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Provision of Books and Reading Materials for Secondary School

Department for Education

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

02 Sep 2026 at 12:40

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education procured books, reading materials and associated services for eligible secondary schools in England, as part of the National Year of Reading. The purpose is to encourage reading for pleasure and support literacy outcomes. The requirement covers printed books, library books, dictionaries, maps, music books and other reading materials, together with an online ordering platform, order fulfilment, delivery, spend management and management information reporting. Schools across England, including the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands, the West Midlands, the East of England, London, the South East and the South West, can use the service. This is primarily a managed book-supply and fulfilment service rather than a standalone purchase of printed materials.

The procurement is complete and was awarded following a further competition under the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium Framework Agreement LIB4061SU, Lot 1. It used a selective, framework call-off procedure. The tender deadline was 31 July 2026 at 12:00. The contract was awarded on 20 August 2026 to A T Little & Sons Ltd trading as Browns Books, with an awarded value of £5,000,000 including the published procurement value. The contract period runs from 20 August 2026 to 31 March 2027. Eligible schools may purchase books and reading materials up to their allocated funding value. The opportunity was identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, and the requirement was classified as services.

This award demonstrates substantial, centrally funded demand for a supplier able to serve secondary schools across England through a coordinated national operation. A credible future competitor would need a broad catalogue of printed and library books, dictionaries, maps, music books and other educational reading materials, alongside reliable sourcing and stock management. It would also need a robust online ordering platform, accurate order fulfilment and delivery across multiple English regions, with the capacity to manage individual school allocations and spending limits. Spend management and clear management information reporting are core capabilities, so suppliers should be able to provide transparent transaction records and useful reports to the Department for Education and participating schools. The requirement is suitable for an SME-scale provider with strong educational supply-chain and service-delivery capability.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Books and Reading Materials for Secondary School

Notice Description

As part of the National Year of Reading, the Department for Education (DfE) is providing PS 5milllion to eligible secondary schools in England to purchase books and reading materials to encourage reading for pleasure and support literacy outcomes. The contract has been awarded to A T Little & Sons Ltd T/A Browns Books for the provision of books, reading materials and associated services, including an online ordering platform, order fulfilment , delivery , spend management and management information reporting. Eligible schools will be able to purchase books and reading materials up to their allocated funding value. This contract was awarded following a further competition under the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC) Framework Agreement LIB4061SU, Lot 1

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-b0b151d8-f17f-420f-8e03-02271ac7f888
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/b34e38c1-233b-43de-804c-dcfba3981ea9
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Call-off from a framework agreement
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

22 - Printed matter and related products

CPV Codes

22100000 - Printed books, brochures and leaflets

22110000 - Printed books

22113000 - Library books

22114000 - Dictionaries, maps, music books and other books

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£5,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£5,000,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
2 Sep 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
20 Aug 20263 weeks ago
Contract Period
20 Aug 2026 - 31 Mar 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
Department for Education
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 3BT
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Browns Books

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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