Wyre Forest School ~ Catering Tender

The successful Supplier will be required to provide Catering services for Wyre Forest school. We are a broad-spectrum special needs school for children aged 3 to 19. We also have Russell House, a 16-bed weekly residential unit. We have only been in our building since April 2015. Before this the school was on two sites following the Wyre Forest restructuring in 2011 (Bewdley Road site, formerly Blakebrook, and Comberton Road site, formerly Stourminster). We share our campus with Baxter College. We also have a vocational hub and a Sixth Form which prepares children for life after school. Offsite we run the award-winning Blossom Tree Café in Springfield Park. We work tirelessly to meet the needs of all the children, so they develop and progress academically, socially, emotionally and physically. Our values of enthusiasm, resilience, honesty, teamwork and trust shine out from all that we do. We have an exciting curriculum which is broad and balanced and make the use of our specialist facilities, including soft play, dark room, sensory rooms, vocational hub, hydropool, gym and riding for the disabled. We are also a communication specialist school and use sign-a-long, PECS and communication passports. We are passionate about the benefits of outdoor education from Forest Schools and The John Muir Award to outdoor pursuits, working the land and exploring the Wyre Forest. This work is crucial in building emotional resilience, teamwork and independence. The contract covers the scope for the provision of all catering services within the School, including hospitality and free issue requirements. The duration of the contract offered is three years commencing on 1 January 2026, concluding on 31 December 2028, with the opportunity to extend by up to an additional two years at the discretion of the governing body. There are 190 academic days each year, plus 5 teacher training days which require no catering service. There are currently 371 students and 304 staff, however this number is anticipated to increase to circa 427 during the period of the contract, with the addition of a number of extra classrooms. The contract is offered on a ‘guaranteed performance’ basis. Currently Meal Deals of salad, main and pudding are at a maximum of £2.53 for pupils and staff £2.90, charged on consumption with margin applied. Currently circa 210 – 230 lunches are served each day, with circa 160 being plated and served via the classrooms, the remainder via the dining room service point. The School has a variety of dietary requirements that need accommodated, including allergies, sensory and individual pupil preferences. The residential centre is open for meals Monday to Thursday during term time only and commence a week after the main School, consequently serving for 185 days. 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 School’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. Please see SQ Document for more information. Additional information: To respond to this opportunity please click here: https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/MU2628TCJ4