Official UK procurement notice
Outdoor Educational Play Equipment (including installation)
Authority: the Education Authority (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe primary purpose of this preliminary market engagement exercise (“Exercise”) is for the Education Authority (EA) to outline and seek supplier views and feedback on potential approaches for the provision and installation of Outdoor Educational Play Equipment.
This is not a tender exercise by the Education Authority.
The Education Authority Northern Ireland (EANI) wishes to engage with the market to gather views on the establishment of a robust, value‑for‑money Framework Agreement for the supply and installation of Outdoor Educational Play Equipment to individual education establishments across Northern Ireland. The anticipated framework period is from 1 December 2026 to 30 November 2028 (indicative), with options to extend for periods up to a further 24 months.
Any information gathered through this market consultation exercise will be used solely to inform internal business planning and any potential future procurement process. It will not be evaluated as part of any subsequent tender exercise. Participation—or non‑participation—in this preliminary market consultation will not preclude any supplier from taking part in any future procurement process, nor will any information submitted provide any supplier with an advantage or disadvantage.
For the avoidance of doubt, this is the scoping phase and not part of a formal procurement procedure. As part of this engagement, the Authority intends to meet with any respondents to discuss their submissions in more detail and to further inform the development of any future tender exercise.
Suppliers who wish to participate in the market engagement exercise should complete the pre‑market engagement questionnaire available on eTendersNI under the unique reference EANI‑5173. Further information, including the questionnaire, can be downloaded from the CfT documents.
Completed questionnaires must be submitted via the Messaging function of eTendersNI no later than 3:00pm on Wednesday 25 March 2026. No additional tender documents are required at this stage beyond the questionnaire.
CPV: Park and playground equipment · Playground equipment · Playground merry go rounds · Playground see saws · Playground slides · Playground swings · Playground tunnels
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 2 yrs · up to 4 yrs from 1 Dec 2026
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat 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).
- “Outdoor Educational Play Equipment (including installation)” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How the Education Authority buys Playground equipment (CPV 3753), and who usually turns up
the Education Authority’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Playground equipment (CPV 3753) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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 the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in Northern Ireland.
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 62 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.
The buyer’s share is a minimum: 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 bid40% / 0%
2–360% / 11%
4–60% / 14%
7+0% / 76%
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.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.
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
Our matching links this notice to “EDR 22-006 - Framework for The Supply, Delivery and Installation of Outdoor Educational Play Equipment” of this authority, but none of the 15 panel members sit in a category matching this notice.
Lot #1CPV 3753Published estimate£13m
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 19 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid37%
2–363%
4–60%
7+0%
i
Where the award 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 statistical guide from past awards, 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 | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RED ORANGE INTERNATIONAL LIMITEDLive contract | Outdoor Learning Equipmentruns to May 2030 | Lot 3. Water Sports Equipment | — | Matched as the earlier contract |
| PODIUM 4 SPORT LTDLive contract | Outdoor Learning Equipmentruns to May 2030 | Lot 2. Cycling Equipment | — | Matched as the earlier contract |
| PATTERSON ELECTRONICS LTDLive contract | Outdoor Learning Equipmentruns to May 2030 | Lot 5. Climbing/Caving Equipment | — | Matched as the earlier contract |
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.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
44% title match.
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.
44% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (44% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
EDR 22-006 - Framework for The Supply, Delivery and Installation of Outdoor Educational Play Equipment, winner not published; no contract end date published.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 12 Mar 2026, 11:51 GMT
- Last source update
- 12 Mar 2026, 11:51 GMT
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-022249- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-066833Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
12 Mar 2026 → 1 Dec 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published225 days ago12 Mar 2026, 11:51 GMT
- Market engagement205 days ago31 Mar 2026, 23:59 BST
PRE-MARKET ENGAGEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE (PME) for Outdoor Educational Play Equipment (including installation) for the Education Authority. Interested suppliers are asked to
complete and return the questionnaire via eTendersNI no later than 15:00 on the 31st March 2026.
- Tender notice expected139 days ago5 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today23 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 39 days1 Dec 2026
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published12 Mar 2026, 11:51 GMTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
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