Official UK procurement notice
The Propeller Academy Trust - Catering Services
Authority: THE PROPELLER ACADEMY TRUST (Public body)·On behalf of: Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services Limited
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Propeller Academy Trust is currently out to tender for the provision of a full daily catering service.
The Propeller Trust is dedicated to supporting young people with special needs
The services at the Trust schools are a mix of in-house and outsourced provision.
The Contractor will be responsible for the provision of a full school food catering service for the pupils and staff at the relevant schools. This will consist of breakfast and morning breaks at some sites and full lunch service for each school day at the relevant sites as per the MoI.
Across the Trust there are currently 323 pupils on roll for the academic year 2025/26. Of this figure, 26 pupils are entitled to UIFSM and a further 101 to Free School Meals.
TUPE is expected to apply, details of which can be found in the tender documentation.
Four members of the catering team 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 2 Mar 2028, 23:59 GMT.
- How the procedure runs: Duty to Consider Lots As part of the initial project set up and approval stage of the tender process, Propeller Academy Trust discussed with Minerva the possibility of splitting the tender into more than one lot/contract. On the basis that Propeller Academy Trust is a Trust with only a small number of sites (in a close geographic area) it was agreed that lots were not appropriate for this tender process. 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£429,762
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 2 Mar 2028
- First published
- 9 Mar 2026, 09:39 GMT
- Last source update
- 2 Oct 2026, 13:44 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 2 Oct 2026
- Authority reference
MPN-10347- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-020718- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0664ebFind a Tender
- How it runs
Duty to Consider Lots
As part of the initial project set up and approval stage of the tender process, Propeller Academy Trust discussed with Minerva the
possibility of splitting the tender into more than one lot/contract.
On the basis that Propeller Academy Trust is a Trust with only a small number of sites (in a close geographic area) it was agreed
that lots were not appropriate for this tender process.
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)
- 16 Apr 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline
- 16 Apr 2026, 17:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 23 Mar 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Full details of how to submit are contained within the documents accompanying this tender.
In-Tend address - in-tendhost.co.uk/minervapcs/aspx/Home ↗
Timeline
9 Mar 2026 → 15 Feb 2027 · 8 dates- Tender notice published227 days ago9 Mar 2026, 09:39 GMT
- Clarification questions by213 days ago23 Mar 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission deadline189 days ago16 Apr 2026, 17:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent21 days ago2 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published20 days ago2 Oct 2026, 13:44 BST
- Award decision expected by20 days ago2 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Standstill ends9 days ago13 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 115 days15 Feb 2027
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 9 Mar 2026- Tender notice published9 Mar 2026, 09:39 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published2 Oct 2026, 13:44 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete2 Oct 2026, 13:44 BST
- Contract signature expected15 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edwards and Ward Ltd15 Feb 2027 – 14 Feb 2030 · up to 14 Feb 2032Extensions: The duration detailed above includes the initial term of 3 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 3 years with two possible extensions of 12 months meaning a maximum contract length of 5 years. | £657,756 | 1 Oct 2026standstill to 13 Oct 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services LimitedProcess contact pointProcuring entityProcurement consultancy for The Propeller Academy Trust
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Edwards & Ward LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
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.
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender