Queen Alexandra College ~ Catering Tender

The successful Supplier will be required to provide Catering services for Queen Alexandra College (QAC). QAC can trace its history back to 1847 when the General Institution for the Blind was founded by Mary Badger and Elizabeth Harrold. We are a national residential College and charity that supports a diverse range of student abilities and needs based in Birmingham. We offer courses for young people aged 16-25yrs as well as employment focused and supported living programmes. Our mission statement is to create challenging learning opportunities for people with visual impairment and/or other disabilities to realise their potential to work and to live independently. The ethos and culture at QAC are underpinned by the principles of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and we are proud to have achieved and retain accreditation in both Investors in Diversity and Investors in People (Silver). We were awarded the prestigious Leaders in Diversity award in Nov 2021 and continue our journey to be even better leaders in diversity. The contract covers the scope for the provision of all catering services within the College, including hospitality and free issue requirements. The duration of the contract offered is three years commencing on 1 April 2024, concluding on 31 March 2027, with the opportunity to extend by up to an additional two years at the discretion of the governing body. There are 183-185 academic days each year, plus 15 teacher training days within which a limited catering service is required. During academic days circa 220 student meals are served per day @ £2.20, plus circa 76 staff meals at £2.20. The contract is offered on a ‘guaranteed performance’ basis. Currently Cash Meal Deals are at a maximum of £3.20 for pupils and £3.70 for staff, with Free School Meals for approximately 50% of pupils charged on consumption with margin applied. Hospitality and free issues are recharged on consumption at “net” food cost only. During academic days squash, tea, coffee and chocolate drinks are provided daily for circa 220 students between 10:15 and 10:45am and an additional 120 students in the afternoon between 14:00 and 14:15. Additionally, four staffroom areas and two offsite staffroom areas are to be provisioned with supplies of tea, herbal tea, instant coffee, milk & sugar to support a total of 300 staff. It is appreciated that a level of investment may be identified as a requirement of your bid, and therefore bidders are encouraged to provide detailed information of any equipment felt necessary. Bidders must provide the equipment make, model and cost and a justification of how this equipment will assist in fulfilling the proposal and potential of the service. All investment suggested must be fully justified within the Service Development and Finance sections of your Bidder Response. The level of investment provided will be at the College’s discretion, subject to the method of obtaining the investment for the required equipment. The quality of food provision will be critical and indeed your organisation must be flexible enough to source bakery, meat, fruit and vegetables and dairy products through local suppliers. It is expected that menus will feature and utilise products in season. Customer engagement will be fundamental to the continuous improvement in the service provision and within your tender response your methodology to achieve this will be detailed along with examples of where this has recently been undertaken within similar contracts. The successful contractor should have experience of a similar style of operations in a local Secondary School or Further Education environment and ensure that the Operational Management Team responsible for the contract is available for regular visits and support for the contract. See SQ Document for more Information. Additional information: To respond to this opportunity please click here: https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/Z5ZY46568Z