Specialist Education - Alternative Provision
Estimated value
£200.0m
Awarded value
—
Suppliers
0
Lots
4
Published
22 May 2026
Description
The Council is seeking to establish an Open Framework of suitable Providers under which the Council intend to commission Specialist Education - Alternative Provision. These services will cover the requirements for Alternative Provision placements of children & young people (Learners) made directly on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council with additional scope to include Local Council maintained Schools, or Free Schools and Academies (Contracting Council) within Nottinghamshire and surrounding areas if they wish to use it. Providers that are successful in demonstrating that they are able to meet the Council's standards, as set out in the service specification, will be awarded onto the Framework under the appropriate Lot and will be subsequently invited to offer places that match the needs of the Learners. Providers will be expected to evidence the quality of their provision by participating in regular Quality Assurance (QA) checks that will be carried out on behalf of the Contracting Authorities. Any Providers that fail to maintain the quality standards will be suspended from the Framework until they are able to provide evidence that they can meet the quality standards.
Scope
- Reference
- DN812426
- Total value
- £200,000,000 excluding VAT£240,000,000 including VATAbove the relevant threshold
- Commercial tool
- Standalone contract
- Contract dates
- 21 Jan 2027 to 20 Jan 2031Possible extension to 20 Jan 2035
It is anticipated this Framework will commence from January 2027 with a maximum initial term of four years. This may be supplemented by up to two optional extensions of two years each, resulting in a potential total duration of 8 years until January 2035. Tenderers should be aware that when reviewing whether to take up any contract extension provision which is at the sole discretion of the Council, the Council will, under its duty to obtain best value, consider a range of factors when deciding whether to extend or retender this contract.
- Main category
- services
- CPV classifications
- 80100000802000008030000080500000
- Contract locations
- East Midlands, United KingdomEast Midlands, United Kingdom
- Particular suitability
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE)
Award criteria
Criteria the buyer will use to evaluate bids.
| Name | Description | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | — | quality | 60.00% |
| Price | — | price | 40.00% |
| Quality | — | quality | 100.00% |
Participation
Conditions suppliers must meet to bid.
Where applicable under the requirements of the Companies Act 2026 (or an overseas equivalent), the Bidder is required to self-certify that they are able to provide audited annual accounts. Third party credit checks (if available) will also be undertaken as part of a financial assessment. A poor credit rating which scores 3 or more in a Dun & Bradstreet check will lead to a further request for supporting documentation, for example, accounts, profit & loss, cash flow forecast, or alternative evidence you will be required to provide if successful. As part of the financial assessment the following factors will be considered but not limited to: - turnover (sales) - profit (loss) before interest & tax - profit / turnover % - liquidity ratio and gearing The Council reserves the right to seek additional financial information. Potential Framework Providers who fail the economic and financial standing assessment, will be excluded from the process and their tender shall be rejected and not evaluated further.
The Bidder must demonstrate recent experience of providing services similar to those required in this contract, ideally in the public sector. You may include previous contracts to other public sector contracts. If your organisation has not previously been awarded contracts to provide these services, please summarise your general experience in question 4.1.8.4. Pass / Fail
Submission & procedure
- Enquiry deadline
- 26 Jun 2026, 10:59 pm
- Submission deadline
- 03 Jul 2026, 10:59 pm
- Submission address
- Tenders must be submitted electronically via https://www.eastmidstenders.org/
- Electronic submission
- Yes
- Procedure
- Competitive flexible procedure
Lots · 4 total
Divisions of the contract. Each lot can be awarded separately.
| Lot | Title | Est. value | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transitional Short Term time limited Placements - Block arrangement | £3.2m | active |
| 2 | Department for Education Accredited Online Provision (the Online Education Accreditation Scheme) | £1.6m | active |
| 3 | Specialist Individual Tailored Provision | £11.5m | active |
| 4 | Tutoring | £9.5m | active |