Planning

Accredited learning programmes across the policy profession

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

This public procurement record has 8 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

26 Feb 2026 at 11:26

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
PlanningUpdate

26 Feb 2026 at 11:03

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

09 Feb 2026 at 13:36

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

04 Feb 2026 at 15:20

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

04 Feb 2026 at 15:18

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

02 Oct 2025 at 11:49

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
PlanningUpdate

19 Sep 2025 at 12:28

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Planning

19 Sep 2025 at 12:21

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education, a central government public authority located in London, is planning to develop and roll out accredited learning programmes targeted at policy professionals within the Civil Service. This substantial initiative, spanning regions across the UK, aims to upskill approximately 38,500 civil servants in the policy profession. The procurement process is currently in the planning stage, with an open procedure as the chosen method. The tender, valued at up to GBP 12,500,000, falls under the higher education services category. The process will conclude with a contract award by 17 August 2026, following a tender submission deadline on 30 June 2026. The programmes are projected to commence in September 2027 and will be accessible to civil servants in all government departments, enhancing policy development and delivery capabilities.

This forthcoming tender represents a significant opportunity for higher education institutions poised to offer postgraduate-level accredited programmes. Such institutions could leverage their expertise to develop curriculum aligned with the Policy Profession Standards, which may include a range of courses tailored for civil servant policy practitioners, policy experts, and Fast Streamers. With a focus on enhancing policy formulation and execution, businesses specialising in educational services, particularly those experienced in postgraduate programme design, are well-suited to participate, fostering growth through expansive collaboration with government entities. The initiative is geared towards policy improvement, promising impactful outcomes for the public and sustainable partnerships with civil service agencies.

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

Notice Information

Notice Title

Accredited learning programmes across the policy profession

Notice Description

The Civil Service Policy Profession consists of around 38,500 civil servants making it the second largest profession in government. It has a presence across the regions and nations of the UK. The work of policy professionals has a profound impact on the lives of people across the country. Upskilling policy makers will mean they develop better policies that will deliver better outcomes for the public. The Policy Profession Unit, which is part of the Department for Education but works on behalf of policy professionals across government, has responsibility for overseeing the development of the Policy Profession. This includes building the skills and capability of individual policy makers at different stages of their careers. We are seeking to partner with higher education institution(s) to develop and deliver, from September 2027, accredited programme(s) at postgraduate level that build the skills and capabilities of UK civil servants in line with the Policy Profession Standards. Please note, this notice is not being used to signify the commencement of any competitive process and does not constitute any commitment by the Department for Education. The Department for Education will hold this contract, however the programme(s) must be accessible to all civil service departments. Funding estimates included within this notice are based off of historic student volumes and spending. Actual contract value will be determined by actual student volumes that will be funded by individual departments. The Department makes no commitment at this stage to the final funding envelope for contractual activity. Please see the recording of the early market engagement event here: https://youtu.be/Buv5dtEd2_4

Planning Information

If you are interested in attending this market engagement please register via Jaggaer before the event at 15:00 on 18th February 2026. Once registered, the supplier event area can be accessed by clicking "View Opportunities" on the main page. By registering for this market engagement event, you acknowledge that the information shared through this market engagement is provided in confidence and must not be disclosed outside your organisation. Please ensure all attendees from your organisation are aware of and comply with this requirement. Please register for Jaggaer using the URL link below: https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html Following registration, you will receive a message via the Jaggaer portal asking you to confirm this acknowledgement. You must respond in confirmation to this message before an event invite will be issued. Participants who have registered an expression of interest will receive a link to join the session via Microsoft Teams. If you do not receive the invite at least 24hrs before the event, please also email Core.PROCUREMENT@education.gov.uk to ensure you receive joining instructions in time. The event will help attendees to: • Gain a better understanding of our requirements for the proposed accredited learning programmes and how they relate to the three levels of the Policy Profession Standards. • Gain a better understanding of expected delivery timelines • Provide feedback on the feasibility of the requirements, including any constraints or pressures that may affect them- You will have the opportunity to share this feedback through a Request for Information after the event. We are aiming to develop our requirements based on market feedback and ensure our requirement is clear at the time of tender to the market. • Gain a better understanding of Cabinet Office requirements around Modern Slavery and the planned Social Value criteria This preliminary market engagement notice is for information only and is not a call for competition. This is intended to inform the market of a potential procurement exercise to appoint suppliers to work with the Department on providing the outlined service. The Department reserves the right not to enter a formal procurement process and not proceed with contract award. Accordingly, the Department will not be liable for any bid cost, expenditure, work, or effort incurred by any organisation in acting on the basis of this preliminary market engagement notice All information included in this notice is indicative and subject to change and is neither exhaustive nor binding. The authority reserves the right at its absolute discretion to amend it at the time of issue of any further notices or at any other time.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-059e28
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017224-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80300000 - Higher education services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£12,500,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£12,500,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
26 Feb 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
30 Jun 20263 months to go
Future Notice Date
17 Apr 20262 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
30 Aug 2026 - 31 Aug 2032 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
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. 

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-059e28-2026-02-26T11:26:44Z",
    "date": "2026-02-26T11:26:44Z",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-059e28",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "planning": {
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "058129-2025",
                "documentType": "plannedProcurementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK3",
                "description": "Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058129-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-09-19T13:21:54+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "058130-2025",
                "documentType": "plannedProcurementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK3",
                "description": "Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058130-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-09-19T13:28:03+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "061682-2025",
                "documentType": "plannedProcurementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK3",
                "description": "Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/061682-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-10-02T12:49:34+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "010085-2026",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010085-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-02-04T15:18:38Z",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "010089-2026",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010089-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-02-04T15:20:35Z",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "011378-2026",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011378-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-02-09T13:36:29Z",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "017209-2026",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017209-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-02-26T11:03:05Z",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "017224-2026",
                "documentType": "plannedProcurementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK3",
                "description": "Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017224-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-02-26T11:26:44Z",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ],
        "milestones": [
            {
                "id": "engagement",
                "type": "engagement",
                "description": "If you are interested in attending this market engagement please register via Jaggaer before the event at 15:00 on 18th February 2026. Once registered, the supplier event area can be accessed by clicking \"View Opportunities\" on the main page. By registering for this market engagement event, you acknowledge that the information shared through this market engagement is provided in confidence and must not be disclosed outside your organisation. Please ensure all attendees from your organisation are aware of and comply with this requirement. Please register for Jaggaer using the URL link below: https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html Following registration, you will receive a message via the Jaggaer portal asking you to confirm this acknowledgement. You must respond in confirmation to this message before an event invite will be issued. Participants who have registered an expression of interest will receive a link to join the session via Microsoft Teams. If you do not receive the invite at least 24hrs before the event, please also email Core.PROCUREMENT@education.gov.uk to ensure you receive joining instructions in time. The event will help attendees to: * Gain a better understanding of our requirements for the proposed accredited learning programmes and how they relate to the three levels of the Policy Profession Standards. * Gain a better understanding of expected delivery timelines * Provide feedback on the feasibility of the requirements, including any constraints or pressures that may affect them- You will have the opportunity to share this feedback through a Request for Information after the event. We are aiming to develop our requirements based on market feedback and ensure our requirement is clear at the time of tender to the market. * Gain a better understanding of Cabinet Office requirements around Modern Slavery and the planned Social Value criteria This preliminary market engagement notice is for information only and is not a call for competition. This is intended to inform the market of a potential procurement exercise to appoint suppliers to work with the Department on providing the outlined service. The Department reserves the right not to enter a formal procurement process and not proceed with contract award. Accordingly, the Department will not be liable for any bid cost, expenditure, work, or effort incurred by any organisation in acting on the basis of this preliminary market engagement notice All information included in this notice is indicative and subject to change and is neither exhaustive nor binding. The authority reserves the right at its absolute discretion to amend it at the time of issue of any further notices or at any other time.",
                "dueDate": "2026-02-18T23:59:59+00:00",
                "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": "Core.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-059e28",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "Accredited learning programmes across the policy profession",
        "description": "The Civil Service Policy Profession consists of around 38,500 civil servants making it the second largest profession in government. It has a presence across the regions and nations of the UK. The work of policy professionals has a profound impact on the lives of people across the country. Upskilling policy makers will mean they develop better policies that will deliver better outcomes for the public. The Policy Profession Unit, which is part of the Department for Education but works on behalf of policy professionals across government, has responsibility for overseeing the development of the Policy Profession. This includes building the skills and capability of individual policy makers at different stages of their careers. We are seeking to partner with higher education institution(s) to develop and deliver, from September 2027, accredited programme(s) at postgraduate level that build the skills and capabilities of UK civil servants in line with the Policy Profession Standards. Please note, this notice is not being used to signify the commencement of any competitive process and does not constitute any commitment by the Department for Education. The Department for Education will hold this contract, however the programme(s) must be accessible to all civil service departments. Funding estimates included within this notice are based off of historic student volumes and spending. Actual contract value will be determined by actual student volumes that will be funded by individual departments. The Department makes no commitment at this stage to the final funding envelope for contractual activity. Please see the recording of the early market engagement event here: https://youtu.be/Buv5dtEd2_4",
        "status": "planned",
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "80300000",
                        "description": "Higher education services"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ],
        "value": {
            "amountGross": 12500000,
            "amount": 12500000,
            "currency": "GBP"
        },
        "procurementMethod": "open",
        "procurementMethodDetails": "Open procedure",
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
        "aboveThreshold": true,
        "submissionTerms": {
            "electronicSubmissionPolicy": "notAllowed",
            "languages": [
                "en"
            ]
        },
        "tenderPeriod": {
            "endDate": "2026-06-30T23:59:00+01:00"
        },
        "awardPeriod": {
            "endDate": "2026-08-17T23:59:59+01:00"
        },
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "status": "planned",
                "value": {
                    "amountGross": 12500000,
                    "amount": 12500000,
                    "currency": "GBP"
                },
                "contractPeriod": {
                    "startDate": "2026-08-31T00:00:00+01:00",
                    "endDate": "2032-08-31T23:59:59+01:00"
                },
                "suitability": {
                    "sme": true
                }
            }
        ],
        "communication": {
            "futureNoticeDate": "2026-04-17T23:59:59+01:00"
        },
        "amendments": [
            {
                "id": "017224-2026",
                "description": "Changes have been made to the notice to alter the expected tender publication date as well as correcting the expected contract award date. A UK2 notice has been published which is linked to this procurement: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017209-2026"
            }
        ]
    },
    "language": "en"
}