Ivy Education Trust Provision of Catering Services
Estimated value
—
Awarded value
£7.0m
Suppliers
1
Lots
2
Published
05 Jan 2026
Description
This tender opportunity was been issued by Ivy Education Trust ("the Trust"). The contract will be for the provision of a catering service to the Trust. The tender was split into Lots: Lot 1: Outsourced Catering Provision Lot 2: Managed Catering Service Tenderers were able to bid for one or both Lots and the Trust will award to either Lot 1 or Lot 2. The Contractor will provide a high-quality service, whilst delivering value for money for the school, parents and pupils using the services to the to the Trust's 5 primary schools and 3 secondary schools.
Scope
- Reference
- IET01.38
- Commercial tool
- Standalone contract
- Contract dates
- 01 Apr 2026 to 31 Mar 2029Possible extension to 31 Mar 2031
2 further 1 year extensions
- CPV classifications
- 55524000
- Contract locations
- South West England, United Kingdom
- Particular suitability
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Award criteria
Criteria the buyer will use to evaluate bids.
| Name | Description | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catering Service Offer | Catering Service Offer | quality | 6.00% |
| Innovation | Innovation | quality | 3.00% |
| Meal Uptake | Meal Uptake | quality | 3.00% |
| Weekly Menu Offer | Weekly Menu Offer | quality | 5.00% |
| Menu Planning & Development | Menu Planning & Development | quality | 3.00% |
| Food Supply Chain | Food Supply Chain | quality | 3.00% |
| Allergy Management | Allergy Management | quality | 1.50% |
| Contractor Staff | Contractor Staff | quality | 1.50% |
| Contract Management | Contract Management | quality | 2.50% |
| Complaint Management | Complaint Management | quality | 1.50% |
| Contract Mobilisation & Risk Management | Contract Mobilisation & Risk Management | quality | 6.00% |
| Sustainability - Organisational Net Zero Strategy | Sustainability - Organisational Net Zero Strategy | quality | 6.00% |
| Overall Structure & Clarity | Overall Structure & Clarity of the Commercial Model | cost | 8.00% |
| Commercial Viability | Commercial Viability of the Commercial Model | cost | 12.00% |
| Free School Meal Equity of Access | Free School Meal Equity of Access of the Commercial Model | cost | 8.00% |
| Paid Pupil and Menu Item Pricing & Uptake | Paid Pupil and Menu Item Pricing & Uptake in the Commercial Model | cost | 4.00% |
| Labour Model | Labour Model in the Commercial Model | cost | 4.00% |
| Risk Management | Risk Management in the Commercial Model | cost | 4.00% |
| Sustainability - Food miles and carbon footprint | Sustainability - Food miles and carbon footprint | quality | 6.00% |
| Sustainability - Energy use in production | Sustainability - Energy use in production | quality | 6.00% |
| Sustainability - Elimination of single use plastics | Sustainability - Elimination of single use plastics | quality | 6.00% |
| Weekly Menu Offer | Weekly Menu Offer | quality | 3.00% |
| Menu Planning & Development | Menu Planning & Development | quality | 1.50% |
| Managing Staff | Managing Staff | quality | 3.00% |
| Compliance | Compliance | quality | 3.00% |
| Contract Management | Contract Management | quality | 1.50% |
| Contract Mobilisation & Risk Management | Contract Mobilisation & Risk Management | quality | 1.50% |
| Sustainability | Sustainability | quality | 6.00% |
| Sustainability – Organisational Net Zero Strategy | Sustainability – Organisational Net Zero Strategy | quality | 6.00% |
| Sustainability – Food miles and carbon footprint | Sustainability – Food miles and carbon footprint | quality | 6.00% |
| Sustainability – Energy use in production | Sustainability – Energy use in production | quality | 6.00% |
| Sustainability – Elimination of single use plastics | Sustainability – Elimination of single use plastics | quality | 6.00% |
| Management Service Offer - Commercial Model | Management Service Offer - Commercial Model | cost | 16.00% |
| Food Supply & Cost Control | Food Supply & Cost Control - Commercial Model | cost | 8.00% |
| Free School Meal Equity of Access - Commercial Model | Free School Meal Equity of Access - Commercial Model | quality | 4.00% |
| Labour Model - Commercial Model | Labour Model - Commercial Model | quality | 4.00% |
| Operational Support & Performance - Commercial Model | Operational Support & Performance - Commercial Model | quality | 4.00% |
| Added Value - Commercial Model | Added Value - Commercial Model | cost | 4.00% |
Participation
Conditions suppliers must meet to bid.
A financial appraisal will be based upon a credit check. Insurances Employer Liability £5m Public Liability - £5m Product Liability - £2m
Provide 3 relevant previous contract examples To constitute a pass, the contract examples provided shall be relevant to the requirement, with a sufficient level of detail that provides confidence in the Tenderer’s established past experience in similar and relevant projects/contracts. The contracts must be within the education sector and similar complexity and working on more than one site within the contract.
Submission & procedure
- Procedure
- Open procedure
Award details· 2 awards
Awarded supplier(s), contract period and value as published in the award notice.
Awarded value
£7.0m
Award date
17 Dec 2025
Contract start
31 Mar 2026
Contract end
31 Mar 2029
Lots · 2 total
Divisions of the contract. Each lot can be awarded separately.
| Lot | Title | Est. value | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOT-0001 | Lot 1 Outsourced Catering Service | £7.0m | complete |
| LOT-0002 | Lot 2 Managed Catering Service | — | complete |