--- title: "Services to maximise take-up of DfE's 2-year-old entitlement and deliver business support to early years providers" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-00819268-8845-491f-b82b-16191714eac0" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-00819268-8845-491f-b82b-16191714eac0" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-00819268-8845-491f-b82b-16191714eac0.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-00819268-8845-491f-b82b-16191714eac0.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION" published: "2020-10-12" --- # Services to maximise take-up of DfE's 2-year-old entitlement and deliver business support to early years providers Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-b5fd17-00819268-8845-491f-b82b-16191714eac0 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-00819268-8845-491f-b82b-16191714eac0) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-00819268-8845-491f-b82b-16191714eac0.json) ## Summary The Department for Education (DfE) is planning a procurement process for services aimed at maximising the uptake of its 2-year-old entitlement and providing business support to early years providers. The contract is categorised under education and training services, with an estimated value of £250,000. The anticipated contract period is from 16 November 2020 to 31 March 2021, with a future notice date set for 12 October 2020. Interested suppliers are required to register on the DfE's e-procurement system, Redimo 2, prior to a pre-tender briefing event held on 6 October 2020. This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in education and childcare consultancy, particularly those that can provide strategic insights and support to local authorities and childcare providers. Companies experienced in engaging with local governments and those offering training in business resilience, especially in light of challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, would be well-suited to apply. The successful bidder will play a crucial role in promoting the accessibility of early education entitlements, thus helping to shape the future of childcare services across various regions in the United Kingdom. ## Notice The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to notify the market of the Department for Education's (DfE) intention to undertake a procurement exercise for services to maximise take-up of DfE's 2-year-old entitlement and deliver business advice to early years providers from November 2020. The DfE currently funds three early education and childcare entitlements: - 15 hours for the most disadvantaged 2-year-olds - Universal 15 hours for all 3- and 4-year-olds - Additional 15 hours for eligible 3- and 4-year olds of working parents('30 hours'). The DfE intends to request quotations for the following services in two lots: Lot 1: working with local authorities (LAs) and family-facing professionals to maximise take-up of the 15 hours early education entitlement for the most disadvantaged 2-year-olds (referred to below as the '2-year-old entitlement'). We seek a supplier that will: a. share expert advice and best practice with all LAs in England on maximising take-up of the 2-year-old entitlement. b. provide focused and targeted interventions to those local authorities with low take-up rates or which require the most help to maximise take up of the entitlement. c. Advise family-facing professionals on strategies for engaging with parents and carers to promote the 2-year-old entitlement. Lot 2: promoting provider sustainability and childcare sufficiency by offering business advice to childcare providers and developing the business support skills of local authority officials. We seek a supplier that will: a. advise early years providers on good business practice and strategies for building resilience at a time when many will be revising their business models in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. b. build the confidence of local authority officials to have business support conversations with their local providers. Childcare providers are funded by LAs to deliver free entitlement places, so both are key stakeholders in ensuring that places are available for eligible parents. We anticipate that delivery of this work will begin in November 2020 and run until the end of the March 2021. Additional information: Please revisit this notice periodically for any updates regarding this opportunity. PRE-TENDER BRIEFING: A market briefing event was held at 15:00 on Tuesday 6 October. The Q&A from this event and slides are now available to download from the contracts finder page. To find out more about this opportunity and tender for the work, you will need to register in advance on the DfE's e-procurement system, Redimo 2 and then successfully gain membership to the Education and Children's Social Care Dynamic Purchasing System (the ECSC). You will need to register by no later than Friday 9 October 2020. This opportunity will be published under the category ECSC13. Registration with on Redimo 2 is a 4-stage process: - Stage 1 - Proactis Supplier Network registration - Stage 2 - Activate your Proactis account - Stage 3 - Select to engage with the DfE - Stage 4 - Apply for Membership of the DPS (please note that the guidance document states that this stage is optional, but for these particular vacancies you must complete this 4th stage). Please contact the Proactis helpdesk if you have any queries with registering your details on Redimo 2. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/24319891-f4f1-4458-85f9-caf28dd4a5a1 | | Notice type | Planned Procurement Notice | | Procurement type | Dynamic | | Procurement category | Not specified | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 12 Oct 2020 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 12 Oct 2020 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 16 Nov 2020 - 31 Mar 2021 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £250,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planned | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION | | Locality | SHEFFIELD | | Post town | Sheffield | | Postcode | S1 2FJ | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber | | ITL 2 | TLE3 South Yorkshire | | ITL 3 | TLE32 Sheffield | | Local authority | Sheffield | | Electoral ward | City | | Westminster constituency | Sheffield Central | | Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England) | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 80 - Education and training services ### Codes - 80000000 - Education and training services ## Release History - 12 Oct 2020 at 11:03 - Planning - Planned Procurement Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/24319891-f4f1-4458-85f9-caf28dd4a5a1 - 8 Oct 2020 at 11:48 - Planning - Planned Procurement Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/24319891-f4f1-4458-85f9-caf28dd4a5a1 - 21 Sep 2020 at 13:22 - Planning - Planned Procurement Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/24319891-f4f1-4458-85f9-caf28dd4a5a1 ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/24319891-f4f1-4458-85f9-caf28dd4a5a1 12th October 2020 - Future opportunity notice on Contracts Finder - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/about/procurement#redimo2 Redimo 2 link and guidance - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/49b362af-492e-4fb0-ac5a-32819254f29e n/a - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/603e6ee6-d677-4740-a672-3ec6946ac84a n/a ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-00819268-8845-491f-b82b-16191714eac0. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-00819268-8845-491f-b82b-16191714eac0.json.