Planning

T Levels Generation 2 Wave 4

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Planning

25 Mar 2026 at 09:47

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

20 May 2025 at 13:31

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education, located at Sanctuary Buildings, London, is planning a procurement process for the T Levels Generation 2 Wave 4 project. This initiative focuses on the education and training services industry and is categorised under public authority central government activities. The procurement is currently in the planning stage, with a key milestone being the deadline for returning the T Levels Generation 2 Wave 4 survey set for 8 April 2026. The subsequent tender publication is provisionally scheduled for 3 August 2026. The procurement process aims to appoint Awarding Organisations responsible for developing and delivering these qualifications across various regions in the United Kingdom. The process is governed by the Procurement Act 2023 and seeks to establish public service concession contracts under an exclusive single licensing approach.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in education and training services, particularly those with expertise in developing qualifications and delivering educational content. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) are deemed suitable to compete. This procurement could promote business growth by engaging in a substantial contractual role that includes designing qualifications, providing educational materials, and delivering assessment services. Additionally, the project's scope, lasting until August 2036 with potential renewal, offers businesses long-term engagement, fostering collaboration and innovation in the education sector.

Find more tenders on our Open Data Platform.
How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

T Levels Generation 2 Wave 4

Notice Description

T Levels are a Qualification option for students in England aged 16-19. This notice is in respect of Generation 2 Wave 4 T Levels. This Preliminary Market Engagement notice and link to a survey document provides the opportunity to: 1. seek input from suppliers on the procurement approach and; 2. identify suppliers that may be able to supply the services; 3. ensure capacity among suppliers in relation to any contract awarded; 4. identify contractual terms and particularly those that may prove problematic; 5. help to confirm the procurement procedure, set any conditions required to participate and confirm award criteria; 6. prepare an appropriate tender notice and tender documents for issue to the market at large. 7. develop our requirements and approach to its procurement; This market engagement is about a future potential procurement and the intention will be to select and appoint Awarding Organisations (AO) to be responsible for developing and delivering the Generation 2 Wave 4 T Level Qualifications, under an exclusive single licensing approach. The expected scope of the role of the AOs is they would be responsible for; * designing the content of the qualification; * upskilling providers (further education schools and colleges); * providing of learning and teaching materials; * updating content; and * delivering qualification assessment services. All contracts will be public service concession contracts, governed by the Procurement Act 2023, as defined at Section 8 of the Act, to the extent that the same apply to services which such contract (or contracts) would relate. The current proposed approach may be modified or changed following receipt of the pre-market engagement feedback. To provide the Department for Education with feedback on the proposals please complete the survey at the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/Bv1mR4yNvt

Planning Information

Survey to be returned by midnight on the 8 April 2026. The following are provisional procurement dates you may find useful: 1. Deadline for the return of the T levels Generation 2 Wave 4 survey/request for information 8 April 2026 2. Tender publication 3 August 2026 These dates are provisional only to act as a guide and maybe subject to change. To provide the Department for Education with feedback on the proposals please complete the survey at the following link: T Level procurement expression of interest and feedback please fill in form: https://forms.office.com/e/Bv1mR4yNvt

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0518f7
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027154-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80000000 - Education and training services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£3,655,958 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
25 Mar 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
3 Aug 20264 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Jan 2027 - 31 Aug 2036 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
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
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), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

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. 

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-0518f7-2026-03-25T09:47:49Z",
    "date": "2026-03-25T09:47:49Z",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-0518f7",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "planning": {
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "023311-2025",
                "documentType": "plannedProcurementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK1",
                "description": "Pipeline notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/023311-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-05-20T14:31:30+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "027154-2026",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027154-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-03-25T09:47:49Z",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ],
        "milestones": [
            {
                "id": "engagement",
                "type": "engagement",
                "description": "Survey to be returned by midnight on the 8 April 2026. The following are provisional procurement dates you may find useful: 1. Deadline for the return of the T levels Generation 2 Wave 4 survey/request for information 8 April 2026 2. Tender publication 3 August 2026 These dates are provisional only to act as a guide and maybe subject to change. To provide the Department for Education with feedback on the proposals please complete the survey at the following link: T Level procurement expression of interest and feedback please fill in form: https://forms.office.com/e/Bv1mR4yNvt",
                "dueDate": "2026-04-08T23:59:59+01:00",
                "status": "scheduled"
            }
        ]
    },
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PDZG-3487-DPVD",
            "name": "Department for Education",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PDZG-3487-DPVD"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Sanctuary Buildings, 20 Great Smith Street",
                "locality": "London",
                "postalCode": "SW1P3BT",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKI32"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "tlevel.procurement@education.gov.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "id": "publicAuthorityCentralGovernment",
                        "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
                        "description": "Public authority - central government"
                    }
                ]
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-PPON-PDZG-3487-DPVD",
        "name": "Department for Education"
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-0518f7",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "T Levels Generation 2 Wave 4",
        "description": "T Levels are a Qualification option for students in England aged 16-19. This notice is in respect of Generation 2 Wave 4 T Levels. This Preliminary Market Engagement notice and link to a survey document provides the opportunity to: 1. seek input from suppliers on the procurement approach and; 2. identify suppliers that may be able to supply the services; 3. ensure capacity among suppliers in relation to any contract awarded; 4. identify contractual terms and particularly those that may prove problematic; 5. help to confirm the procurement procedure, set any conditions required to participate and confirm award criteria; 6. prepare an appropriate tender notice and tender documents for issue to the market at large. 7. develop our requirements and approach to its procurement; This market engagement is about a future potential procurement and the intention will be to select and appoint Awarding Organisations (AO) to be responsible for developing and delivering the Generation 2 Wave 4 T Level Qualifications, under an exclusive single licensing approach. The expected scope of the role of the AOs is they would be responsible for; * designing the content of the qualification; * upskilling providers (further education schools and colleges); * providing of learning and teaching materials; * updating content; and * delivering qualification assessment services. All contracts will be public service concession contracts, governed by the Procurement Act 2023, as defined at Section 8 of the Act, to the extent that the same apply to services which such contract (or contracts) would relate. The current proposed approach may be modified or changed following receipt of the pre-market engagement feedback. To provide the Department for Education with feedback on the proposals please complete the survey at the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/Bv1mR4yNvt",
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "80000000",
                        "description": "Education and training services"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1",
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "UKD",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKC",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKF",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKG",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKH",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKJ",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKK",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
        "specialRegime": [
            "concession",
            "lightTouch"
        ],
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "contractPeriod": {
                    "startDate": "2027-01-01T00:00:00+00:00",
                    "endDate": "2036-08-31T23:59:59+01:00",
                    "maxExtentDate": "2038-08-31T23:59:59+01:00"
                },
                "hasRenewal": true,
                "status": "planned",
                "suitability": {
                    "sme": true,
                    "vcse": true
                }
            }
        ],
        "communication": {
            "futureNoticeDate": "2026-08-03T23:59:59+01:00"
        },
        "status": "planned",
        "value": {
            "amountGross": 3655997,
            "amount": 3655958,
            "currency": "GBP"
        },
        "aboveThreshold": true
    },
    "language": "en"
}