---
title: "Fosterlink Service - Foster Carer Recruitment"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-03e1a1"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03e1a1"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03e1a1.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03e1a1.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION"
published: "2025-04-01"
---

# Fosterlink Service - Foster Carer Recruitment

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-03e1a1

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## Summary

The Department for Education recently extended the Fosterlink Service contract, originally set to end on 31 March 2025, by an additional year, now concluding on 31 March 2026. This service, focused on fostering carer recruitment, falls under the social services category and covers the UK. The initial contract term was 16 months starting from 01 December 2023, with the extension reflecting continued need and supplier performance. The total contract value, including the extension, is £802,224.23. Additionally, funding allocated for the period between 01/12/23 to 31/03/24 is £500,000 and £200,000 for the period between 01/04/24 to 31/03/25.

This extension and update in the Fosterlink Service contract highlight significant opportunities for businesses in the social services sector, specifically those with expertise in fostering carer recruitment and support services. Organisations capable of providing in-depth diagnostic support and management services to local authority fostering service providers would benefit from engaging with this contract. The project aims at building a strong evidence base for good practices nationally, making it an ideal growth opportunity for large firms and those involved in consultancy and diagnostic services within the social care and education sectors.

## Notice

The Department for Education has appointed a contractor for the provision of Fosterlink Service. The successful contractor will be responsible for developing, co-ordination and managing Fosterlink a support service for Local Authority (LA) fostering service providers, which will offer in-depth diagnostic support specifically focused on their recruitment and approval practices, with the aim of providing bespoke recommendations for improvement, alongside building a strong evidence base on which to share good practice nationally. The initial contract term will be 16 months. The contract is expected to commence on the 01 December 2023 and run until 31 March 2025. There will be an option to extend its term for an additional period of 12 months. The optional extension will be subject to supplier contract performance, the requirements of the Department, the outcomes of the upcoming Spending Review and the steers of the party in leadership following the General Election at the end of 2024.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The Department for Education has appointed a contractor for the provision of Fosterlink Service. The successful contractor will be responsible for developing, co-ordination and managing Fosterlink a support service for Local Authority (LA) fostering service providers, which will offer in-depth diagnostic support specifically focused on their recruitment and approval practices, with the aim of providing bespoke recommendations for improvement, alongside building a strong evidence base on which to share good practice nationally. The initial contract term will be 16 months. The contract is expected to commence on the 01 December 2023 and run until 31 March 2025. There will be an option to extend its term for an additional period of 12 months. The optional extension will be subject to supplier contract performance, the requirements of the Department, the outcomes of the upcoming Spending Review and the steers of the party in leadership following the General Election at the end of 2024. The contract was varied in December 2024 to include some additional work under the same scope.

Renewal: There is an option to extend the Initial Contract term (16 months) for an additional period of 12 months. The optional extension period is not guaranteed and will be at the absolute discretion of The Department. Any extension will be subject to the Departments approval process, availability of budget and current performance of the supplier.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/012271-2025 |
| Notice type | Planning Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 1 Apr 2025 |
| Submission deadline | 19 Oct 2023 |
| Future notice date | 3 Sep 2023 |
| Award date | 1 Jan 2024 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £560,000 |
| Lots value | £560,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £1,198,903 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 3BT |
| 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 | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 2 |
| Supplier names | MOTT MACDONALD; MOTT MOTT MACDONALD |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 79600000 - Recruitment services
- 85320000 - Social services

## Release History

- 1 Apr 2025 at 13:07 - TenderUpdate - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/012271-2025
- 10 Dec 2024 at 14:24 - AwardUpdate - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/039767-2024
- 19 Jan 2024 at 11:52 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/001892-2024
- 19 Sep 2023 at 17:49 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027699-2023
- 13 Jul 2023 at 14:54 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020154-2023

## Notice URLs

- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/about/procurement#jaggaer-the-dfe-etendering-portal

## 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-03e1a1. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03e1a1.json.