Yardley Primary School ~ Catering Tender

The school is a four-form entry primary school in Yardley, Birmingham, B26 1TD, with places for 840 pupils. Up to 120 pupils are admitted each September into the reception classes.

Success over the years has been based on good leadership from successive heads and governing bodies and the dedication and hard work of good teachers. The partnership we have with our parents and the exceptional support they give us is the other ingredient that allows us to do our best for children of our community.

Yardley Primary School agrees that school food standards provide an important nutritional safety net. We agree that all food and drink provided by or on behalf of the School shall comply with the school food standards legislation. Similarly, compliance to GDPR and allergen legislation are deemed critical to ensure the overall quality of the catering service is appropriate.

The guaranteed performance contract will commence on 1 April 2024 for an initial period of three years until 31 March 2027, with the opportunity to extend for a further period of two years at the discretion of the school governing body.

The Client expects the successful Supplier to enable the continued development of catering through the provision of an innovative, healthy food service, with fresh, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients being prepared in the well-appointed kitchen on-site. The Client expects the successful Supplier to evidence, through their bid, how they shall support and complement their stated target. The Client requires year one menus to be fully compliant with the Food for Life Silver standard.

The contract covers the scope for the provision of catering services, which currently includes morning break, lunch, afternoon break, all hospitality and free issue requirements. There is a ‘before & after School Club’ that is managed directly by the School. Meals shall be charged at £2.40 on consumption for the first year of the contract, with hospitality and free issues at net cost.

The Client intends to focus heavily on healthy, fresh, seasonal, locally sourced produce and sees the catering service as an exciting opportunity to complement the overall pupil experience, through the regular introduction of new ingredients, themed and promotional events. The successful Supplier will be required to play their part in acting as a catalyst for improvement of the pupil experience.

The successful Supplier will work closely with the Client to manage the provision of catering and the overall ‘meal experience. The value of the current catering contract is circa £213K.

Contractor’s thoughts regarding how to support the schools’ catering improvement objectives within the term of the initial contract are welcome. The school has a ParentPay ‘cashless system’ and parents generally pay for a minimum of one week’s meals at a time, enabling planning of catering volumes, with pupils selecting their preferred option at the point of service.

The Client invites bidders to consider offers of appropriate capital investment.

Please see SQ document for more information. Additional information: Please note, this is a contract award notice, this contract has already been awarded.