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Regenerative Schools Pilot - Academic Assurance Partner

Department for Education

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Award

27 Aug 2026 at 16:23

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

08 Jun 2026 at 13:44

UK4 - Tender Notice
PlanningUpdate

13 Mar 2026 at 10:48

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

12 Mar 2026 at 18:49

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education procured an academic assurance partner for its Regenerative Schools Pilot, a programme to develop ultra-low-carbon school buildings and related retrofit and landscaping approaches in England. The requirement covers social, educational and behavioural research alongside advice on ultra-low-carbon materials. The appointed partner is expected to create a school-ready engagement toolkit, work inclusively with pupils, staff, governors, parents and communities, and turn their needs into design inputs for new learning spaces and retrofit strategies. It will also lead post-occupancy evaluation of environmental conditions, wellbeing, nature-connectedness and educational impact. Outputs will include feasibility evidence, guidance, publications, reports and case studies to inform future education-estate policy and designs.

The procurement is complete and one supplier was awarded the contract on 27 August 2026: Newcastle University. It used an open procedure. Four bids were received, including two from SMEs. The estimated value was £1,487,500 excluding VAT (£1,785,000 including VAT); the awarded value is £1,014,584.22 excluding VAT (£1,217,501.06 including VAT). The contract runs from 9 September 2026 to 31 March 2030, with an option for extensions of up to 13 months and up to £285,000 including VAT. Tenders were due by 3 July 2026, with clarification questions due by 17 June 2026. Evaluation weighted price at 30% and quality at 70%, covering team capability, engagement, placemaking, design assurance, delivery approach and social value.

This requirement indicates demand for organisations combining academic research with practical advice on low-carbon education environments. Credible competitors would need experience engaging schools and complex community and stakeholder groups, co-designing positive outcomes, and providing assurance or advisory services. Relevant strengths include placemaking in education settings, design-quality assessment frameworks, post-occupancy evaluation, environmental and wellbeing research, and translating evidence into guidance, case studies and policy. Suppliers would also need a suitably qualified, resilient and well-governed delivery team, with capacity to mobilise and maintain quality over a multi-year programme. Financial standing, UK GDPR capability, health and safety compliance, modern-slavery controls, Cyber Essentials and substantial employer’s liability, public liability and professional indemnity cover are required. The opportunity was suitable for SMEs and VCSEs.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Regenerative Schools Pilot - Academic Assurance Partner

Notice Description

The Department for Education and the Education Estates Strategy The Department for Education (DfE) is the UK government's Department responsible for the schools in England. As part of this role, we oversee the safety, condition, and long-term sustainability of the education estate. This includes ensuring that current and future school buildings are provided with safe, high-quality environments where children can learn and thrive. On 11th February 2026 the Department published its 10-year plan for the Education Estate, the Education Estates Strategy, A decade of national renewal. The Regenerative Schools Pilot was outlined within the strategy: "Testing new solutions, technologies and construction methods - we will continue to look at how we can go further for our future design specifications as part of a research and development programme supported by PS33 million to 2029-30. This will prioritise regenerative approaches looking at a wide range of outcomes from energy storage to bio-based construction materials, such as timber and working closely with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on the Timber in Construction Road Map." The Regenerative Schools Pilot, Introduction: The Department for Education intends to research, develop, and deliver a series of single and dual classroom, ultra-low-carbon school buildings under the Regenerative Schools Programme. This will be accompanied by a package of landscaping and retrofit interventions which will support biodiversity, passive heat-reduction (such as tree shading), fabric upgrades to existing buildings (cladding and windows), sustainable drainage systems and the creation of outdoor learning spaces. This programme will also produce case studies, guidance and resources for schools. This notice outlines the Department's intent to award a contract to the successful supplier for the Academic Assurance Partner role. As communicated in prior notices, we intend to publish a separate notice for the Innovation Lead role shortly. These organisations will produce feasibility studies, research the building materials and techniques required to produce ultra-low-carbon school buildings and develop 6 standard designs. Then, in 2027, the Department plans to appoint a contractor to deliver the works, using the materials and methods specified by the Innovation Lead and Academic Assurance Partner. Separate market engagement and tender events will be held for the construction contractor's appointment. The Academic Assurance Partner The Academic Assurance Partner will complement the Innovation Lead's technical work by focusing on the social, educational, and behavioural dimensions of the programme. You will use your research capabilities and academic expertise related to ultra-low-carbon materials to advise the Department and Innovation Lead. Your role will begin with the creation of a school-ready engagement toolkit and the delivery of inclusive engagement across the participating regions. This will involve working directly with pupils, staff, governors, parents, and other stakeholders to build a picture of community needs, aspirations, and challenges, ensuring these insights inform both retrofit strategies and the design of the new learning spaces. You will translate these findings into clear design inputs so that lived experience directly shapes feasibility work and guidance documents. As projects move into delivery and buildings begin to be used, the Academic Assurance Partner will lead a structured programme of post-occupancy evaluation, bringing together qualitative and quantitative evidence to understand how the new and refurbished environments perform in practice. Your work will consider internal and external environmental factors (such as air quality, temperature, and acoustics), wellbeing, nature-connectedness, and educational impact, helping the Department understand what works and where further development may be required. The insights you produce will be shared through publications, reports, and case studies, contributing to future policy and guidance for the wider education estate. Working with the Innovation Lead The Innovation Lead and Academic Assurance Partner are intended to operate in parallel, each with a distinct focus but with close coordination throughout. The Innovation Lead will ensure technical feasibility, safety, and low-carbon performance, while the Academic Assurance Partner will ensure that the programme responds to the needs and experiences of the schools and communities involved. Together you will provide the Department with the combined academic, social, and technical expertise required to develop a set of replicable, ultra-low-carbon solutions that are grounded in real-world school environments and capable of informing future national delivery. For the avoidance of doubt, the publication of this notice triggers the mandatory 8 day standstill period and this period will end at 17:00 on 08/09/2026.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: The Department reserves the right to extend this agreement for a period or periods of up to a maximum of 13 months in total. Any Extension Periods may be exercised in whole or in part, at the Department's discretion. These Extension Periods may utilise up to an additional PS285,000, inclusive of VAT.

Renewal: The Department reserves the right to extend this agreement for a period or periods of up to a maximum of 13 months in total. Any Extension Periods may be exercised in whole or in part, at the Department's discretion. These Extension Periods may utilise up to an additional PS285,000, inclusive of VAT.

Planning Information

1. Meet the Buyer event and questions session The Department will be hosting a presentation via Microsoft Teams on the dates below: 20th March 2026, 11:00-12:00 (deadline to register: 19th March 2026 at 15.00) 25th March 2026, 13:00-14:00 (deadline to register: 24th March 2026 at 15.00) During this event, relevant DfE stakeholders will outline our requirements, explain the needs of each role, and set out the indicative timeline and procurement approach. There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the session. The deadline to register for this event via Jaggaer is listed above. To register for this event, you will need to create a Jaggaer account and then access our opportunity notices to register on Event 3906 - Regenerative Schools Pilot - Academic Advisor. You will then be sent a link to the event. The deadline to register for this event via Jaggaer is listed above. 2. Market Engagement Questionnaire After the Meet the Buyer event, the Department will publish a Market Engagement Questionnaire. This Questionnaire will allow you to ask the DfE any questions that you may not wish to raise in a public forum. These questions will be anonymised and included within our tender clarification log, and answers will be circulated prior to tender publication if timelines allow. You will also be able to share any insight you feel would support the development of the requirement. This questionnaire will be sent to all supplier who have registered on Event 3906 - Regenerative Schools Pilot - Academic Advisor on 20th March. It will be open until the afternoon of 1st April. The Market Engagement Questionnaire will be hosted via Microsoft forms. 3. Accessing Jaggaer Jaggaer Registration – All of the Department’s tenders are run via Jaggaer, our E-tendering platform. If you are not registered to this platform, you will need to sign up in order to access our market engagement events and take part in tenders. If you are not yet registered, we advise that you register as soon as possible. The registration process takes between 5 to10 minutes. Link to Jaggaer: https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html Accessing the opportunity notice – When within Jaggaer, you will be able to access our Event 3906 - Regenerative Schools Pilot - Academic Advisor. Via the opportunities panel. Link to panel: https://education.app.jaggaer.com/esop/guest/go/opportunity/detail?opportunityId=60878

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06690c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081929-2026
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

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services

CPV Codes

71313000 - Environmental engineering consultancy services

73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

73100000 - Research and experimental development services

73110000 - Research services

73200000 - Research and development consultancy services

73210000 - Research consultancy services

73300000 - Design and execution of research and development

90700000 - Environmental services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,487,500 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£1,487,500 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£1,014,584 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
27 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
3 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
17 Apr 2026Expired
Award Date
27 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Contract Period
9 Sep 2026 - 31 Mar 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

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
TLD North 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

Newcastle University

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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