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Early Years (EY) Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Provision of Phase 1 Materials and Training

Department for Education

This public procurement record has 11 releases in its history.

Award

13 Aug 2026 at 11:56

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

17 Jul 2026 at 14:56

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

26 May 2026 at 15:13

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

22 May 2026 at 11:07

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
PlanningUpdate

26 Mar 2026 at 12:40

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

24 Mar 2026 at 12:59

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

23 Mar 2026 at 12:45

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
PlanningUpdate

23 Mar 2026 at 12:28

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

23 Mar 2026 at 12:07

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

23 Mar 2026 at 11:42

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Planning

23 Mar 2026 at 11:29

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education procured online continuous professional development materials and training for early years practitioners on special educational needs and disability (SEND). The service covers children aged 0–4 and must be usable by practitioners at all qualification levels and across private, voluntary and independent settings, school-based nurseries and childminders. It requires an accessible, modular, self-paced online package with videos or webinars, at least 20 hours of learning, and content on inclusive practice, embedding inclusion in settings, and working with parents of children with SEND. Existing content could be combined with newly configured material. The service is delivered across the United Kingdom and falls within education and training services.

This above-threshold services procurement has been completed following an accelerated open procedure under the light-touch regime. One lot was awarded to Dingley’s Promise for £2,016,500 excluding VAT (£2,419,800 including VAT). The award date was 17 July 2026, and the contract was signed on 10 August 2026. The contract runs from 10 August 2026 to 30 September 2027, with renewal available for up to 12 months, to 30 September 2028. The original tender closed on 12 June 2026, clarifications closed on 5 June, and the award period ended on 15 July. Nine bids were received and two reached the final stage. Evaluation weighted mobilisation and delivery at 50%, subject matter expertise at 25%, digital requirements at 15% and social value at 10%.

This award indicates demand for suppliers able to provide a complete, scalable digital SEND learning service for the early years workforce, rather than classroom-only delivery. A credible competitor would need strong expertise in SEND for children aged 0–4, experience creating or adapting high-quality professional development content, and the capability to mobilise and deliver at national scale. The requirement favours providers able to combine a self-paced online platform with video or webinar content, meet accessibility standards, and make learning suitable for practitioners across varied settings and qualification levels. Evidence of effective engagement with parents, practical inclusive-practice guidance, measurable delivery arrangements and a clear social-value contribution would strengthen a future response to this buyer.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Early Years (EY) Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Provision of Phase 1 Materials and Training

Notice Description

Early Years (EY) Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Provision of Phase 1 Materials and Training Procurement Description This Tender Notice is in relation to the Department for Education Early Years (EY) Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Provision of Phase 1 Materials and Training. Department for Education are seeking to procure an online package of training with learning materials for early years practitioners on SEND and make this available and accessible for all early years practitioners from September 2026 for up to 12 months, with the possibility of extension on a quarterly basis for up to an additional 12 months if required The training should: Be specific to SEND in early years only, specifically ages 0-4. Be available and applicable to all early years practitioners, regardless of qualification level or setting type (PVIs, school-based nurseries, childminders etc.) and meet government accessibility standards. Be in an online, modular, self-paced format that users can revisit at their convenience with videos/webinars dispersed amongst the online learning. Provide a minimum of 20 hours of content, to enable and support learning beyond the level currently covered in the DfE's Early Years Child Development Training, module 8. Cover, at a minimum, content around inclusive practice and methods for embedding this within a setting and information/guidance on engaging with parents of children with SEND. A combination of existing and newly configured content is acceptable, provided mobilisation and outcomes requirements are met. =================================================================================== DfE uses Jaggaer e-procurement portal. Suppliers must register/log in to access the full ITT and submit a response. Please refer to ITT 3968. The Tender period is Tuesday 26 May and closes at 5pm on Friday 12 June. Clarification period will be until 5pm on Friday 06 June. Please submit Clarification Questions via Jaggaer messaging portal.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: up to 12 months, added on a quarterly basis if required

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. On 16th January 2026, the government announced a £200 million investment in SEND teacher training. The package was described as including: 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. We are currently also conducting separate market engagement on procurement for the creation of a new, more extensive package of training to become available from autumn 2027. Further, on the 23rd February 2026, as part of the SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First consultation document, it was published that all staff in early years will be entitled to receive high quality-training from September 2026. The Department for Education (DfE) is commencing market engagement and seeking feedback to inform interest from the market and viability of the requirements for the first phase of the investment. Interested parties are invited to attend an online market engagement event to be held 15th April 13:00-14:00 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. To reguster please clock on the following link https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html Select 'View opportunities' and SSQ 749 Early Years (EY) Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Provision of Pre‑Developed CPD Materials and Training Joining instructions can be found within the attachements section. 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. This market engagement notice does not signify the commencement of any competitive process, nor does it constitute a commitment to any future procurement activity.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-067130
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077181-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80000000 - Education and training services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£3,166,667 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£3,166,667 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£2,016,500 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£2,016,500 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
13 Aug 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
12 Jun 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
26 May 2026Expired
Award Date
17 Jul 20262 months ago
Contract Period
10 Aug 2026 - 30 Sep 2027 1-2 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

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
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Dingley's Promise

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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