Planning

Delivering the Best Start in Life - Implementation Partner

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

26 Jan 2026 at 09:38

PlanningUpdate

23 Jan 2026 at 14:36

Planning

23 Jan 2026 at 14:27

Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education is engaging in early market dialogue to implement the "Delivering the Best Start in Life - Implementation Partner" project. This procurement process is in the planning stage, with an online engagement event scheduled for 4th February 2026. The initiative, primarily focused on education and training services, is set in regions across the United Kingdom including UKE, UKI, UKC, UKD, UKF, UKG, UKH, UKJ, and UKK. The main objective is to secure a partner capable of supporting local authorities in the delivery of the Best Start in Life programme, aiming to enhance early child development outcomes. Potential participants have until 29th May 2026 to engage with the planned procurement approach, which includes potential cooperation with SMEs and VCSEs.

This engagement provides a lucrative opportunity for businesses specialising in education and training services to expand their portfolio by partnering with a central government authority. It is particularly suitable for SMEs, VCSEs, and consortia interested in driving innovation in public sector projects. Businesses with expertise in strategic leadership, partnership development, and data-driven solutions will find this tender attractive as it aims to improve early childhood development and health outcomes. The procurement process welcomes suggestions to ensure cost-effectiveness and the advancement of bold, effective models.

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

D3 Tenders Premium

Win More Public Sector Contracts

AI-powered tender discovery, pipeline management, and market intelligence — everything you need to grow your public sector business.

Notice Title

Delivering the Best Start in Life - Implementation Partner

Notice Description

This notice seeks early market engagement for the Department for Education procurement of a implementation partner to support local authorities in delivering the Best Start in Life (BSiL) programme and achieving their statutory target to increase the number of children reaching a Good Level of Development (GLD) by 2028. We want to secure a partner that drives BSiL and Best Start Family Hub transformation and empower local authorities to: - Lead and drive bold, innovative local system transformation through strong leadership and partnerships, strategically targeting resources, assets, and expertise to maximise impact on early child development and health outcomes. - Deliver ambitious, high quality BSiL and Best Start Family Hub (BSFH) services that improve early child development outcomes for children and families in their local area. - Learn from, develop and share evidenced-based best practice to build local authority capability through a combination of tools, resources, tailored group and 1:1 support to enable effective data use, encourage innovation and address challenges in leadership, partnership working, workforce, and specialist areas including speech and language pathways, health integration, access, SEND and data sharing. We welcome suggestions on the most effective procurement approach to ensure value for money and support a bold and innovative model.

Planning Information

The Department will be hosting an online event which will take place on Wednesday 4th February 2026. If you are interested in joining this event, please use the link below to register via Jaggaer (see View Opportunities) https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html We intend to share the questions and answers from the events with all potential suppliers. We may host a further market engagement event following feedback from this event. Please Note: - This notice is for early market engagement and exploratory purposes and is not a call for competition. - The Department for Education reserves the right not to enter any formal processes or agreements. - Accordingly, the Department for Education will not be liable for any bid cost, expenditure, work, or effort incurred by a provider in acting based on this notice. We intend to share the questions and answers from the event with all potential suppliers. The opportunity is suitable for but not limited to SME's and VCSEs Consideration will also be given to consortia and collaborative bids from all forms of organisations.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-060d7c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006449-2026
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


CPV Codes

80000000 - Education and training services

Notice Value(s)

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

Notice Dates

Publication Date
26 Jan 20264 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
29 May 20264 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

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
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.

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-060d7c-2026-01-26T09:38:09Z",
    "date": "2026-01-26T09:38:09Z",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-060d7c",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "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": "PolicyAssurance.COMMERCIALQUERIES@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"
    },
    "planning": {
        "milestones": [
            {
                "id": "engagement",
                "type": "engagement",
                "description": "The Department will be hosting an online event which will take place on Wednesday 4th February 2026. If you are interested in joining this event, please use the link below to register via Jaggaer (see View Opportunities) https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html We intend to share the questions and answers from the events with all potential suppliers. We may host a further market engagement event following feedback from this event. Please Note: - This notice is for early market engagement and exploratory purposes and is not a call for competition. - The Department for Education reserves the right not to enter any formal processes or agreements. - Accordingly, the Department for Education will not be liable for any bid cost, expenditure, work, or effort incurred by a provider in acting based on this notice. We intend to share the questions and answers from the event with all potential suppliers. The opportunity is suitable for but not limited to SME's and VCSEs Consideration will also be given to consortia and collaborative bids from all forms of organisations.",
                "dueDate": "2026-05-29T23:59:59+01:00",
                "status": "scheduled"
            }
        ],
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "006251-2026",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006251-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-01-23T14:27:03Z",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "006261-2026",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006261-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-01-23T14:36:30Z",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "006449-2026",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006449-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-01-26T09:38:09Z",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ]
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "project_10114",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "Delivering the Best Start in Life - Implementation Partner",
        "description": "This notice seeks early market engagement for the Department for Education procurement of a implementation partner to support local authorities in delivering the Best Start in Life (BSiL) programme and achieving their statutory target to increase the number of children reaching a Good Level of Development (GLD) by 2028. We want to secure a partner that drives BSiL and Best Start Family Hub transformation and empower local authorities to: - Lead and drive bold, innovative local system transformation through strong leadership and partnerships, strategically targeting resources, assets, and expertise to maximise impact on early child development and health outcomes. - Deliver ambitious, high quality BSiL and Best Start Family Hub (BSFH) services that improve early child development outcomes for children and families in their local area. - Learn from, develop and share evidenced-based best practice to build local authority capability through a combination of tools, resources, tailored group and 1:1 support to enable effective data use, encourage innovation and address challenges in leadership, partnership working, workforce, and specialist areas including speech and language pathways, health integration, access, SEND and data sharing. We welcome suggestions on the most effective procurement approach to ensure value for money and support a bold and innovative model.",
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "80000000",
                        "description": "Education and training services"
                    }
                ],
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "UKE",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKI",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKC",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKD",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKF",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKG",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKH",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKJ",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKK",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKE",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKI",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKC",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKD",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKF",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKG",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKH",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKJ",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKK",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKE",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKI",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKC",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKD",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKF",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKG",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKH",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKJ",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKK",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ],
        "value": {
            "amountGross": 0,
            "amount": 0,
            "currency": "GBP"
        },
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
        "aboveThreshold": true,
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "suitability": {
                    "sme": true,
                    "vcse": true
                },
                "contractPeriod": {
                    "startDate": "2026-09-01T00:00:00+01:00",
                    "endDate": "2028-08-31T23:59:59+01:00",
                    "maxExtentDate": "2029-08-31T23:59:59+01:00"
                },
                "hasRenewal": true,
                "status": "planning"
            }
        ],
        "communication": {
            "futureNoticeDate": "2026-05-29T23:59:59+01:00"
        },
        "status": "planning"
    },
    "language": "en"
}