--- title: "Mandarin Excellence Programme" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-8892df95-1d5b-4b4c-9d9c-0fef14fed6e1" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-8892df95-1d5b-4b4c-9d9c-0fef14fed6e1" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-8892df95-1d5b-4b4c-9d9c-0fef14fed6e1.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-8892df95-1d5b-4b4c-9d9c-0fef14fed6e1.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION" published: "2021-03-16" --- # Mandarin Excellence Programme Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-b5fd17-8892df95-1d5b-4b4c-9d9c-0fef14fed6e1 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-8892df95-1d5b-4b4c-9d9c-0fef14fed6e1) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-8892df95-1d5b-4b4c-9d9c-0fef14fed6e1.json) ## Summary The Department for Education is inviting bids for the "Mandarin Excellence Programme," aimed at enhancing Mandarin language education in England. This open tender, initiated to continue from September 2021 through August 2024, seeks to recruit and retain at least 1,800 Year 7 pupils each year. Interested parties are encouraged to attend a Tender Information Session on 25 March 2021, with registration required by midday on 24 March. The total contract value is up to £16.4 million over the four-year term, which includes grant funding for schools. This procurement presents significant growth opportunities for education service providers, particularly those specialising in language instruction, teacher training, and educational programme management. Businesses with the capacity to deliver innovative learning solutions and support frameworks for teaching Mandarin Chinese will find this tender particularly relevant. The involvement of experienced educational consortia or lead providers is encouraged, aligning with the programme's goal of fostering sustainable Mandarin education across diverse geographical locations in the UK. ## Notice The purpose of this Notice is to notify the market of the opportunity to bid for the next Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP) due to commence in September 2021. In 2015 the Department announced its intention to provide funding for at least 5,000 pupils to be taught Mandarin in schools in England. The Department is now looking to build upon the success of this initial pioneering programme. Our intention for the scope of the re-procured MEP would be to continue delivery of Mandarin fluency with a minimum recruitment and retention of 1,800 Year 7 pupils commencing and continuing study annually from September 2021 to August 2024. It will also maintain up to 20 PGCE Mandarin teachers. The Department is seeking a lead provider or consortia or similar entity to deliver the programme according to academic years, which will include, but is not limited to the following objectives: - support the diverse geographical location of the schools (where necessary) to ensure the development of teaching and learning of Mandarin Chinese in schools across the country; - ensure school-led development of the programme, translating centralised guidance and support into local practice; - act as a grant administrator to manage and transfer up to PS3.3million per year of grant funding to schools on the programme - provide a framework for the sustainability of Mandarin Chinese in England beyond the life of the programme; - ensure experienced MEP schools act as hub leaders to implement successfully the step-up of teaching required within the life of the programme, and to be able to lead confidently additional new schools in following years. - build upon the successes of work delivered to date by the current contract holders. Potential Providers are invited to attend a Microsoft Teams facilitated Tender Information Session at 11:00-12:30 GMT on Thursday 25 March. The event will provide the opportunity to hear about the service requirement, the tender process and for you to submit questions. Attendance is limited to two people per organisation. To register your attendance and receive dial-in details, please use the messaging facility in the eTendering Portal by Midday GMT on Wednesday 24 March. The link for this is: https://education.app.jaggaer.com. If you need assistance with this, please use the Contact Us facility on the home page. Attendance at the webinar is not mandatory and for Potential Providers that are not able to attend, the slides and Q&A log will be circulated via the messaging facility on the eTendering Portal. Additional information: The contract period will be for up to 3 academic years (1st September 2021- 31st August 2024) subject to annual review and break clauses. From August 2024, there is an option to extend of up to 1 year, which will be exercised at the discretion of the Department and subject to contract performance and availability of funding. Due to Government spending restrictions, the Department is required to seek funding approvals for proposed years 2 and 3 of the contract, as well as any potential extension year. Whilst this prevents us from having full approval for onward spend beyond 31st August 2022, it is our intention to seek this approval during year 1 of the contract. Before any subsequent year of continued delivery, the Department would aim to give the supplier at least 3 months' notice. The Contract is valued at a total of up to PS16,400,000 (excluding VAT) over the full 4 - year term. This value is based on the maximum budget available and includes both payments to schools and the extension year, should this be exercised. This value includes up to PS3,300,000 of payment to be allocated directly to schools as grant funding per year. The value for year 1 of the contract must not exceed PS4,100,000 (excluding VAT) and must include grant funding to schools. The Department reserves the right not to enter a formal procurement process and not proceed with contract award. Accordingly, the Department will not be liable for any bid cost, expenditure, work or effort incurred by any organisation in acting on the basis of this Notice. Please be aware that the Department reserves the right to terminate, amend, or reduce the scope of, any agreement should funding be withdrawn, changed or there is a significant change in government policy relating to the delivery of the programme and outputs required as part of this contract, by giving at least 3 months' notice. In addition, this procurement exercise, the service scope and the award of the contract is subject to any change in Ministerial priorities and DfE policy (in accordance with the Regulations). Applications will be made using the Department's E-Tendering procurement system using the link below: https://education.app.jaggaer.com. Please ensure that you have registered on here as a supplier. Please note: Unregistered suppliers will need to follow the link above and click "view opportunities" to access a full list of current DfE Contract opportunities to access this opportunity. For any support with registering and finding this opportunity, please use the 'Contact Us' details to contact the E-Tendering team. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/7f82b0d6-52f6-425c-b3cd-65c456830fec | | Notice type | Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure (below threshold) | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 16 Mar 2021 | | Submission deadline | 19 Apr 2021 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 31 Aug 2021 - 31 Aug 2024 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £16,400,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION | | Locality | LONDON | | Post town | 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 | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 80 - Education and training services ### Codes - 80000000 - Education and training services ## Release History - 16 Mar 2021 at 16:51 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/7f82b0d6-52f6-425c-b3cd-65c456830fec ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/7f82b0d6-52f6-425c-b3cd-65c456830fec 16th March 2021 - Opportunity notice on Contracts Finder - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/cc3b04e4-a141-4473-b047-deb8c2125600?origin=SearchResults&p=1 Early Market Engagement Contracts Finder Notice - https://education.app.jaggaer.com Jaggaer eTendering Portal Access Link to register interest and apply ## 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-b5fd17-8892df95-1d5b-4b4c-9d9c-0fef14fed6e1. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-8892df95-1d5b-4b4c-9d9c-0fef14fed6e1.json.