---
title: "Regular Asymptomatic Testing in NI Special Education Needs Schools"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-02a0a5"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-02a0a5"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02a0a5.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02a0a5.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "EDUCATION AUTHORITY NI"
published: "2021-12-22"
---

# Regular Asymptomatic Testing in NI Special Education Needs Schools

Buyer: EDUCATION AUTHORITY NI  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-02a0a5

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-02a0a5)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02a0a5.json)

## Summary

The Education Authority NI has initiated a tender titled "Regular Asymptomatic Testing in NI Special Education Needs Schools," aimed at providing a weekly testing service for approximately 10,000 staff and students across 39 Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools in Northern Ireland. This service is set to commence on 23rd December 2021 and will run until at least 31st March 2022, with the possibility of extension to 30th November 2022 based on public health advice. This procurement falls under the health services category and was executed through a limited procurement method due to the urgency stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The total contract value is approximately £2,115,000, and the primary supplier awarded for this service is Queen's University Belfast.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses that specialise in health services, particularly in COVID-19 testing and management solutions. Companies with capabilities in non-invasive testing methodologies, rapid result turnaround, and experience in educational settings will find this contract suitable. As the need for ongoing testing is paramount in protecting vulnerable populations in educational environments, providers who can demonstrate reliability and efficiency will be ideally positioned to compete for this and similar future contracts.

## Notice

Regular Asymptomatic Testing in NI Special Education Needs Schools

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Regular Asymptomatic Testing in NI Special Education Needs Schools

### Procurement Information

The weekly asymptomatic testing service of 10,000 special school staff (teaching, non-teaching and ancillary) and students with special educational needs is urgently required due to the emergency situation regarding Covid-19 within Special Educational Needs schools in Northern Ireland and will ensure that these schools can remain open during the current period of restrictions. The service will run in all 39 Special Educational Needs schools within Northern Ireland from March 2021 to the end of June 2021. The samples will be tested using the direct LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) method as this is a viable and readily available deliverable method and is less invasive for children in Special Educational Needs schools and therefore uptake is likely to be maximised and testing objectives met. Queen's University Belfast is part of the UK national plan for testing and is the only laboratory that is accredited within Northern Ireland to provide all elements of the testing service including the requirement for the testing to be turned around with results within several hours. The aim of this service is to find asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic cases so they can be isolated along with their contacts, therefore reducing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in the school settings, and consequently the wider community. Special Educational Needs schools are remaining open during the current period of restrictions, and while children, even those with significant underlying medical conditions, do not generally become very unwell if they contract COVID-19, some children in Special Educational Needs schools have extremely complex medical needs and all possible steps must be taken to protect them from COVID-19. Any infection can be serious for them as their baseline condition is so fragile. The provision of this service will also contribute to reducing the rate of infections in Special Educational Needs Schools as regular testing will identify cases either before they are symptomatic, or asymptomatic cases, allowing immediate self-isolation, thereby reducing the potential for wider transmission, both within the school and in the contact groups of pupils and staff.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/032061-2021 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 22 Dec 2021 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 28 Mar 2021 |
| Contract period | 23 Dec 2021 - 30 Nov 2022 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £3,545,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | EDUCATION AUTHORITY NI |
| Additional buyers | EDUCATION AUTHORITY |
| Locality | BELFAST |
| Post town | Northern Ireland |
| Postcode | BT1 2NQ |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| ITL 1 | TLN Northern Ireland |
| ITL 2 | TLN0 Northern Ireland |
| ITL 3 | TLN06 Belfast |
| Local authority | Belfast |
| Electoral ward | Duncairn |
| Westminster constituency | Belfast North |
| Delivery location | TLN Northern Ireland |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 2 |
| Supplier names | QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY BELFAST; QUEENS UNIVERSITY BELFAST |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85000000 - Health and social work services
- 85100000 - Health services

## Release History

- 22 Dec 2021 at 12:35 - AwardUpdate - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/032061-2021
- 22 Jul 2021 at 14:15 - AwardUpdate - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017371-2021
- 29 Mar 2021 at 16:56 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006452-2021

## Notice URLs

- http://www.eani.org.uk
- http://www.etendersni.gov.uk
- https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps

## 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-h6vhtk-02a0a5. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02a0a5.json.