Planning

Suffolk Alternative Provision Tier One (Outreach) Service

SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

26 Nov 2025 at 17:17

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Suffolk County Council is in the planning stage of procuring the Suffolk Alternative Provision Tier One (Outreach) Service, with a focus on educational services to support children across all Key Stages in mainstream schools. The procurement aims to address emerging needs of vulnerable children promptly, promoting inclusion and reducing exclusions. The procurement falls under the 'Education and training services' and 'Health and social work services' industry categories, predominantly within the UKH14 region of the United Kingdom. The process is currently at the planning stage, with a market engagement event scheduled for 9th December 2025, and a preliminary engagement questionnaire deadline on 5th December 2025. The service is expected to commence on 1st September 2026, following the completion of the procurement process.

This tender represents a substantial opportunity for Ofsted registered educational settings, particularly those with experience in delivering bespoke interventions for young people with complex needs. With an estimated contract value of £1.6 million over a minimum two-year term, the procurement is open to SMEs and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs). The successful provider will have the chance to collaborate with schools, parents, and local agencies, making a positive impact on educational outcomes. This presents a strategic opportunity for businesses in the education sector to expand their offerings and engage in meaningful community work that contributes to the betterment of young people's futures.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Suffolk Alternative Provision Tier One (Outreach) Service

Notice Description

Suffolk County Council (SCC) is considering the procurement of an Alternative Provision Tier One (Outreach) Service. This involves delivering targeted early support within mainstream schools, supporting children across all Key Stages 1 - 4, to address emerging needs promptly. The goal is to provide assistance before challenges escalate for children, reducing the likelihood of exclusion and promoting inclusion within the mainstream educational environment. Timely outreach support and robust intervention with Children and Young People (CYP) to ensure they can succeed and remain in mainstream education will raise education attainment and skill levels. This is important as these CYP are often our most vulnerable in our communities and failure to secure a good quality educational offer can often lead to a reliance upon other services such as social care or mental health providers. The CYP who will be referred, and who will access the Tier 1 Outreach support, will have complex needs that will require the provider to tailor their approach to the individual needs of the young person. This will involve working in partnership with other agencies, schools and stakeholders as well as parents/carers and the young people themselves to ensure best outcomes. The primary objective of Tier 1 AP is to provide specific support around barriers to learning and enable pupils to remain in their referring school. The Special Educational Needs/Alternative Provision Service Development Team has a core focus on commissioning high quality educational provision for vulnerable and disadvantaged learners as well as ensuring that this cohort of pupils can make progress based on age, ability and prior achievement through easy access to a robust 'Local Offer' as set out in the SEND reforms (Special Education Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years). Historically there has been a significant increase in the number of young people permanently excluded across all Key Stages. Suffolk County Council has a continued commitment to provide the right intervention at the right time. As such, this Tier 1 AP Outreach programme can have a key impact to avoid exclusion.

Planning Information

Across SCC, we have been carefully considering our AP Strategy and how we further support children in Suffolk in line with the 3 Tiers of AP as defined by the DfE here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan With this in mind, we are hosting a market engagement event on MS Teams from 10am - 11am on Tuesday 9th December 2025. If you would like to attend and support the next steps in Alternative Provision for Suffolk's CYP, please email providerservices@suffolk.gov.uk to confirm your interest. Please note, it is envisaged that prospective bidders will need to be an Ofsted registered educational setting in order to be eligible for this contract. This, and any other Conditions of Participation, will be clearly set out in the tender documents and in the tender notice should we go ahead with the procurement. Interested parties are also invited to complete the following questionnaire (ideally by 12 noon on Friday 5th December): https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=7GqcEEZQlUqPPIT2O6GK9NucBo7UfLdKgWqPcZtBi1RUQUgyOURQTFIxTFlJVzdRSks0VDMxM1FLMC4u We are aiming for a Tier 1 Outreach offer to be able to support children across mainstream schools from 1 September 2026, with a contract running for a minimum of two years.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e9aa
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077438-2025
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

80 - Education and training services

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

80000000 - Education and training services

85000000 - Health and social work services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,333,333 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
26 Nov 20251 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
20 Feb 20263 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 Aug 2026 - 31 Aug 2028 2-3 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
SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
providerservices@suffolk.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
IPSWICH
Postcode
IP1 2BX
Post Town
Ipswich
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH6 Suffolk
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH62 Ipswich
Delivery Location
TLH14 Suffolk CC
Local Authority
Ipswich
Electoral Ward
Gipping
Westminster Constituency
Ipswich

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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