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Preliminary Market Engagement for Education Software Suite

Halton Borough Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

21 Sep 2026 at 14:19

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Halton Borough Council is exploring an integrated education services software suite to support its Education Services. The proposed solution would replace or provide an alternative to the Council’s current Access Synergy system, covering admissions, Early Years funding and provider management, free school meals, school access to admissions and entitlements, and special educational needs and disabilities. It would also cover pupil support services, education welfare, exclusions, alternative provision, elective home education, family hubs, entertainment licences and chaperones, together with flexible education case management. Required functionality includes referrals, assessments, plans, placements, funding, workflows, document management, correspondence, reporting and statutory returns. The Council wants a modern, secure platform that enables appropriate information sharing across services. Delivery is for Halton Borough Council in Halton, Cheshire.

This procurement is at preliminary market engagement and planning stage; it is not an invitation to tender. The Council is seeking information on available functionality, technology, integration opportunities, implementation approaches and indicative costs before deciding its future procurement. Suppliers are expected to complete and submit the engagement documentation through The Chest e-procurement facility, with questions and correspondence handled through its messaging function. The buyer’s scheduled submission deadline for the engagement response is 11am on 9 October 2026. The planned contract period is shown as starting and ending on 1 November 2026. The procurement is identified as software packages and information systems, with one planned lot. No contract value or budget is stated.

This engagement will suit suppliers of education management platforms, local-authority software and integrated case-management systems preparing for a future competition. Relevant capability includes end-to-end school admissions, Early Years and childcare funding, free school meals, SEND, pupil support, family hubs and education welfare functionality, alongside secure portals for schools, parents and professionals. Suppliers should be able to demonstrate configurable workflows, referrals, assessments, case records, chronology, document and correspondence management, alerts, audit trails, reporting and statutory data production. Integration experience is important, including data imports and exports, provider information, Ofsted feeds and information sharing across services. The Council is particularly interested in a single modern, secure platform covering children, young people, families, providers and cases.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Preliminary Market Engagement for Education Software Suite

Notice Description

Halton Borough Council is undertaking preliminary market engagement to understand the current software solutions available to support the delivery of its Education Services. The Council is currently an Access Synergy customer and is seeking to test the market and review the range of alternative solutions available. The purpose of this exercise is to understand current market capability, functionality, technology, integration opportunities, implementation approaches and indicative costs for a modern Education Services software solution. The Council is interested in solutions that can support a number of Education Service functions, ideally through an integrated platform. The anticipated scope includes the following key functional areas: * Admissions - supporting the end-to-end school admissions process, including applications, preferences, eligibility, allocations, offers, waiting lists, appeals, correspondence and reporting. Creation, export and importing of statutory admission files. * FIS / Early Years - supporting Early Years services, including funding, eligibility, applications, provider management, claims, payments, reconciliation and reporting, EY Census production. FIS Childcare Directory, 'OFSTED Feed' api data import * Free School Meals (FSM) - supporting applications, eligibility, verification, notifications, records and reporting. * SAM - supports the LA's Schools, (School Admissions Module), allows school to access their admissions round allocation and FSM entitlement for their children in Realtime. * SEND - supporting the end-to-end management of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities processes, including referrals, assessments, EHC needs assessments and plans, parent and professional portals, reviews, consultations, placements, provision, funding, correspondence, transport and statutory reporting (SEN2). * PSS - supporting Pupil Support Services requirements, including referrals, case management, interventions, actions, outcomes, professional involvement and reporting. Work of Education Welfare Team, penalty notices, Exclusions, AP, EOTAS, Elective home education, Entertainment Licences and chaperones * Children's Centres (Hubs) - capturing activity data across Family Hubs within the Borough and reporting. * EIS - Case Management - providing flexible case management functionality to support workflows, referrals, tasks, alerts, contacts, chronology, document management, correspondence, assessments, outcomes, audit trails and reporting. The Council is particularly interested in solutions that provide a single, modern and secure platform, enabling appropriate information to be shared across services and providing a consistent approach to the management of children, young people, families, providers, cases and associated information.

Planning Information

Access to the documentation to be completed and submitted is via The Chest e-procurement facility (www.the-chest.org.uk) Project ID - DN830291 All dialogue and correspondence must be via the portal, suppliers should use the 'messages' facility for questions/queries and the completed document with supporting information should be uploaded via the portal prior to the deadline at 11am on 09/10/2026.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-07768e
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089205-2026
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
Not specified
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
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
21 Sep 2026Today
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Nov 2026 - 1 Nov 2026 24 hours
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
Halton 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
WIDNES
Postcode
WA8 7QF
Postcode Area
Warrington
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD7 Merseyside
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD71 East Merseyside
Delivery Location
TLD71 East Merseyside
Local Authority
Halton
Electoral Ward
Central & West Bank
Westminster Constituency
Widnes and Halewood

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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