Tender

Department for Education Period Products Scheme 2026

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

18 Feb 2026 at 08:58

Tender

04 Feb 2026 at 10:09

Planning

29 Apr 2025 at 14:47

Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education is seeking a national supplier for its Period Products Scheme 2026, aimed at providing free period products to schools and post-16 education providers across England, helping reduce barriers to education and promote dignity and equality. The procurement process, valued at £16,500,000, follows a competitive flexible procedure and is in the tender update stage as of 18th February 2026, with submissions due by 16th March 2026 at midday. Interested parties should attend the Bidder Engagement Event on 12th February 2026. This initiative aligns with the Department’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, leveraging reusable and environmentally friendly products, efficient delivery services, and accessible digital interfaces.

This tender presents significant growth opportunities for businesses specialising in hygiene products, logistics, and customer services, especially those committed to sustainable practices. Companies that can source and deliver diverse period products while ensuring effective user interfaces and nationwide logistics are well-suited to compete for this contract. The procurement method encourages participation from SMEs and VCSEs, offering potential suppliers added value through financial benefits and awareness materials. The contract runs from June 2026 to August 2028, with potential renewal, ideal for businesses ready to innovate in product sourcing, logistics, and stigma reduction.

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Notice Title

Department for Education Period Products Scheme 2026

Notice Description

The Department for Education (DfE) is looking to provide free period products to schools and post-16 education providers across England through a procurement to appoint a national provider. The Period Products Scheme ensures that period products are available and accessible, free of charge, to girls and women who need them in schools and colleges. The scheme aims to reduce periods as a barrier to education, promote dignity and equality in learning environments and tackle stigma associated with periods. The scheme was introduced after a 2018 Omnibus Survey suggested that 14% of female college students and 6% of female school pupils has been unable to access period products in the last 12-months due to affordability and 83% of secondary school leaders made free period products available in their school. Tackling this problem remains a key priority and is part of DfE's strategy to support the Government's mission to break down the barriers to opportunity; one of the six missions which form the centrepiece of our plan for change. This mission-led approach drives coordination between different programmes and workstreams by setting ambitious shared goals. The Department has published a competitive flexible tendering opportunity to find a single national supplier who can from September 2026: * Source an appropriate range of period products including reusable and environmentally friendly products * Design and implement user interfaces and support services * Plan and execute a national delivery service We require a 'demand-led' service which must be available to approximately 21,000 organisations across England, with an accessible and easy to use means of interaction and product ordering. The Department is also seeking to maximise the value of the scheme beyond the core offer through financial benefits, added value, and/or awareness activities and materials. In return, the Department proposes to offer a package of rights to the lead supplier and/or key sub-contractors/supply chain members. For further information, please access the ITT documents via the Jaggaer e-Procurement platform (itt_3864). The Department will be holding a Bidder Engagement Event on 12th February 2026, from 10:30am: 1. Potential suppliers are invited to participate in this bidder engagement session, which will be facilitated via Microsoft Teams. 2. The session will be led by representatives of the Department for Education and will focus on the programme's requirements and the tendering process. 3. To register your interest in attending, please use the messaging facility in the Jaggaer Portal and include the email contact details of all attendees in your message. 4. Following registration, an invite will be sent to the email addresses of the attendees on 11th February 2026. Attendance is not mandatory and slides and any Q&As from the session will be uploaded to Jaggaer following the event.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: An addiional 12 months extension clause is inlcuded in the contract ( the maximum value given is inclusive of this possible extension)

Planning Information

The DfE shall be hosting a virtual event on Tuesday 20th May 2025 at 10:00 to discuss the vision for the scheme from the start of the 2026/27 academic year onwards and would like to encourage any parties who are interested in contributing to the success of a future scheme to register for this event. To do so, please contact Period.PRODUCTS@education.gov.uk by COP on Thursday 15th May 2025.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05096c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/014571-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

33 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products

64 - Postal and telecommunications services

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security


CPV Codes

33771100 - Sanitary towels or tampons

64121200 - Parcel delivery services

79342300 - Customer services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£16,500,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£16,500,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Feb 20264 days ago
Submission Deadline
16 Mar 20263 weeks to go
Future Notice Date
1 Sep 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
28 Jun 2026 - 31 Aug 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
2028-09-03

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
period.products@education.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 3BT
Post Town
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), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLJ34 Isle of Wight, TLK South West (England), TLK3 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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