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Kinship Support Service for Kinship Carers in England

Department for Education

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

17 Aug 2026 at 08:52

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

07 Aug 2026 at 10:40

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education is developing a national kinship support service for kinship carers and kinship families in England. The expected service scope includes peer support, information, advice, training and related support activities. The procurement is primarily an education and training service, with delivery across England. The work is intended to help kinship carers and families access practical guidance, learning and support. The Department is using market engagement to explore possible service delivery models, innovation opportunities and the capacity of suppliers to provide this support at a national level. This is relevant to organisations working in family support, kinship care, education, training, advice, peer networks or related children and families services.

This procurement is at the planning stage: the Department has stated an intention to procure but has not issued an invitation to tender. It is running pre-procurement market engagement through a questionnaire, written submissions and possible online market engagement events. The questionnaire is identified as SSQ_828 and has a planned response date of 21 August 2026. The Department expects a further notice by 18 September 2026. One planned lot covers a contract expected to run from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029, with a possible extension to 31 March 2030. The estimated value is £2.25 million excluding VAT, or £2.7 million including VAT. The lot is marked as suitable for SMEs and VCSE organisations.

The engagement is intended for suppliers that can support kinship carers and families through a combination of peer support, information, advice, training and related services. Organisations with experience in kinship care, family support, children’s services, adult or community learning, advice provision, training delivery or peer-network development are likely to be well placed to contribute. The Department is specifically seeking to understand market capacity, service delivery models and opportunities for innovation, so suppliers should be prepared to explain their operating model, geographic reach, partnership arrangements and approach to supporting families. SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises are identified as suitable participants. This stage is for market input and preparation, rather than submitting a contract bid now.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Kinship Support Service for Kinship Carers in England

Notice Description

The Department for Education is undertaking a market engagement exercise to inform the future procurement of kinship support services in England. The services are expected to provide support to kinship carers and kinship families, including peer support, information, advice, training and related support activities. The engagement will help the Department understand market capacity, service delivery models, innovation opportunities and potential procurement approaches.

Planning Information

This Prior Information Notice (PIN) is for information only, and the Authority reserves the right not to enter a formal procurement process and not award contract(s). The information contained in this notice, including information relating to the nature and scope of the Authority requirements, the service classification of this requirement of the list of CPV codes, is only indicative of the authority’s current thinking and is neither exhaustive nor binding. The Authority reserves the right at its absolute discretion to amend it at the time of issue of any further notices or at any other time. This PIN is not a binding statement of intent; it outlines the Authority’s intention to engage with the supply market on an open and formal basis to develop potential options for this scheme if that is what is decided. If you wish to submit answers to the questionnaire and are interested in attending an online market engagement event please register on the below link for our e-procurement system. Any questions must be asked through this portal. https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html The Department for Education is conducting a pre-procurement market engagement exercise to inform the future commissioning of kinship support services. Interested suppliers, including SMEs and VCSE organisations, are invited to participate. Engagement activities will include completion of a questionnaire, written submissions and/or market engagement events. Further details, including timings and instructions for participation of an online event, will be published through the Department's Jaggaer eSourcing portal after we have receieved back and analysed all questionaires from interested parties. The questionnaire will be accessible through SSQ_828 on the Jaggaer system.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ded0
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077927-2026
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
SME, VCSE
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
£2,250,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
17 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
18 Sep 20264 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 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
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
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
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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