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The Howard Academies Trust ~ Catering Tender

The Howard Academies Trust

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

31 Jul 2026 at 13:32

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

04 Mar 2026 at 15:43

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Howard Academies Trust is procuring school catering services for its primary and secondary schools: Deanwood Primary, Thames View Primary, Temple Mill Primary, Waterfront UTC and The Howard School in Medway; The Abbey School in Faversham, Kent; and Hurstmere School in Bexley. The AP/SEN school is excluded. The requirement covers preparing and serving fresh, nutritious meals on site, including meals for pupils receiving free school meals and those with dietary requirements. The Trust wants a consistent, good-quality food offer across all schools, with particular improvement in the primary schools and UTC, where uptake and quality have underperformed. The service should use seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, support pupil needs and tastes, and contribute to the Trust’s values and Every Child Matters principles.

The procurement has reached award stage. Olive Dining Ltd was selected for the single lot on 8 July 2026, at an awarded gross value of £7,700,000. The award is pending completion of the standstill period, which ends on 12 August 2026; contract signature is scheduled for 13 August 2026. The contract period is 1 November 2026 to 31 August 2029, with a stated option for a further two-year extension to 31 August 2031. It used an above-threshold open procedure described as a competitive flexible procedure. Enquiries closed on 2 April 2026 and tender submissions closed on 5 June 2026. Six bids were received, with one reaching the final stage. Evaluation weighted quality at 70% and price at 30%.

This award demonstrates substantial, multi-school demand for managed education catering from The Howard Academies Trust, covering around 5,300 pupils and 850 staff across schools with different age groups, needs and eating preferences. A credible future competitor would need proven experience delivering consistent, nutritious school meals at scale, while improving uptake and quality in weaker-performing settings. Relevant capability includes on-site kitchen production, fresh seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, menu development for varied dietary requirements, and effective support for free school meal provision and pupils with SEN-related needs. Suppliers should be able to work collaboratively with school leaders, demonstrate innovation and financial viability, and deliver against guaranteed-performance requirements on a nil-cost-or-better basis.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

The Howard Academies Trust ~ Catering Tender

Notice Description

The Howard Academy Trust is a Multi Academy Trust, 9 schools, 4 of which are secondary schools (including 1 UTC), 4 primary schools (2 X 1 FE and 2 X 2 FE) and 1 AP/ SEN school. For the purposes of this tender all primary and secondary schools are included, but the AP/ SEN school is not. THAT educates around 5300 pupils and has a staff workforce of around 850. The Trust expects further growth within the period of the contract. Our schools are across 3 local authorities, albeit all in proximity as below: *Medway- Deanwood Primary School, Thames View Primary School, Temple Mill Primary School, Waterfront UTC and The Howard School *Kent- The Abbey School Faversham *Bexley- Hurstmere School Our Trust vision is "Working together to build a community of successful learners" and our values are: Inclusivity, Dignity, Respect and Ambition. To deliver our vision and values it is imperative that we appoint a caterer who delivers high quality meals across the Trust, ensuring pupils and particularly those that are free school meals receive a high quality, fresh, nutritious meal. A key focus of this tender is ensuring a consistent high quality food offer, that is financially viable whilst boosting uptake and quality, particularly in Medway schools, where this is generally underperforming. The Howard Academy Trust expects the successful contractor to enable the continued development of catering through the provision of an innovative, healthy food service, with fresh, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients being prepared on-site. The Trust expects the successful tenderer to evidence, through their bid, how they shall support and complement its values and support the principles of Every Child Matters. Our current student body is comprised of 73.9% males, 26.1% females. Our average Free School Meals is 23.8% with ever 6 being 24.3%. 20.5% of pupils have some level of SEN need. The successful contractor will build on a strong offer including current good quality, variety and uptake at The Abbey School and Hurstmere School. Whilst substantially improving uptake and quality across the primary schools and UTC, ensuring a high-quality consistent offer that meets the needs and tastes of a wide range of pupils, including those with dietary requirements. We welcome innovation and are keen to work in a highly collaborative way with the contractor to ensure the best offer possible for our pupils. Currently we have three caterers, all of whom have agreed to a termination date of 31/10/2026. This contract will therefore run for 2 years and 11 months from the start of Term 2 in the 2026/27 academic year which is 01/11/2026 (with the first day school day being 02/11/2026) running to 31/08/2029 with the option for the Trust to take out a plus two-year extensions. We would like to make clear that our intention is to form a lasting relationship with a successful caterer who we are determined to take the two-year extension with and hopefully to be in a strong position We have made substantial investment in our kitchens over the last two years with PS80k invested in equipment during 2024/25 and up to PS80k being further invested in 2025/26. We are looking for tenders that deliver a nil cost or better on a guaranteed performance basis. Please see PSQ Document for more information.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: +2 Please see PSQ Document for more information.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-066265
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/072717-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

CPV Codes

55524000 - School catering services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£7,700,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£7,700,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£7,700,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
31 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
5 Jun 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
8 Jul 20262 months ago
Contract Period
1 Nov 2026 - 31 Aug 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
The Howard Academies Trust
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
KENT
Postcode
ME4 4FQ
Postcode Area
Rochester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ4 Kent
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ41 Medway
Delivery Location
TLJ4 Kent
Local Authority
Medway
Electoral Ward
St Mary's Island
Westminster Constituency
Rochester and Strood

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Olive Dining Ltd

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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