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Provision of Educational Psychology Advice to address backlog

Wakefield Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

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22 Oct 2026 at 08:45

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Council of the City of Wakefield commissioned specialist educational psychology assessment services to help clear a backlog of statutory Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessments. The work supports timely assessment, statutory compliance, service performance and the identification of children and young people’s needs. It is an education and psychological assessment service, delivered in Wakefield. The requirement is for professional capacity to carry out EHCP assessments, rather than general school teaching or clinical services unrelated to those assessments.

The procurement is complete and was awarded directly to Olive Psychology Ltd. The Council used a direct award under the Procurement Act 2023, citing extreme and unavoidable urgency: a shortage of qualified educational psychologists, rising EHCP demand and competition for available capacity meant a competitive process could not meet the immediate need. The award value is £400,000 gross. The contract period runs from 22 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. The award is recorded as pending; the planned signature date was 22 October 2026. One lot was used, marked suitable for SMEs. The published procurement information does not state a separate evaluation or award scoring basis.

For suppliers that did not receive this award, it demonstrates Wakefield Council’s need for additional qualified educational psychology capacity to complete statutory EHCP assessments and address backlogs. A credible provider for a future requirement would need appropriately qualified educational psychologists and the ability to deliver assessment work at pace, while maintaining quality and supporting statutory timescales. The Council used an urgency-based direct award because of pressure on the market and the need for immediate capacity, so suppliers able to mobilise quickly and show they can deliver reliably at meaningful scale would be well placed. The requirement was structured as one lot and was considered suitable for SMEs, indicating that smaller specialist providers may be able to compete where they can meet the service need.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Educational Psychology Advice to address backlog

Notice Description

This contract provides specialist educational psychology assessment services to support the delivery of statutory Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessments. The contract will support the timely completion of assessments, helping to ensure compliance with statutory timescales, maintain service performance, and reduce the risk of delays in identifying the needs of children and young people

Procurement Information

The Council intends to award a contract directly to Olive Psychology under Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 and Schedule 5, Paragraph 13 (Extreme and Unavoidable Urgency). This direct award is necessary to secure immediate Educational Psychology capacity to support the Council's statutory duty to complete Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessments within prescribed timescales. The requirement has arisen due to exceptional market pressures, including a shortage of qualified Educational Psychologists, increasing demand for EHCP assessments, and significant competition for available capacity. These circumstances have created an urgent operational need that cannot be addressed through a competitive procurement process within the required timescales. Failure to secure additional capacity immediately would place the Council at significant risk of breaching statutory EHCP timescales, further reducing performance levels and delaying the identification and support of children and young people with additional needs. It would also increase the risk of regulatory scrutiny, Ombudsman complaints, compensation payments, and reputational damage.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-078d67
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/099745-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

80100000 - Primary education services

80200000 - Secondary education services

85121270 - Psychiatrist or psychologist services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£400,000 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
22 Oct 20265 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
22 Oct 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 1-6 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Wakefield 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
WAKEFIELD
Postcode
WF1 2HQ
Postcode Area
Wakefield
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLE Yorkshire and The Humber
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLE4 West Yorkshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLE45 Wakefield
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Wakefield
Electoral Ward
Wakefield North
Westminster Constituency
Wakefield and Rothwell

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

OLIVE PSYCHOLOGY LTD

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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