Official UK procurement notice
Technology Deals for Schools (Hardware & Software)
Authority: Department for Education (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionPreliminary Market Engagement is being undertaken to understand how suppliers can offer technology hardware and software deals, discounts and value added propositions that could be made easily accessible to schools.
The Department for Education is seeking to identify new and market leading supplier offers that deliver clear value for money and can be promoted and signposted to schools through DfE platforms, including the Find a Buying Solution service. This is intended to help schools quickly and easily access competitive, trusted deals, reducing cost and complexity in their purchasing.
This activity also forms part of a longer term strategy to explore how the Department can work more closely with suppliers to improve access to high quality, cost effective technology and digital solutions at scale, and to unlock efficiencies and innovation across the education system.
While this engagement is focused on identifying and developing strong supplier offers for potential promotion, the Department is also considering the potential for future contractual arrangements directly with suppliers to further strengthen access to value for money deals for schools. The specific contracting model has not yet been determined and will be informed through ongoing and future market engagement activity.
As part of this engagement, the Department is seeking to understand the range and quality of offers available in the market, how they are structured, and how they can be presented in a way that is simple, transparent and beneficial to schools.
Suppliers are encouraged to bring forward new and enhanced proposals and demonstrate how their offers can meaningfully support schools and the wider education sector, including improving access to technology and software, reducing cost pressures, and simplifying purchasing processes.
Strong submissions will clearly articulate how they:
- Deliver measurable cost savings compared to existing routes.
- Provide added value beyond price, such as training, support or sustainability initiatives.
- Enable better access to reliable, high quality technology and software solutions for pupils and staff.
The Department is keen to engage with suppliers who demonstrate a strong understanding of the needs and challenges of the education sector, and who can design offers that make it easier, more efficient and more cost effective for schools to access technology and software at scale.
The Department is particularly interested in innovative approaches that demonstrate how suppliers can unlock efficiencies at scale and deliver sustained value across the school system, rather than one off or short term offers.
This is not a procurement or contracting exercise. The Department will not enter into contracts with suppliers as a result of this activity. Participation does not guarantee that any offer will be promoted, and any decisions to feature or signpost deals will be made on a fair and transparent basis.
CPV: Computer accessories · Desktop computer · Educational software package · Portable computers
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Department for Education buys Data-processing machines (hardware) (CPV 3021), and who usually turns up
Department for Education’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Data-processing machines (hardware) (CPV 3021) →
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.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in the delivery region.
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 49 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.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
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 bid9%
2–334%
4–625%
7+32%
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 estimate40%
Within ±2%49%
Above estimate11%
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 3021No real estimate
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 17 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid12%
2–318%
4–66%
7+65%
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.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
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.
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
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 18 Jun 2026, 17:15 BST
- Last source update
- 18 Jun 2026, 17:15 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-057770- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06b87dFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
18 Jun 2026 → 3 Aug 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published124 days ago18 Jun 2026, 17:15 BST
- Market engagement95 days ago17 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
Suppliers interested in contributing to this engagement are invited to:
Submit information on:
- Available education hardware and software discounts and deal structures.
- Any value added services or social value offers (e.g. sustainability, device recycling, training, digital inclusion, licensing support).
The Department is seeking to promote only those deals that demonstrate a clear value-add to schools, including genuine cost savings compared to other routes to market and/or additional benefits such as social value or enhanced support.
Participation in this engagement does not guarantee that a supplier’s offer will be promoted or featured. The Department will apply a proportionate and consistent approach when reviewing submissions, and any decision to promote or signpost an offer will be made at the sole discretion of the Department.
This engagement should not be viewed as a free advertising opportunity, and the Department will not promote offers that do not meet its criteria for value, relevance and benefit to schools.
This notice relates to an opportunity which is not subject to the Procurement Act 2023. Accordingly, this notice is published on a voluntary basis for transparency purposes and to encourage market interest in the relevant opportunity.
- Tender notice expected81 days ago31 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts79 days ago3 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published18 Jun 2026, 17:15 BSTUK2
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