---
title: "project_9776 - SEN Longitudinal Study"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-5abdfe56-1d26-48c5-a94b-208496ac2419"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-5abdfe56-1d26-48c5-a94b-208496ac2419"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-5abdfe56-1d26-48c5-a94b-208496ac2419.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-5abdfe56-1d26-48c5-a94b-208496ac2419.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Department for Education"
published: "2026-09-24"
---

# project_9776 - SEN Longitudinal Study

Buyer: Department for Education  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-5abdfe56-1d26-48c5-a94b-208496ac2419

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## Summary

The Department for Education commissioned a longitudinal research study of children and young people with special educational needs. The work follows three pupil cohorts through key educational stages: early years and Key Stage 1, the transition from primary to secondary school, and the transition after age 16. This is a research and development service, including related consultancy, intended to build evidence on the experiences and outcomes of learners with special educational needs. The study has broad geographical coverage, including the United Kingdom and other locations internationally. The buyer is based in London; delivery is not confined to a single named locality.

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded to the National Centre for Social Research. The award was made on 9 September 2026, for £14,499,024. The contract runs from 9 September 2026 to 31 March 2030. The procurement used a selective route as a call-off from a framework agreement. The submission deadline was 29 April 2026. The requirement was treated as a single service procurement, covering the three cohorts and educational transitions in the study. The opportunity was identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises. The award records an active contract and names the National Centre for Social Research as the selected supplier.

For future work of this kind, credible competitors will need to design and deliver a longitudinal cohort study involving children and young people with special educational needs across multiple stages of education. The requirement points to capability in research design, sustained participant follow-up and analysis across early years, primary-to-secondary transition and post-16 transition. Suppliers would also need the capacity to manage a broad study spanning the UK and other locations, and to provide research and related consultancy at substantial scale. The Department for Education’s use of a framework call-off shows that experience of competing for and delivering work through frameworks is relevant. The award to the National Centre for Social Research demonstrates that a specialist research organisation was selected for this study. SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises were considered suitable to participate.

## Notice

To provide a new longitudinal cohort study focusing on children and young people with special educational needs (SEN). The study will follow three cohorts of pupils with SEN across different educational stages - early years/KS1, primary to secondary transition, and post-16 transition.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/1e7977a0-3af0-4a29-97c4-ff1eb229be6e |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Call-off from a framework agreement |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 24 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 9 Sep 2026 |
| Contract period | 9 Sep 2026 - 31 Mar 2030 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £14,499,024 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £14,499,024 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Department for Education |
| Locality | LONDON, |
| Postcode area | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 3BT |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | National Centre for Social Research |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 24 Sep 2026 at 11:19 - AwardUpdate - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/1e7977a0-3af0-4a29-97c4-ff1eb229be6e
- 23 Sep 2026 at 15:30 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/1e7977a0-3af0-4a29-97c4-ff1eb229be6e

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/1e7977a0-3af0-4a29-97c4-ff1eb229be6e
  24th September 2026 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/a1230664-eb5b-4702-8eee-958ec80e878d
  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-b5fd17-5abdfe56-1d26-48c5-a94b-208496ac2419. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-5abdfe56-1d26-48c5-a94b-208496ac2419.json.