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Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Inclusion Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework

Department for Education

This public procurement record has 6 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

05 Oct 2026 at 13:30

UK4 - Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

01 Oct 2026 at 13:45

UK4 - Tender Notice
Tender

01 Oct 2026 at 11:27

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

18 Aug 2026 at 16:29

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
PlanningUpdate

23 Apr 2026 at 16:28

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

03 Mar 2026 at 16:34

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education is buying education and training services to develop and deliver continuing professional development on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and inclusion across England. The work is intended to support workforce development and SEND reform. The framework covers school teachers and leaders, further education teachers and leaders, school teaching assistants, further education support staff, and provision spanning these audiences. Services may include research, content and course development, quality assurance, stakeholder engagement, participant recruitment, digital learning solutions and training delivery, with associated support. The framework will provide a route for future competitions as well as the initial contracts for teachers and leaders, teaching assistants and further education support staff. Suppliers can apply for one or more audience-specific framework sub-lots; a combined-audience sub-lot supports requirements that cross audience groups.

The buyer has invited offers through a two-stage competitive flexible procedure. Stage 1 appoints suppliers to the framework; successful suppliers for the relevant sub-lots may then compete for the initial contracts in Stage 2. Enquiries were due by 19 October 2026 at 23:59, and tenders by 29 October 2026 at 12:00. The framework is scheduled to run from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2031, with possible extensions to 31 March 2033. Its estimated maximum value is £781 million including VAT, covering initial requirements estimated at £430.54 million and future framework opportunities estimated at £350 million; this is not a spending commitment. Stage 1 uses pass thresholds; later evaluation is expected to assess quality and commercial factors to identify the most advantageous tender. Initial contract estimates and extension values are £165.5m/£346m for teachers and leaders, £35m/£70m for teaching assistants, and £6.95m/£14.54m for further education support staff.

The requirement suits providers with expertise in SEND and inclusive practice and the ability to develop, assure and deliver professional learning for education staff. Relevant strengths include research and content design, course development, stakeholder engagement, recruitment and onboarding, digital learning provision, and training facilitation. Suppliers can target the audience or audiences for which they have suitable capability; the combined-audience route is intended for providers able to support work spanning multiple groups. Small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises are considered suitable for the framework. Appointment depends on passing the supplier and conditions-of-participation requirements, meeting economic and financial standing requirements, reaching the minimum threshold across mandatory framework questions and meeting the threshold for at least one sub-lot question. Suppliers are approved only for services against which they meet the assessment requirements.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Inclusion Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework

Notice Description

The Department for Education (DfE) is procuring a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Inclusion Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework to support the Government's investment in workforce development and SEND reform across the education sector. The Framework will establish a route to market for the development and delivery of high-quality SEND and inclusion CPD services for education professionals and support future requirements during the Framework term. The Framework will be divided into the following Sub-Lots: * Sub-Lot 1.1 School Teachers and Leaders (PS40m) * Sub-Lot 1.2 Further Education Teachers and Leaders (PS23m) * Sub-Lot 1.3 Teaching Assistants (PS35m) * Sub-Lot 1.4 Further Education Support Staff (PS17m) * Sub-Lot 1.5 Combined Audiences (PS235m) The Framework will support the procurement of a range of SEND and inclusion CPD services, including research, content development, quality assurance, stakeholder engagement, digital learning solutions, participant recruitment and training delivery. The Department may commission services through future competitions conducted in accordance with the Framework Agreement. DfE is also procuring up to seven standalone contracts, each with an initial term of two years and the option to extend for up to a further two years (1+1 years), covering the following audiences: * Lot 2: School and Further Education Teachers and Leaders - up to five contracts will be awarded under this Lot, with an estimated initial term value of PS165,500,000 and an estimated maximum extension value of PS346,000,000. * Lot 3: Teaching Assistants - one contract will be awarded under this Lot, with an estimated initial term value of PS35,000,000 and an estimated maximum extension value of PS70,000,000. * Lot 4: Further Education Support Staff - one contract will be awarded under this Lot, with an estimated initial term value of PS6,950,000 and an estimated maximum extension value of PS14,540,000. The estimated total Framework value is PS781 million (inclusive of VAT) over the maximum Framework term and includes both the initial requirements (estimated at PS430,540,000) and any future opportunities awarded under the Framework (PS350,000,000). This value is an estimate only and does not constitute a commitment to spend. The contract dates in this notice relate to the Framework term. Individual contracts awarded under Lots 2-4 will be subject to their own contract terms.

Lot Information

School Teachers and Leaders

Provision of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and inclusion continuing professional development (CPD) services for school teachers and leaders. Services may include research, design, development, quality assurance, recruitment, digital services and delivery of SEND and inclusion CPD, together with associated support services, in accordance with the Framework Specification.

Renewal: 1+1 extensions available

Further Education Teachers and Leaders

Provision of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and inclusion continuing professional development (CPD) services for further education teachers and leaders. Services may include research, design, development, quality assurance, recruitment, digital services and delivery of SEND and inclusion CPD, together with associated support services, in accordance with the Framework Specification.

Renewal: 1+1 extensions available

School Teaching Assistants

Provision of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and inclusion continuing professional development (CPD) services for school teaching assistants. Services may include research, design, development, quality assurance, recruitment, digital services and delivery of SEND and inclusion CPD, together with associated support services, in accordance with the Framework Specification.

Renewal: 1+1 extensions available

Further Education Support Staff

Provision of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and inclusion continuing professional development (CPD) services for further education support staff. Services may include research, design, development, quality assurance, recruitment, digital services and delivery of SEND and inclusion CPD, together with associated support services, in accordance with the Framework Specification.

Renewal: 1+1 extensions available

Combined Audiences

Enables a single call-off for requirements spanning multiple audience groups. All Framework Suppliers appointed to Sub-Lots 1.1 to 1.4 will also be appointed to Sub-Lot 1.5.

Renewal: 1+1 extensions available

Planning Information

Open early engagement - This means that a procurement idea is currently active, it is in the early stage of development and judging interest from potential suppliers. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/200-million-landmark-send-teacher-training-programme On 16th January 2026, the government announced a £200 million investment in SEND teacher training. This landmark programme will develop and deliver continuing professional development (CPD) available to all education professionals. The CPD will deepen their knowledge of how to adapt their practice and improve inclusion in their educational setting, to better meet the needs of children and young people with SEND within the mainstream educational system. The package was described as including: •A package of high-quality training materials to be shared with every school and further education setting to support the delivery of training to all staff on SEND and inclusion. •New, free CPD courses for teachers and leaders in schools and further education settings. •Investment in training for teaching and learning support assistants ensuring support staff feel equipped and confident to support learners with SEND. •A new Early Years CPD programme, providing free, accessible training focused on inclusive practice, child development, and practical strategies for supporting children with SEND – available to all early years practitioners. The Department for Education (DfE) is commencing market engagement and seeking feedback to inform strategy and broad programme thinking currently in development across early years, schools and colleges. The projects are at various stages in development and have distinct requirements. This could include: Content development Materials production (primarily in relation to national training programmes, but also looking at materials to support schools and colleges to develop in-house professional development) Course development Participant recruitment and onboarding Developing digital platforms / hosting materials Training facilitation Policy areas in scope for this exercise are: Early years (course delivery commencing April 2027) Schools (materials for in-house professional development delivery launching September 2026; course delivery launching Autumn 2027) Further education (materials for in-house professional development delivery launching September 2026; course delivery launching Autumn 2027) Including School Teaching Assistants and FE support staff (course delivery launching Autumn 2027) We look to consult the market on how the provision could address the following audiences: Teachers (at all phases) Leaders (at all phases) School Teaching Assistants and FE support staff Early years practitioners Key commercial objectives of the engagement event are: Understand market capacity, capability and appetite for each requirement Obtain feedback on prospective commercial approaches Interested parties are invited to attend an online market engagement event to be held Tuesday 10th March, to hear further details about this opportunity and share thoughts and questions about the future programme through a feedback questionnaire. Please note, in the interest of fairness, attendance will be limited to 2 people per organisation. Follow up 1-2-1 interviews may be scheduled at the discretion of the Department, and further information on this will be shared during the event. DfE may also decide to host further engagement events prior to the launch of a formal tender process. Further details will be provided in due course. DfE reserve the right to utilise the below referenced SSQ and the suppliers registered to ciruclate additional questionnaires related to some or all of the projects detailed in this notice. This market engagement notice does not signify the commencement of any competitive process, nor does it constitute a commitment to any future procurement activity. To participate in this Market Engagement, participants must first be registered on the Department for Education eSourcing Portal Jaggaer. If you have not yet registered on the eSourcing Portal, this can be done online at https://education.app.jaggaer.com by following the link 'To register click here'. Navigate to ssq_762 and express your interest. For technical assistance on use of the eSourcing Portal, please contact the Jaggaer Supplier Helpdesk at customersupport@jaggaer.com or 0800 069 8630 (0800 - 1800hrs). If you are unable to attend the market engagement event, the slides and Q&A outcomes will be made available to you, provided you have registered your interest on Jaggaer prior to the event. All communication should be via the Jaggaer platform.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-066174
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093837-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
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
£624,800,000 £100M-£1B
Lots Value
£280,000,000 £100M-£1B
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
5 Oct 2026Yesterday
Submission Deadline
29 Oct 20264 weeks to go
Future Notice Date
8 Sep 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 2031 4-5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

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
Postcode Area
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), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), 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

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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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