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Provision and Management of Creative Mentoring Service

Derbyshire County Council

This public procurement record has 6 releases in its history.

Award

22 Jul 2026 at 16:41

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

24 Jun 2026 at 17:17

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

21 Jan 2026 at 17:20

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

24 Oct 2025 at 08:06

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

22 Oct 2025 at 10:00

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Planning

14 May 2025 at 12:52

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Derbyshire County Council commissioned a managed creative mentoring service for children in care and other children and young people covered by the Virtual School’s extended duties, from Reception to Year 13. The service supports young people in education and those at risk of suspension or permanent exclusion. It uses a primary provider model: the successful provider manages the service and its network of creative mentors, delivering mentoring in person. Delivery is required across Derbyshire and, where children or young people are placed with other local authorities, across England. This is a health and social work service (CPV 85000000). The requirement is for one provider to coordinate and deliver the mentoring service rather than a framework of separate suppliers.

The procurement is complete and was awarded to The Mighty Creatives on 17 June 2026; the contract was signed on 20 July 2026. The contract runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2029, with three possible one-year extensions, subject to satisfactory performance, budget availability and continuing need, and a maximum end date of 31 August 2032. Its value is £1,872,000 gross. Derbyshire County Council used an above-threshold open procedure under the light-touch regime. Evaluation weighted quality at 70%, price at 25% and social value at 5%. Six bids were received and five reached the final stage, including three from SMEs and two from VCSEs. Economic and technical selection criteria applied. The service is identified as a recurring requirement.

This award indicates demand for a substantial, managed creative mentoring operation serving children and young people across a county and, where placements require it, England-wide. A credible competitor would need to provide and coordinate creative mentors, operate an effective primary-provider delivery model, and maintain enough network and management capacity to support up to 65 children or young people for up to one term at a time. Relevant experience should include working with children in care, Virtual School responsibilities, education settings and young people at risk of suspension or permanent exclusion. The competition also shows that smaller businesses and voluntary, community or social enterprises were considered suitable participants. Future credibility would depend on demonstrating strong service quality, technical delivery capability and measurable social value, alongside a competitive price.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision and Management of Creative Mentoring Service

Notice Description

Derbyshire County Council is seeking to commission a service to provide creative mentors for Derbyshire Children in Care and any other child or young person that falls within the scope of extended duties of the Virtual School from Reception to Year 13. The in-person mentoring service will be required regionally to Derbyshire and nationwide (within England) where children/young people are placed in other local authorities. The Virtual School requires the Provider to have the capacity of up to 65 children/young people receiving support for up to one term at any one time. The Provider will utilise a primary provider delivery model and will be responsible for managing the creative mentor service and network of mentors, taking the concept of the existing mentoring model to meet the needs of both children and young people in education and those who are at risk of suspension or permanent exclusion. (It should be noted that this contract may be affected by Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). In accordance with Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023, this contract may be novated to a successor council or otherwise modified to reflect the requirements of any new council arrangements arising from LGR. The exact nature of any modification or novation cannot be determined at this time, but such changes will be managed under both the Procurement Act 2023 and the contractual provisions)

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Three, 1 year extension periods are available, subject to satisfactory performance, budget availability and on-going requirements for the service.

Planning Information

The Soft Market information can be accessed via the following link: https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=bcc517a0-a6b0-f011-813a-005056b64545 The deadline for completion of the questionnaire is 10:00 on 17/11/2025

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-051308
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/069354-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85000000 - Health and social work services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£4,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£1,872,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£1,872,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£1,872,000 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
22 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
18 Feb 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
26 Feb 2026Expired
Award Date
17 Jun 20262 months ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 31 Aug 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
2029-01-21

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Derbyshire County Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
MATLOCK
Postcode
DE4 3AG
Postcode Area
Derby
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF1 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF13 South and West Derbyshire
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), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
Derbyshire Dales
Electoral Ward
Matlock West
Westminster Constituency
Derbyshire Dales

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

THE MIGHTY CREATIVES

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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