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Delivery partner for partnerships supporting early years-school transitions

Department for Education

This public procurement record has 5 releases in its history.

Award

11 Sep 2026 at 12:57

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
TenderUpdate

22 Jun 2026 at 15:00

UK4 - Tender Notice
Tender

19 Jun 2026 at 15:14

UK4 - Tender Notice
PlanningUpdate

09 Mar 2026 at 14:39

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

05 Mar 2026 at 14:52

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education procured a delivery partner for partnerships that support children moving from pre-reception early years settings into school. The service is intended to strengthen transitions, with particular attention to children with special educational needs and disabilities and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The partner will help partnerships plan and implement their approaches, encourage collaboration and the sharing of good practice, and support continuous improvement across the programme. It will also help maintain alignment with government priorities, strengthen governance and contribute to sustainable outcomes after the funding period. This is a nationwide education and staff-development service delivered across England, involving collaboration between early years settings, schools and partnership organisations.

The procurement is complete and was awarded through an open procedure. Six bids reached the final stage, including three from SMEs and two from voluntary, community or social enterprises. Mott MacDonald was awarded the single lot on 11 September 2026 for £1,635,588 excluding VAT, or £1,962,706 including VAT. The contract is scheduled to run from 2 November 2026 to 31 May 2029, with an option for a further 10-month extension to 30 March 2030. The original estimated value was £1,900,833.33 excluding VAT, or £2,281,000 including VAT. Bids were evaluated using a price-per-quality-point basis, weighted entirely to that criterion. Electronic submission in English was allowed, with payment terms of 30 days end-of-month.

This award indicates demand for organisations that can operate as a national education delivery partner rather than provide a narrow, standalone training service. A credible competitor would need experience supporting partnerships across early years and schools, translating strategy into practical delivery, and working with stakeholders around children’s transitions. Relevant strengths include expertise in SEND and disadvantage, facilitation of collaboration, sharing and embedding good practice, programme planning, implementation support and continuous improvement. The requirement also rewards organisations able to establish strong governance, align activity with public-sector priorities and demonstrate sustainable outcomes beyond funded activity. The competition attracted established large-supplier capacity as well as SME and voluntary-sector participation, suggesting that specialist providers or well-structured collaborative bids could be relevant when comparable work returns.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Delivery partner for partnerships supporting early years-school transitions

Notice Description

This Award Notice is in relation to the Department for Education procurement of a Delivery Partner to support effective delivery of partnerships that strengthen children's transitions from pre-reception early years settings into school. The partnerships will focus particularly on support for those children with SEND and from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Delivery Partner will play a central role in helping partnerships plan and implement their approaches, promote collaboration and good practice, and support continuous improvement across the programme. The Delivery Partner will also help ensure delivery aligns with priorities, maintains strong governance standards and contributes to sustainable outcomes for children beyond the funding period.

Planning Information

The Department will be hosting an online event which will take place on 17 March 2026. We may host a further market engagement event following this feedback. We will share a follow-up questionnaire shortly after (18 – 26 March 2026), and we will also be hosting 1:1 discussions w/c 30 March 2026 with interested suppliers, subject to completing the questionnaire. To register and receive an invitation to attend the event on 17th March - Please visit https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html - Scroll down to view opportunities and look for ssq_735 Once registered for ssq_735 please provide contact details for attendees using the messaging system within the ssq.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-066333
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/086394-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79633000 - Staff development services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,900,833 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£1,900,833 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£1,635,588 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
11 Sep 20265 days ago
Submission Deadline
20 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
11 May 2026Expired
Award Date
11 Sep 20265 days ago
Contract Period
2 Nov 2026 - 31 May 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
2026-09-17

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
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), 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

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Mott MacDonald

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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