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Provision of a Service Desk

OFSTED

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

21 Jul 2026 at 14:25

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Ofsted intends to procure a fully managed IT service desk for its staff and other users across England. The service will be the single point of contact for around 4,000 people to report IT problems, ask questions and submit service requests, resolving issues at first contact wherever possible. It will support home-based, office-based and remote users through telephone, a service portal and webchat, using Ofsted’s own ServiceNow system to record contacts. The provider will log, categorise and prioritise calls, investigate issues, communicate clearly with users and support teams, and coordinate several support teams so that response times and service levels are achieved. This is an IT support service, classified under CPV 72000000, delivered across the English regions covered by the procurement.

The procurement is at the planning stage: Ofsted is carrying out pre-market engagement to shape a pending tender and has already completed its expression-of-interest exercise with suppliers on the Technology Services 4 framework. It expects to begin the procurement as soon as practicable in 2026, although the engagement notice does not guarantee that a procurement exercise will follow. The intended route is the GCA Technology Services 4 framework, RM6190, Lot 3a for lower-value and lower-complexity end-user services, with engagement limited to suppliers on that framework. The planned contract is expected to run from 1 April 2027 to 30 March 2030, with renewal provisions allowing the period to extend to 30 March 2032. The procurement is above the applicable threshold.

This will suit an established managed service desk or end-user support provider able to operate a multi-channel front line for a large user base. Relevant preparation includes demonstrating practical ServiceNow capability, telephone, portal and webchat support, structured call logging and prioritisation, first-contact resolution, incident investigation and clear user communications. Suppliers should be able to coordinate multiple technical support teams, manage escalations and work consistently against response times and service-level agreements. The requirement is likely to favour organisations with sufficient operational capacity for home, office and remote users across England, together with experience of integrated service management and performance control. Participation is currently directed to suppliers appointed to the Technology Services 4 framework, Lot 3a, so framework status is central to preparation for any later competition.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of a Service Desk

Notice Description

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is issuing this notice to notify the market to that we are engaging with suppliers on the Technology Services 4 (RM6190) to help shape a pending tender process for the provision of a fully managed Servicedesk. The current contract that Ofsted has for providing this service is due to end in March 2027 and Ofsted are looking to start pre market engagement with suppliers in the market. Ofsted intends to appoint a supplier to deliver a fully managed Servicedesk that will be the single point of contact for circa 4000 individuals to report IT issues, raise queries, submit requests, and where possible have them resolved at first contact. Our Service Desk provider will be responsible for: * supporting a range of home, office, and remote based users, using the Ofsted-owned ServiceNow instance to log contacts via multiple communication channels, including telephone, service portal and webchat * logging, categorising, and prioritising all calls, carrying out initial investigations and resolving at first contact wherever possible, and providing clear and effective communications to Ofsted users and support teams * co-ordinating the delivery of services provided by multiple support teams to ensure response times and SLAs are met, escalating when necessary Ofsted is therefore looking at running a procurement exercise, starting as soon as is practicable in 2026, for a supplier to provide this service. Our chosen route to market will be via GCA (formerly CCS) Framework Technology Services 4 (RM6190) Lot 3a End User Services (lower value and complexity) and engagement is currently limited to suppliers on this Framework.

Planning Information

Ofsted issued an Expression of Interest to RM6190 Framework suppliers on 21st April 2026, with a deadline of 6th May 2026. Ofsted will now undertake some pre-market engagement sessions with suppliers who responded to the EOI. Ofsted do not guarantee that this exercise will result in a procurement exercise.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06cff5
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/068746-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

CPV Codes

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
21 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2027 - 30 Mar 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
OFSTED
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
CANARY WHARF, LONDON
Postcode
E14 4PU
Postcode Area
East London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI42 Tower Hamlets
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
Tower Hamlets
Electoral Ward
Canary Wharf
Westminster Constituency
Poplar and Limehouse

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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