 31 Aug 2026 · up to 31 Aug 2028 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- Extensions are available for any period(s) up to and including 24 months. Prior to offering any extension to this contract the Buyer will assess the following: • The availability of adequate funding for the service. • Changes/increase in need in relation to the service and scope of the existing contract. • If the contract is continuing to deliver value for money.
- Options
- The contract includes optional provisions that allow the supplier to make additional purchases, provided these are consistent with the scope of requirements outlined in the agreement. The EA will consider the efficient use of its resources to enable a placement to be secured. This will include the provision of any additional resources that may be required to support a particular setting or in the transport resource required to enable a child/ to attend a particular setting. There may be a requirement to procure equipment specific to a pupil's individual special educational needs to enable them to access the Northern Ireland Curriculum appropriate to their age, aptitude, and ability.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5final-stage tenders | 0 | 5 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
5 commercial parties on the notice- Kids Together BelfastAwarded supplier
- Royal Mencap Society (Mencap NI)Awarded supplier
- SEN Space Care and Respite Services CICAwarded supplier
- Sensations Nest LTDAwarded supplier
- SólásAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender