Planning

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Managed Payroll Services for Multi Academy Trust

Broad Horizons Education Trust

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

11 Sep 2026 at 14:48

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Broad Horizons Education Trust is exploring a managed payroll service for its multi-academy trust. The service would cover monthly payroll processing for an estimated 1,408 employees across 18 academies or sites, together with administration, returns and compliance for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and Local Government Pension Scheme. Required functionality includes support for teaching, support-staff, apprentice and off-scale pay grades; automatic application of pay awards, increments and back-pay calculations; and employee access to payslips, P60s and personal-detail updates. The service should integrate with the Trust’s HR and finance systems and with Arbor, its management information system, to provide a single source of data for reporting and data flows. This is a payroll and personnel service delivered across the Trust’s UK education estate.

This procurement is at the planning stage and the Trust is conducting preliminary market engagement, not inviting tenders or awarding a contract through this phase. It expects to use supplier briefings, optional one-to-one discussions or demonstrations, and a questionnaire to inform the eventual scope, specification, procurement strategy, pricing model, implementation plan, risks and performance measures. The buyer’s indicative timetable is market engagement in September to October 2026, followed by finalisation of the specification and tender documents in November and December 2026, with tender and award expected in January and February 2027. The anticipated service period is 1 September 2027 to 31 August 2030, with renewal provisions allowing extension to 31 August 2032. The estimated value is £250,000 excluding VAT, or £300,000 including VAT.

The engagement will suit established payroll bureaux, managed-service providers and specialist education-sector payroll platforms able to support a multi-academy trust at this scale. Strong candidates should be able to deliver a seamless transition, take full responsibility for monthly payroll, and demonstrate detailed operational knowledge of both Teachers’ Pensions and LGPS administration, returns and compliance. Relevant experience with multi-academy trusts and education pay structures will be important, including automated pay awards, varied increment dates, back-pay, leavers’ backdated awards and contracts where increments are withheld. Providers should also prepare to explain integration with HR, finance, Arbor and employee self-service systems, alongside implementation timescales, data migration, reporting, risk controls and commercial pricing models. The market engagement is an opportunity to shape these requirements before the later competition.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Managed Payroll Services for Multi Academy Trust

Notice Description

Broad Horizons Education Trust is currently exploring options for the future provision of its payroll services commencing in September 2027. The Trust currently has an estimated headcount of 1408 employees across 18 sites/academies, processed on a monthly pay cycle. The purpose of this Request for Information is to engage with potential suppliers prior to any formal procurement to: Inform our procurement strategy, scope, and specification. Gauge market interest, capacity, and capabilities. Understand standard market pricing models, implementation timelines, and risk mitigation strategies. The primary objectives of this engagement are to: Gauge current market interest, capacity, and capabilities across service delivery models Seek supplier feedback to refine and finalize the procurement strategy, technical specification, and performance KPIs. Understand commercial and pricing models. Inform system integration requirements to ensure a successful go-live for September 2027. Key operational requirements include: Full and seamless transition Full management processing of monthly payrolls. Comprehensive public sector pension scheme administration, returns, and compliance-specifically Teachers' Pensions Scheme (TPS) and Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Pay scales - To be able to cope with Teaching pay scales, support staff pay scale, apprenticeships plus off-scale pay grades where needed Pay awards and increments To be able to apply pay awards to current staff automatically For back pay to be automatically calculated To be able to chose to backdated pay awards to some leavers To be able to apply increments at different dates for some staff To be able to apply 'No Increment' for specific contracts Integration capability with existing HR and Finance systems and simple data input Integration with MIS - currently Arbor - to provide a 'single source of truth' from which reports and data flows Access for Employees - To efficiently be able to download payslips, P60s etc. To efficiently be able to update personal details, including bank account details Knowledge and experience working with MATs in the education sector. Please email procurement@bhetrust.co.uk for further details and a questionnaire.

Planning Information

The Trust may hold a supplier briefing and optional one-to-one discussions and/or demonstrations. This is not a call for competition and no contract will be awarded through the PME. Phase 1 Publication of Preliminary Market Engagement Notice (Sept 2026) Phase 2 Preliminary Market Engagement (Sept - Oct 2026) Phase 3 Finalisation of Specification & Tender Documentation (Nov - Dec 2026) Phase 4 Tender and award (Jan - Feb 2027) Please email procurement@bhetrust.co.uk for further details and a questionnaire.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f846
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/086505-2026
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
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

79211110 - Payroll management services

79631000 - Personnel and payroll services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£250,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
11 Sep 20264 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Sep 2027 - 31 Aug 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
Broad Horizons Education Trust
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
NORWICH
Postcode
NR3 4BX
Postcode Area
Norwich
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH5 Norfolk
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH51 Norwich and East Norfolk
Delivery Location
TLJ South East (England)
Local Authority
Norwich
Electoral Ward
Sewell
Westminster Constituency
Norwich North

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

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.

Loading OCDS record...