Planning

Class Support

STUDENT LOANS COMPANY

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

25 Nov 2025 at 08:12

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Student Loans Company is undertaking a procurement process titled "Class Support", focused on cloud-based platform design to update their ageing application, CLASS. This initiative is within the services industry, aiming to modernise their Pay and Repay services by reducing reliance on physical data centres. Currently, in the planning stage, the procurement aligns with the UK government's Cloud First approach. The estimated contract value is £1,500,000, with a gross amount of £1,800,000, and the contract period is expected to start on 1st March 2026 and conclude on 28th February 2029. Premarket engagement has been completed via the CCS Framework RM6292, and a future notice is anticipated on 5th January 2026.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in cloud computing, platform interconnectivity software development, and related services. Companies involved in modern cloud solutions and IT infrastructure management would find this a lucrative avenue for growth, given the focus on decreasing dependency on traditional data centres. Additionally, firms familiar with government or public sector projects, particularly those listed on the CCS Framework RM6292, are well-positioned to compete effectively in this procurement process. These opportunities align with delivering innovative platform solutions that cater to public authority central government requirements, thus enabling business expansion in a strategic and governmental context.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Class Support

Notice Description

CLASS is an ageing bespoke application and supported by ageing on premise hardware and virtualisation. It is the key function for Pay and Repay services. SLC strategy is to reduce reliance on physical data centres, and technology which needs to be renewed, maintained, and supported. Hosting CLASS on the Cloud will reduce reliance on data centres and the associated effort to support them. The proposal aligns with overall government Cloud First approach and modernises the technology which supports CLASS. The requirement shall be for the design and procurement of a cloud based platform in order to meet SLC requirements in an ongoing basis. This is a retrospective notice as premarket engagement was undertaken by issuing a premarket engagement questionnaire to all companies listed on CCS Framework reference RM6292 (Cloud Compute 2) Lot 1 -Core Services. The questionnaire was issued via the Delta Esouring portal on 21/07/2025 and closed on 11/08/2025

Planning Information

A premarket engagement questionnaire was issued to all companies listed on CCS Framework reference RM6292 Cloud Compute Services 2 Lot 1 (Core Services) on 21/07/2025 and ended on 11/08/2025.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e7e5
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/076682-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

72212211 - Platform interconnectivity software development services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,500,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
25 Nov 20251 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
5 Jan 20262 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Mar 2026 - 28 Feb 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
STUDENT LOANS COMPANY
Contact Name
Kenneth McKay
Contact Email
kenneth_mckay@slc.co.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
DARLINGTON
Postcode
DL1 1RW
Post Town
Darlington
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLC North East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLC3 Tees Valley
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLC33 Darlington
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Darlington
Electoral Ward
Red Hall & Lingfield
Westminster Constituency
Darlington

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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