Planning

PE and School Sport Partnership Network - Market Engagement Event

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

10 Sep 2025 at 16:27

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

10 Sep 2025 at 15:07

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education is overseeing a significant procurement initiative titled "PE and School Sport Partnership Network - Market Engagement Event," focusing on delivering educational and training services across the UK. This initiative, in the planning phase, aims to enhance physical education and sports in schools, addressing inequities in access for disadvantaged children and girls. Key activities include a virtual engagement event scheduled for 24th September 2025, followed by personalised supplier meetings. The procurement, scheduled for implementation from April 2026, will last until March 2029, with a possible extension to March 2030. Potential bidders must register their interest by joining the preliminary market engagement discussions facilitated through Microsoft Teams and the DfE's e-procurement portal, Jaggaer.

This procurement offers substantial business growth opportunities, particularly for enterprises capable of managing large-scale educational projects. With a potential contract value of up to £45 million over three years, this initiative is suited for businesses specialising in educational consultancy, project management, and operational services related to sports and physical activity. The procurement encourages participation from SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs), supporting diverse engagement and innovation in educational frameworks. The strategic national delivery partner selected will play a pivotal role in developing a national infrastructure, leveraging a multi-million budget to elevate PE standards and accessibility in England.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

PE and School Sport Partnership Network - Market Engagement Event

Notice Description

THIS IS AN INVITATION TO A MARKET ENGAGEMENT EVENT Physical Education is a mandatory part of the school curriculum, and many schools also offer extracurricular physical activity and sporting opportunities. However, evidence shows that access to high-quality PE, school sport, and wider physical activities is not equitable. Too many children, particularly girls and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are missing out on meaningful opportunities to participate, progress, and benefit from sport and physical activity, both in school and in their communities. To address this, the Department for Education actively supported by the Department for Health and Social Care and Department for Culture Media and Sport is seeking to procure a national delivery partner to design, implement, and manage a PE and School Sport Partnerships Network across England. The aim is to establish a new local partnerships network to support schools to consistently deliver high-quality experiences in PE, sport, and physical activity. The network will focus on three core areas: A) Support reintegrating PE, Sport and physical activity into Core Curricular and Extracurricular Activities for All Pupils to access: - Ensuring schools are supported to embed physical education, physical activity and sport into curricular and extracurricular programmes, fostering holistic development for every student. - Focussing on strong school-community links to maintain activity levels beyond the core school day. - Demonstrating co-design and collaboration with schools, communities, national governing bodies and parents. - Emphasising equal and fair access for girls and disadvantaged pupils. - Providing targeted support within a universal offer, including flexibility to meet evolving local needs. B) Elevate the Quality and Standards of PE Experiences for All Pupils - Enhance the quality and standards of physical education by emphasising the importance of early positive relationships with physical activity, through structured and engaging experiences that promote physical literacy principles from a young age. - Emphasis on upskilling the school workforce, engaging volunteers, and ensuring diverse representation. Ensure children with SEND are central to the new model (including children with long-term health conditions or mental health conditions). C) Expand Access to High-Quality PE, Sport, and Physical Activity Opportunities - Increase the availability and accessibility of physical education, sports, and physical activity opportunities, ensuring every student has equal opportunity to participate and benefit from high-quality experiences. - Include a robust monitoring and evaluation framework to track engagement, impact, and long-term change, whilst avoiding overburdening schools. A strategic national delivery partner will be awarded a contract up to PS45m over a 3-year period to design, implement, and manage a national infrastructure which we are currently calling the PE and School Sport Partnerships Network which will focus on enhancing PE, physical activity and school sport across England. This national delivery partner through robust processes, governance and clear accountability will be responsible for the allocation, management and distribution of a significant multimillion budget which will be confirmed following Departmental funding processes. Funding will support targeted provision in local areas where it can have the greatest impact, particularly in increasing physical activity among the least active children.

Planning Information

Purpose of this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice The Department for Education (DfE) is issuing this notice to initiate market consultation regarding a potential procurement opportunity for the development of a new PE and School Sport Partnership Network. Objectives of the notice 1. Raise awareness of a potential future procurement opportunity and allow suppliers time to engage with the Department and each other to explore delivery options. 2. Inform the market that DfE will be conducting market consultation activities over the coming weeks to: 3. Gather insights into the supply market. 4. Explore potential delivery models and their associated benefits. 5. Identify risks and issues relevant to service mobilisation and contract. Market Engagement Activities DfE will host a virtual engagement event via Microsoft Teams, followed by optional 1:1 commercial-in-confidence meetings with interested suppliers. Main Event: Wednesday, 24th September 12:00 PM – 13:00 PM Microsoft Teams - Joining instructions will be provided to all interested suppliers prior to the market engagment event. 1:1 Sessions: These meetings will offer suppliers the opportunity to seek clarifications and highlight aspects of the procurement that are of particular interest. How to Register If you wish to attend the event, please register via DfE’s e-procurement portal, Jaggaer, and send your contact details (name and email address) using the messaging function. Please also indicate whether you would like to attend a follow-up 1:1 session. Once registered against the PE and School Sport Partnerships Network opportunity, you will be able to: 1. View messages posted by DfE. 2. Submit queries related to the market engagement and upcoming procurement. Post-Engagement Communication Following the consultation period, DfE intends to share a summary of the main session outcomes with all interested suppliers. NOTE: This PME does not signify the commencement of any procurement process and does not constitute any commitment by the Department for Education to progress with the procurement process.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0597df
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/055601-2025
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

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

75 - Administration, defence and social security services

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

72224000 - Project management consultancy services

75121000 - Administrative educational services

80000000 - Education and training services

80490000 - Operation of an educational centre

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£45,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
10 Sep 20255 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
11 Nov 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
contactschoolscommercial@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
Not specified
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. 

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