---
title: "Award of Centre for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) 2025"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-054559"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-054559"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-054559.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-054559.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOUNDATION"
published: "2025-08-07"
---

# Award of Centre for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) 2025

Buyer: THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOUNDATION  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-054559

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-054559)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-054559.json)

## Summary

The Education and Training Foundation (ETF), located in London, has completed the procurement process for the Centre for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) 2025 under the theme 'People'. This was part of an open competition below the threshold, focusing on education and training services. City of Sunderland College has been awarded the contract to design and deliver continuing professional development (CPD) across England, with a contract value of £137,952 and potential extension until 31st March 2027. The voluntary standstill period for this contract will conclude on 15th August 2025, with the contract period starting on 19th August 2025 and potentially extending to 31st March 2027.

This procurement presents opportunities for educational institutions with strong SEND provisions, particularly those recognised as 'Good' or 'Outstanding' by Ofsted or the Care Quality Commission. Businesses in the field of education and training services, especially those with capabilities in live online events and peer review facilitation, would be well-suited to engage with similar opportunities in the future. The chosen focus on CPD for SEND, along with an emphasis on developing organizational approaches, opens doors for providers that specialise in enhancing educational outcomes and fostering inclusive practices.

## Notice

The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) is awarding a contract for a Centre for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) - Theme of 'People' following a competitive tender process. The Centre of Excellence will design and deliver CPD based on the theme for leaders, managers and practitioners who wish to put learners with SEND at the centre of their organisation, resulting in learners achieving the outcomes they aspire to. The Centre will have national reach across England. Working closely with ETF and SEND Employer Spokes, this Centre for Excellence will design and deliver live online events, Communities of Practice sessions and complete Peer Reviews focused on developing a whole organisational approach to SEND. This will result in learners achieving the outcomes they aspire to. Preparation for Adulthood is a key priority for the Centre. It will offer a specialism in the theme of 'People' and will have equal parity, providing peer to peer support and sharing effective practice to the existing Centres of Excellence, Employer Spokes and the FE sector. The ETF took a sector led approach to recruit FE providers who have been graded 'Good' or 'Outstanding' from Ofsted and/ or Care Quality Commission (CQC) for SEND provision. Following a thorough evaluation process, it was decided to award a contract for the theme of 'People' only. The theme of 'Careers' will not be awarded as originally anticipated. In the interest of transparency and fairness, ETF are observing a voluntary standstill period ending on the 15th August 2025. During this period, ETF will not enter into the contract, allowing time for any potential concerns to be raised. The award decision remains subject to the conclusion of this standstill period and no legal proceedings being initiated. ETF may consider a direct award contract for the theme of 'Careers' following the standstill period, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Procurement Act 2023, including any applicable direct award justifications under Schedule 5.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The value of the contract for each Centre is circa 86,780 GBP inclusive of VAT. Duration of the contract is 13 August 2025 - 31 March 2026 with a possible extension of one year subject to funding.

### Planning Information

The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) are asking tenderers to provide written feedback to the attached invitation to tender.
The feedback should:
- identify points of clarification
- identify any risks that may not have been considered
- identify if the deliverables are achievable
Any feedback on this tender should be emailed to tenderqueries@etfoundation.co.uk

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/047056-2025 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 7 Aug 2025 |
| Submission deadline | 11 Jul 2025 |
| Future notice date | 18 Jun 2025 |
| Award date | 5 Aug 2025 |
| Contract period | 18 Aug 2025 - 7 Mar 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £138,848 |
| Lots value | £138,848 |
| Awards value | £137,952 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOUNDATION |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1W 9SP |
| 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 | Pimlico North |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | CITY OF SUNDERLAND COLLEGE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services

### Codes

- 80000000 - Education and training services
- 80400000 - Adult and other education services
- 80500000 - Training services

## Release History

- 7 Aug 2025 at 15:59 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/047056-2025
- 18 Jun 2025 at 17:02 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033497-2025
- 9 Jun 2025 at 13:59 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030995-2025
- 9 Jun 2025 at 13:26 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030971-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/047056-2025
  7th August 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033497-2025
  18th June 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030995-2025
  9th June 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030971-2025
  9th June 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.mytenders.co.uk/Authority/NoticeBuilder/NoticeBuilder_FileDownload.aspx?id=603246
  Invitation to Tender - Centres for Excellence in SEND
- https://www.mytenders.co.uk/Authority/NoticeBuilder/NoticeBuilder_FileDownload.aspx?id=603247
  Tender Response Document - Centres for Excellence in SEND
- https://www.mytenders.co.uk/Authority/NoticeBuilder/NoticeBuilder_FileDownload.aspx?id=603248
  Annex 1 - ETF's 12 principles of effective CPD in Further Education
- https://www.mytenders.co.uk/Authority/NoticeBuilder/NoticeBuilder_FileDownload.aspx?id=603249
  ETF Programme Learning Services Agreement
- https://www.mytenders.co.uk/Authority/NoticeBuilder/NoticeBuilder_FileDownload.aspx?id=603250
  ETF Delivery Partner Power BI terms and conditions
- https://www.mytenders.co.uk/Authority/NoticeBuilder/NoticeBuilder_FileDownload.aspx?id=603251
  ETF Delivery Partner Zoom licence terms and conditions

## Notice URLs

- http://www.et-foundation.co.uk
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-054559. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-054559.json.