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Award of a call off contract under the Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System for the provision of Chess for prisoners at HMP Elmley

Ministry of Justice

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

01 Sep 2026 at 15:46

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Ministry of Justice procured education and training services to provide chess for prisoners at HMP Elmley. The appointed supplier is to develop and run a Chess Club, creating purposeful activity for prisoners who might not otherwise engage with the prison regime. The club is intended to build confidence, teamwork and communication skills, while supporting numeracy and literacy development. This is a specialist prison education and enrichment service rather than a supply-only chess equipment contract. Delivery is at HMP Elmley, in the South East of England. Organisations with experience delivering structured learning, recreational education or personal development programmes in custodial settings would find the subject matter most relevant, particularly where they can use chess as a practical tool for engagement and skills development.

This procurement is complete and has been awarded through a selective call-off from the Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System. The tender submission deadline was 19 June 2026 at 3pm, and the contract was awarded on 28 July 2026. Bhuku Ltd received the contract for £18,000. The contract period runs from 4 August 2026 to 3 May 2027. The requirement was classified as education and training services and was identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises. The award information records an active award to Bhuku Ltd. The procurement was evaluated through the dynamic purchasing system call-off process; the available details do not state a separate price, quality or experience weighting.

This award demonstrates demand from the Ministry of Justice for focused, practical learning activities that engage prisoners through chess and connect participation with confidence, communication, teamwork, numeracy and literacy outcomes. A credible future supplier would need to design and manage a structured Chess Club, motivate prisoners who may not normally take part in prison activities, and show how sessions produce purposeful educational and personal-development benefits. Relevant capability could include chess instruction, adult or community learning, prison education, youth or offender rehabilitation, and the measurement of learner engagement and progress. The requirement is suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises, indicating that a smaller specialist provider can be competitive where it has reliable delivery capacity, appropriate safeguarding and custodial-setting experience, and can work constructively with prison staff.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Award of a call off contract under the Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System for the provision of Chess for prisoners at HMP Elmley

Notice Description

Award of a call off contract under the Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System for the provision of Chess for prisoners at HMP Elmley. The supplier will develop a Chess Club. The chess club shall support prisoners in gaining confidence, upskill them in teamwork, communication skills and supported numeracy and literacy development. Chess also allows those who would not normally engage in the regime to take part in purposeful activity.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-17dc52ab-7658-4f9f-817c-bd2b516e7232
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/974e08d1-2f34-4a0d-bf4c-3206c8147e69
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Dynamic
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Call-off from a dynamic purchasing system
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80000000 - Education and training services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£18,000 Under £100K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£18,000 Under £100K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
1 Sep 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
28 Jul 20261 months ago
Contract Period
4 Aug 2026 - 3 May 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Ministry of Justice
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LEEDS
Postcode
LS1 4AP
Postcode Area
Leeds
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLE Yorkshire and The Humber
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLE4 West Yorkshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLE42 Leeds
Delivery Location
TLI London, TLJ South East (England)
Local Authority
Leeds
Electoral Ward
Hunslet & Riverside
Westminster Constituency
Leeds South

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Bhuku Ltd

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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