Official UK procurement notice
The Compass Partnership of Schools - Catering Services
Authority: The Compass Partnership of Schools (Education)·On behalf of: Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services Limited
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Compass Partnership of Schools is currently out to tender for the provision of a full daily catering service.
The services at the Trust schools are outsourced.
The Contractor will be responsible for the provision of a full school food catering service for the pupils and staff at the Trust schools. This will consist of full lunch service for each school day at all sites.
The catering facilities at the school include the main dining areas and servery. All outlets are available to all pupils.
Across the Trust there are currently 5483 pupils on roll for the academic year 2024/25. Of this figure, 1946 pupils are entitled to UIFSM and a further 1611 to Free School Meals.
TUPE is expected to apply, details of which can be found in the tender documentation.
Some members of the catering team (24 employees) are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme and all details are in the tender documentation.
The Trust is keen to further increase uptake and continue the good work already in place for catering. It wishes to do so by working closely with the successful contractor in developing and continuously improving the service and partnership during the period of the contract and by introducing innovative and creative ideas as submitted in the tender process and ongoing.
The Trust is aware that there are always opportunities to improve and modernise. They are interested in ensuring that the caterers provide the best possible service, introducing new menu ideas and initiatives so that pupils are all eating and utilising the service regularly.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 7 Jun 2027, 00:59 BST.
- How the procedure runs: Duty to Consider Lots As part of the initial project set up and approval stage of the tender process, The Compass Partnership of Schools discussed with Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services Limited the possibility of splitting the tender into more than one lot/contract. Due to the nature of the services being provided it was agreed that consistency of service provision, lack of resource for contract management and delivering value for money were best secured through one Trust-wide contract. Full details of the description of the process being used are contained within the documents accompanying this tender. Stage 1 Conditions of participation with evaluation Suppliers are invited to submit a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) response. Submissions will be evaluated based on the criteria detailed in the PSQ documentation. A maximum of five suppliers will be taken forward to the Invitation to Tender stage of the process. Where less than five suppliers meet the minimum standards, only those that meet the minimum standards will be taken through to the Invitation to Tender stage. Where more than five suppliers meet the minimum standard, those suppliers with the highest scores will proceed to the Invitation to Tender stage. Stage 2 Invitation to Tender with evaluation Suppliers shortlisted to the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage will be required to submit their final tender and will be evaluated on the criteria detailed in the ITT documentation. Envisaged shortlist of the three highest scoring bidders to be invited to: Stage 3 Presentation Day Stage 4 Assessment Summaries and Publication of Contract Award Notice (commencing 8 working day standstill period) Stage 5 Publication of Contract Details Notice Further details of the CFP can be found in the documentation accompanying this tender.
CPV: School catering services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£8,125,972
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).
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality: Full details of the weightings and evaluation criteria are contained within the documents accompanying this tender.
- Price: Full details of the weightings and evaluation criteria are contained within the documents accompanying this tender.
- 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
- Competitive flexible 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
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 7 Jun 2027
- First published
- 6 Jun 2025, 09:54 BST
- Last source update
- 10 Aug 2026, 14:56 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 3 Dec 2025
- Authority reference
MPN-10329- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-030454- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05441eFind a Tender
- How it runs
Duty to Consider Lots
As part of the initial project set up and approval stage of the tender process, The Compass Partnership of Schools discussed with Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services Limited the possibility of splitting the tender into more than one lot/contract. Due to the nature of the services being provided it was agreed that consistency of service provision, lack of resource for contract management and delivering value for money were best secured through one Trust-wide contract.
Full details of the description of the process being used are contained within the documents accompanying this tender.
Stage 1 Conditions of participation with evaluation
Suppliers are invited to submit a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) response. Submissions will be evaluated based on the criteria detailed in the PSQ documentation. A maximum of five suppliers will be taken forward to the Invitation to Tender stage of the process. Where less than five suppliers meet the minimum standards, only those that meet the minimum standards will be taken through to the Invitation to Tender stage. Where more than five suppliers meet the minimum standard, those suppliers with the highest scores will proceed to the Invitation to Tender stage.
Stage 2 Invitation to Tender with evaluation
Suppliers shortlisted to the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage will be required to submit their final tender and will be evaluated on the criteria detailed in the ITT documentation. Envisaged shortlist of the three highest scoring bidders to be invited to:
Stage 3 Presentation Day
Stage 4 Assessment Summaries and Publication of Contract Award Notice (commencing 8 working day standstill period)
Stage 5 Publication of Contract Details Notice
Further details of the CFP can be found in the documentation accompanying this tender.
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 7 Jul 2025, 18:00 BST
- Submission deadline
- 7 Jul 2025, 18:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 20 Jun 2025, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
6 Jun 2025 → 10 Aug 2026 · 7 dates- Tender notice published6 Jun 2025, 09:54 BST
- Clarification questions by20 Jun 2025, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline7 Jul 2025, 18:00 BST
- Award decision expected by322 days ago3 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent314 days ago12 Dec 2025
- Contract starts250 days ago14 Feb 2026
- Latest notice published72 days ago10 Aug 2026, 14:56 BST
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 6 Jun 2025- Tender notice published6 Jun 2025, 09:54 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published12 Dec 2025, 17:38 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete12 Dec 2025, 17:38 GMT
- Contract signature expected14 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published10 Aug 2026, 14:56 BSTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compass Contract Services (U.K.) Limited, trading as ESS Government ServicesSME14 Feb 2026 – 13 Feb 2029 · up to 13 Feb 2031Extensions: The duration detailed above includes the initial term of three years as well as the two optional contract extension periods of 12 months each · Options: The contract will be awarded for an initial period of three years with two possible extensions of 12 months meaning a maximum contract length of five years | £11,221,709 | 12 Dec 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
The Compass Partnership of Schools - Catering Services · Compass Contract Services (U.K.) Limited, trading as ESS Government ServicesSME
- Signed
- 14 Feb 2026
- Value
- £11,221,709
- Period
- 14 Feb 2026 – 13 Feb 2029 · up to 13 Feb 2031 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The duration detailed above includes the initial term of three years as well as the two optional contract extension periods of 12 months each
- Options
- The contract will be awarded for an initial period of three years with two possible extensions of 12 months meaning a maximum contract length of five years
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5final-stage tenders | 1 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- did not winAspens Services Ltd · West Midlands
- did not winDolce LtdSME · North West England
- did not winJuniper Pursuits Limited · Greater London
- did not winCaterlink · South East England
- wonCompass Contract Service (UK) Ltd · West Midlands
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services LimitedProcess contact pointProcuring entityProcurement consultancy for The Compass Partnership of Schools
Bidders & participating suppliers
5 commercial parties on the notice · 1 awarded- Aspens Services LtdBidder / tenderer
- CaterlinkBidder / tenderer
- Compass Contract ServicesAwarded supplier
- Dolce LtdBidder / tenderer
- Juniper Pursuits LimitedBidder / tenderer
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications All documents are being provided on publication of this Tender Notice. They will be hosted, and are freely available, on the In-tend portal for Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services Limited.
- Signed contract Redacted legal agreement between The Compass Partnership of Schools and Compass Contract Services (U.K.) Limited for the provision of catering services.
Notices 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