---
title: "Evidence-Based Early Years Maths Programme"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0550f5"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0550f5"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0550f5.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0550f5.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION"
published: "2026-03-25"
---

# Evidence-Based Early Years Maths Programme

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0550f5

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0550f5)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0550f5.json)

## Summary

The Department for Education has commissioned an "Evidence-Based Early Years Maths Programme" aimed at enhancing numeracy skills among children in early years settings across England. This procurement process recently concluded the award stage, with the contract signed on 13th March 2026. The programme targets the education and training services industry, falling under the jurisdiction of the Department for Education, a public authority within the central government. Operating from London, the programme is expected to run from 1st April 2026 to 31st August 2029, with potential extension options until January 2030. Utilizing an open procurement method, the contracting process culminated in the award to the National Day Nurseries Association, a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) based in Huddersfield, which also participated in the tendering process as a supplier and tenderer.

This tender offers significant business growth opportunities for organisations focused on the education and training industry, especially those with expertise in early years education and numerical development. Businesses well-suited for competition include SMEs and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs), as the programme demands robust evaluation processes, including Randomised Controlled Trials (RCT) or Quasi-Experimental Designs (QED), backed by implementation and process evaluation. The contract seeks to improve educational delivery by addressing the gap in maths proficiency at an early stage, thereby offering businesses specialising in educational services a platform to contribute to improving academic and workforce outcomes across England. This programme is set to engage with over 5,000 early years settings, creating numerous collaboration and service provision opportunities for qualified and innovative educational providers.

## Notice

The Department for Education is commissioning an evidence-based early maths programme aimed at improving numeracy outcomes for children in early years settings across England. Early maths skills are strongly linked to later academic achievement and workforce success, yet many children begin school without the expected level of development in maths. Despite its importance within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), maths remains one of the lowest-performing areas, partly due to limited training and confidence among educators. This contract will support the delivery of an evidence-based early maths programme to at least 5,000 settings, with a minimum completion rate of 80%, and requires programmes to be backed by robust evaluation, either a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) or Quasi-Experimental Design (QED) plus an implementation and process evaluation (IPE).

### Planning Information

The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to notify the market of a potential opportunity to bid for the delivery of an evidence-based early maths programme from April 2026 onwards. 
Interested parties are invited to a market engagement event on Thursday 10 July from 14:00 to 15:00 to hear further details and share any views or questions relating to this potential opportunity. 
For information: Attendance at the market engagement events is not a pre-requisite for being able to submit a tender against this opportunity. If you are unable to attend the market engagement event, the slides and any Q&A outcomes will be made available. 
This notice is a zero value PIN notice for early market engagement. It is for information only and is not a call for competition. 
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 Prior Information Notice. 
To attend the event you will need to register on the following portal: https://education.app.jaggaer.com 
Please also email katherine.sargent@education.gov.uk as well as maisie.monroe@education.gov.uk to register your interest.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027425-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 25 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 5 Dec 2025 |
| Future notice date | 4 Aug 2025 |
| Award date | 6 Feb 2026 |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2026 - 31 Aug 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £4,500,000 |
| Lots value | £4,500,000 |
| Awards value | £4,407,915 |
| Contracts value | £4,407,915 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| 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 | 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 DAY NURSERIES ASSOCIATION |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services

### Codes

- 80000000 - Education and training services

## Release History

- 25 Mar 2026 at 15:15 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027425-2026
- 6 Feb 2026 at 12:38 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010921-2026
- 4 Nov 2025 at 14:09 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070870-2025
- 20 Jun 2025 at 13:15 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034082-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027425-2026
  25th March 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010921-2026
  6th February 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070870-2025
  4th November 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034082-2025
  20th June 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-13986

## Notice URLs

- https://education.app.jaggaer.com
- https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education
- https://www.jaggaer.com/submit-supplier-support-request/
- 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-0550f5. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0550f5.json.