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Select List of Alternative Education Provision for the Woodlands

Durham County Council

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

TenderCancellation

09 Sep 2026 at 08:19

UK12 - Procurement Termination Notice
Tender

18 Jun 2026 at 09:44

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

09 Jun 2026 at 10:50

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Durham County Council sought education and training services for The Woodlands through a select list of alternative education providers. The provision is intended to re-engage excluded and vulnerable pupils, support their individual needs and help them progress towards employment, training or further education. Providers would deliver a coherently planned curriculum linked to the National Curriculum and The Woodlands’ shared curriculum, nationally accredited qualifications, structured personal responsibility and health education, and careers advice. Placements combine academic learning from Monday to Wednesday with vocational learning from Thursday to Friday, normally from 9.30am to 2.30pm. The service would be delivered for pupils in County Durham, with potential use by other educational establishments and council services across the county.

The procurement reached tender: the council invited offers through an open procedure under the light-touch regime, with electronic submission allowed in English. The tender deadline was 18 July 2026 at 10.00am, and the stated award decision date was 7 August 2026. The estimated value was £52,000,000 including tax. The contract period was 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2030, with two optional 24-month extensions potentially taking it to 31 August 2034. The arrangement included a framework and one lot. Evaluation used essential pass/fail questions, with price recorded for information. The procurement was cancelled following an internal review by Durham County Council; the cancellation decision was recorded on 7 September 2026.

This opportunity suits alternative education providers, specialist schools, vocational training organisations and other small or larger organisations able to support excluded pupils and pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Providers need to offer a structured, coherently planned curriculum, nationally accredited qualifications and vocational activity, while building pupils’ self-esteem, confidence, communication, responsibility and social skills. The service also requires careers advice, preparation for employment, training or further education, and the ability to work with The Woodlands’ curriculum. A provider delivering a full-time five-day education placement must be Ofsted-registered. Suppliers should be able to respond flexibly to changing pupil demand, scale provision when required and work across multi-agency commissioning involving education inclusion, SEND, safeguarding, youth justice or early help services.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Select List of Alternative Education Provision for the Woodlands

Notice Description

The Government strongly believes that every child deserves an education that enables them to fulfil their potential, whatever their background, needs or location in the country. Alternative Provision (AP) plays a critical role in making this happen. It provides support to children at challenging moments in their lives and each placement has the potential to transform a child's life chances - 'Creating opportunity for all' Our vision for alternative provision March 2018 1. Many young people accessing alternative provision make up some of the most vulnerable children in our society and are affected by a number of wider issues, which impact on their ability and willingness to engage in learning. 2. The purpose of alternative provision is to re-engage excluded pupils in their education. The ultimate goal of this work is to help these young people achieve all that they are capable of in their studies and prepare them for future life. 3. Durham County Council coordinates a Directory of Alternative Provision Providers. This Directory of Alternative Providers offers the Woodlands a range of providers from which they can select to make a placement. The Woodlands will determine where to place a pupil based on an individual pupil's needs. Delivery of Provision Placements follow a Monday-Wednesday academic focus and Thursday-Friday vocational focus. Provision hours: 9:30 am - 2:30 pm; unless agreed otherwise. Providers deliver: A coherently planned curriculum linked to the National Curriculum and The Woodlands shared Curriculum for block bookings Nationally accredited qualifications PRHSE through structured lessons Careers advice (2 opportunities per key stage) Focus areas include: Building self-esteem, confidence, and communication Encouraging responsibility and social skills Supporting SEND pupils Preparing pupils for employment, training, or further education Providers must be Ofsted-registered to offer a full-time 5-day education placement.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: The Council reserves the right, in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and the principles applicable to Light Touch Regime services, to modify the Contract without the requirement for a new procurement exercise. From the 2027/2028 academic year onwards, it is highly likely that additional funding will be available to extend use of this contract for use by other educational establishments in County Durham. Such modifications may arise where: * Wider Council services (including, but not limited to, education inclusion, SEND, safeguarding, youth justice, or early help services) require access to the provision in order to deliver integrated support to children and young people. The Provider shall be required to deliver the modified Services in accordance with the Contract, subject to: * Agreement of any associated changes to the Contract Price and throughput assumptions; * Compliance with the Council's contract change control and governance processes; and * Confirmation that the modification does not materially change the overall nature of the Contract or distort competition. The Council makes no guarantee as to the volume or extent of any such modifications. Bidders must therefore ensure their proposals demonstrate sufficient flexibility, scalability, and capacity to respond to fluctuating demand and multi-agency commissioning approaches typical of alternative provision and inclusion services.

Renewal: 2 periods of 24 months allowable extension subject to budget and commissioner approval

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06b096
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085154-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK12 - Procurement Termination Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
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
£52,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£52,000,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
9 Sep 20263 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
18 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
15 Jun 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 31 Aug 2030 4-5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Durham County Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
DURHAM
Postcode
DH1 5WB
Postcode Area
Durham
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLC North East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLC41 Durham
Delivery Location
TLC14 Durham
Local Authority
County Durham
Electoral Ward
Framwellgate & Newton Hall
Westminster Constituency
City of Durham

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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