Tender

Provision of Payroll Services for St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust

ST THOMAS CATHOLIC ACADEMIES TRUST

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

10 Dec 2025 at 17:04

Tender

03 Dec 2025 at 10:16

Summary of the contracting process

The St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust is seeking suitable providers in the payroll services industry to manage payroll and pension administration for its expanding network of schools. The procurement process is active and operates under a competitive flexible procedure, part of the Light Touch Regime. The Trust aims to secure services that effectively cater to the nuances of multiple pension schemes across different local areas. The contract is valued at £550,000, with key stages including a Procurement Specific Questionnaire followed by an Invitation to Tender. Expression of interest submissions are due by 7 January 2026, with the contract period set from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2029, extendable up to two additional years.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in payroll and personnel services, particularly those experienced in managing diverse pension schemes and offering integrated HR and financial software solutions. Enterprises that can provide a flexible, efficient payroll management system with advanced data interrogation capabilities are well-positioned to meet the Trust's evolving needs as it adds schools to its network. The emphasis on quality and cost in the award criteria suggests that competitive pricing combined with high service quality will be critical to winning the contract.

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Notice Title

Provision of Payroll Services for St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust

Notice Description

St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust is undertaking this procurement process to source a suitable provider that can operate all aspects of the Trust's payroll and pension administration for all their schools and any schools that may join the Trust in the future. Over the past few years the Trust has changed significantly by growing to 17 schools and as such the requirements of the payroll and personnel services have evolved, and now the Trust is moving to re-tender the contract to meet new demands. Each school is responsible for managing their workforce and checking payroll data, with top-level oversight coming from the Trust. STCAT schools are based within varying areas which means that the support staff workforce is enrolled in various pension schemes with differing local authorities. A provider who can understand these nuanced differences and ensure that the service is flexible yet remaining consistent, will be paramount to the success of the contract. Amongst current frustrations is the lack of easily accessible and interrogable workforce data and a lack of interoperability between the HR/Payroll service and other core systems such as the school MIS, or financial management software. Although not a firm requirement, it would be beneficial if the new service could offer such functionality. The number of schools is due to increase shortly from 17 to 20, plus the Central Team, and the Trust requires a system to manage that change.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Up to 2 year extension, on a +1year, +1year basis.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05eda3
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081700-2025
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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


CPV Codes

79211110 - Payroll management services

79631000 - Personnel and payroll services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£550,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
£550,000 £500K-£1M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
10 Dec 20252 months ago
Submission Deadline
5 Jan 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 Aug 2026 - 31 Aug 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Active
Lots Status
Active
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
ST THOMAS CATHOLIC ACADEMIES TRUST
Additional Buyers

PANACHE CREATIVE LIMITED

Contact Name
Payroll Procurement Team
Contact Email
gailheath@panacheconsultancy.co.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LUTON
Postcode
LU4 0PF
Post Town
Luton
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK73 Gloucestershire CC
Delivery Location
TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire

Local Authority
Tewkesbury
Electoral Ward
Badgeworth
Westminster Constituency
North Cotswolds

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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