Planning

Expanding Quality Early Education and Childcare Fund Manager and Investor - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) Notice

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

03 Nov 2025 at 11:09

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

03 Nov 2025 at 10:40

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education is seeking potential partners through its Preliminary Market Engagement for the "Expanding Quality Early Education and Childcare Fund Manager and Investor" initiative. As part of the planning stage, the Department invites organisations to participate in engagement events aimed at refining requirements for a Blended Finance Facility. These events include an in-person roundtable in London on 4th December 2025 and a webinar on 14th January 2026. Interested parties must register by 20th November 2025 and 12th January 2026, respectively. The engagement focuses on banking, investment, and financial management consultancy, covering various UK regions. This initiative targets expanding early years provision for disadvantaged children, with contracts expected to start on 1st June 2026.

This initiative presents substantial growth opportunities for fund managers and investors skilled in managing blended finance facilities and social investment funds. Specifically, businesses specialising in financial management and consultancy, particularly those adept at supporting not-for-profit and mission-driven organisations, will find this opportunity well-suited. Engaging with the Department for Education could offer strategic advantages in influencing funding mechanisms that aim to mitigate risk and enhance capital deployment, ultimately facilitating greater market presence and fostering community development through meaningful investments.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Expanding Quality Early Education and Childcare Fund Manager and Investor - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) Notice

Notice Description

Please note: This PME does not signify the commencement of any procurement process and does not constitute any commitment by the Department for Education (DfE). If the DfE decides to commence any procurement process subject to the Procurement Act 2023 as contemplated by this notice, a separate notice(s) will be published at the relevant time. This Notice has also been advertised on Find a Grant. Key definitions Throughout this notice, we use the terms not-for-profit, and for-purpose providers as defined below: Not-for-profit provider: An organisation that delivers childcare and early education services without distributing profits to owners or shareholders. Any surplus is reinvested to improve provision, staff, or community benefit. For-purpose provider: A mission-driven organisation - such as a social enterprise, charity, or Community Interest Company (CIC) - that may operate on a private business model but prioritises social impact. Profits are reinvested to achieve its educational or community-focused goals rather than maximise shareholder returns. The Purpose In partnership with Access - The Foundation for Social Investment, the Impact Investing Institute, and the Impact Economy Collective, the DfE is holding Preliminary Market Engagement events. The aim is to refine our requirements and gain a deeper understanding of the capacity and capability of potential partners to operate as Fund Managers for the DfE's Blended Finance Facility, enabling the expansion of Early Years provision for disadvantaged children aged 0-5. We would also like to speak with potential Fund Managers and Investors who have specific expertise in creating and/or investing in a Blended Finance Facility, to inform our understanding of how this vehicle could work. In recent years, we have seen a decline in the number of not-for-profit providers, especially in the most deprived areas. In order to increase places in deprived areas and as part of this government's commitment to public sector reform, we want to work with these providers - including charities and social enterprises - and alongside philanthropy and social investors to explore new ways for them to access the funding they need to expand, and to encourage new entrants into the market, for example through social investment funds. The purpose of creating a Blended Finance Facility is to help address key challenges in the sector through three mechanisms: risk mitigation, effective deployment of capital, and a demonstration effect to deliver Policy aims. Building on this vision, the idea is for the Fund Manager to develop a Blended Finance Facility that creates a funding mechanism providing sustained support to for-purpose providers. This will enable them to deliver our transformation goal by multiplying the impact of public spending, drawing in additional resources, managing risk, and strengthening local delivery infrastructure for the long term. Through this engagement, we aim to refine our approach and collaborate with the market to design a high-impact solution that delivers meaningful and lasting change. Background The government has set an ambitious mission to "Break Down Barriers to Opportunity," with a transformative goal of 75% of five-year-olds reaching a good level of development by 2028. However, England faces persistent gaps in early education and childcare provision that disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities and children with more complex needs, which could undermine this historic opportunity. Currently, the most deprived areas have around 32% fewer childcare places per child. These disparities mean the children who stand to benefit most from early education and childcare are least able to access it. Two of the key challenges are: 1. Geographic disparities - Parents in deprived areas are likely to rely more on government-funded entitlements where eligible, with less ability to pay additional fees. 2. Limited access to appropriate finance - One fundamental challenge is that lenders find it difficult to assess risk when 50-80% of provider revenue comes from government-funded entitlements that are only confirmed annually. Some providers have reported that when accessing finance, the cost and structure often make expansion unviable. We believe that opening or expanding into deprived areas may require lower interest rates and longer repayment periods than typically available to manage cash flow and achieve sustainable returns.

Planning Information

How to engage The events will be held in partnership with Access – The Foundation for Social Investment, the Impact Investing Institute, and the Impact Economy Collective, who are supporting the Department for Education on this project. We plan to hold an in-person Roundtable event on 4th December 2025 from 14.30 – 16.00 for Fund Managers and a Webinar with supporting a Questionnaire on the 14th January 2026 at 14.00 – 15.00. The Roundtable will be held in Central London; location details will be provided for in meeting invitations sent out separately once you register your interest. There are several ways to participate in this opportunity and register your organisation’s interest in attending the webinar: 1. If you are already registered on Jaggaer, please link through to project_10076 or ssq_646. 2. Please ensure full names, job titles and email addresses are provided via Jaggaer's messaging portal, for those who wish to attend. Please make sure to state which event you would like to attend. 3. We aim to ensure all relevant organisations have the opportunity to participate and have contacted organisations we are currently aware of, who are not registered on Jaggaer. If your organisation has not received an invitation, please email COMMERCIAL.ALTERNATIVEFINANCING@education.gov.uk, stating your organisation name, full names of attendees, job titles and email addresses of each attendee. 4. If you are not registered on Jaggaer and would like to set up an account for this engagement session, please view the “current opportunities” page at Jaggaer https://education.app.jaggaer.com and search for: project_10076 or ssq_646.” This is not necessary for this engagement but please note that all future communications with DfE in respect of additional market engagement will be held via Jaggaer. Once you have located project_10076 / ssq_646., please confirm your interest by selecting “Intend to Respond” and “Submit” to receive full access to the opportunity. All relevant documentation will be made available in the Data Room. Please ensure you submit your request to attend the Roundtable event no later than 20th November 2025 at 17.00. Entry for the Webinar will close on the 12th January at 16.00.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d8b3
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070368-2025
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

66 - Financial and insurance services

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

85 - Health and social work services

98 - Other community, social and personal services

CPV Codes

66100000 - Banking and investment services

66120000 - Investment banking services and related services

79412000 - Financial management consultancy services

85322000 - Community action programme

98000000 - Other community, social and personal services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
3 Nov 20253 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
12 Jan 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 May 2026 - 31 May 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
commercial.alternativefinancing@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), TLI London, 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. 

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