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Online Platform for Schools/students to prepare for and compare Higher Education and Apprenticeship Description of the goods or services required

Caerphilly County Borough Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

24 Jul 2026 at 13:02

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Caerphilly County Borough Council is planning to procure an online platform for pupils and staff in its nine secondary schools. The platform will help students explore career pathways, higher education and apprenticeships, including university subject areas, degree and degree apprenticeship courses, Oxbridge colleges and international courses taught in English. It should provide impartial guidance, explain the steps into each pathway, and allow users to search and filter course and apprenticeship data. It will also support recording activities, achievements, skills and qualities; preparing personal statements, CVs and references; and helping staff deliver careers guidance. Staff functions should include programme planning, resources, real-time monitoring, feedback, destination tracking and reporting. Delivery is across Caerphilly County Borough Council’s secondary schools.

This procurement is at the planning stage: the Council has announced its intention to buy and is seeking market input, not inviting tenders. One lot is planned, using a procedure and procurement approach that have not yet been settled in the published information. The estimated value is £60,000 excluding VAT (£72,000 including VAT). The planned contract period is 1 August 2027 to 31 August 2029. The Council expects a subsequent notice on 7 September 2026. Providers are asked to submit an expression of interest by Friday 7 August 2026 describing their proposed solution and any security standards held; the scheduled engagement milestone is recorded for 17 August 2026. The requirement is expected to be procured during the 2026–2027 academic year.

This will suit education technology providers offering a mature careers, higher education and apprenticeship guidance platform, particularly suppliers able to maintain broad, frequently refreshed UK and international course data and regularly updated live apprenticeship opportunities. Strong candidates will be able to combine student-facing search, pathway exploration and application preparation with school-wide planning, monitoring, reporting and destination-tracking tools. The service will need robust data protection and backup arrangements, compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation, and willingness to sign the Council’s Data Processing Agreement. Providers should be prepared to demonstrate relevant security standards, a sustainable product roadmap, ongoing evolution in response to client feedback, and capacity to support staff and students across nine secondary schools.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Online Platform for Schools/students to prepare for and compare Higher Education and Apprenticeship Description of the goods or services required

Notice Description

Online Platform for Schools/students to prepare for and compare Higher Education and Apprenticeship Description of the goods or services required The Council is seeking expressions of interest from suitable providers that are able to offer an online system that will be available to all students and staff within Caerphilly CBC's secondary schools-currently there are 9. The system shall need to be procured within the academic year (2026- 2027) to provide the following services: * A system that allows students to explore a range of career pathways in depth based on their expressed interests; these pathways to include details of all university subject areas and apprenticeship sectors * The system shall have up to date expert impartial advice and guidance built into it * The system shall be able to demonstrate to learners the necessary steps that need to be undertaken to access any given pathway * The system needs to provide a fully searchable directory of all UK University degree courses, EU university courses delivered through English, a wide range of US, Australasian and Asian university courses, Apprenticeships, Degree Apprenticeships and Oxbridge colleges * The system needs to be able to apply a wide range of filters to the data to allow students to quickly create short lists of potential options that they can then consider in more detail * The Council is looking for a system that will support learners in their preparation of applications for future education/careers; it shall: * Enable students to create a bank of activities they have undertaken or record achievements and from these identify the skills and qualities they have developed and demonstrated; the intended use of this material is to support the production of high quality personal statements and CVs 2.2 *The Council wish to see included a systematic approach to the writing of personal statements and CVs that may be used for a range of careers pathways be it HE via UCAS or overseas or Apprenticeship routes * The system shall also support the efficient production of references that would accompany the student applications * The system shall also provide support and planning functions to staff that have to work with students in helping them to reach high quality decisions on progression routes; these shall include: * Planning functions related to the delivery of careers and guidance programmes * Awide range of supporting resources * The ability to monitor student activity in real time through the applications process and provide feedback * The ability to monitor staff who are contributing to the process eg writing of references * The ability to monitor, track and report on the destinations achieved by students * The system must have the capability to update its data on a frequent basis so that it remains live and relevant; this is particularly the case for data on apprenticeships where we anticipate live opportunities across the UK will be posted on a regular basis e.g. weekly/monthly * The system must meet the requirements of General Data Protection Regulation (2018) with robust back up features. It shall be a condition of the contract that the successful provider must sign and agree to the Councils Data Processing Agreement * The system must have a sustainable future and be capable of further evolution in response to client feedback and internal Q Please can you provide your expression of interest to procurement@caerphilly.gov.uk no later than Friday 07 August 2026.

Planning Information

Providers must provide an expression of interest to procurement@caerphilly.gov.uk no later than Friday 07 August 2026 outlining their solution they can provide and any security standards they hold.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06d331
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070274-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems

CPV Codes

48000000 - Software package and information systems

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£60,000 Under £100K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
24 Jul 20262 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
7 Sep 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Aug 2027 - 31 Aug 2029 2-3 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
Caerphilly County Borough 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
HENGOED
Postcode
CF82 7PG
Postcode Area
Cardiff
Country
Wales
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLL Wales
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLL5 South East Wales
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLL53 Gwent Valleys
Delivery Location
TLL16 Gwent Valleys
Local Authority
Caerphilly
Electoral Ward
Ystrad Mynach
Westminster Constituency
Caerphilly

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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