---
title: "Fun and Food Programme for Children in Receipt of Benefits-related Free School Meals (Easter 2026)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-060be3"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-060be3"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060be3.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060be3.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL"
published: "2026-04-13"
---

# Fun and Food Programme for Children in Receipt of Benefits-related Free School Meals (Easter 2026)

Buyer: DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-060be3

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## Summary

Durham County Council has completed the procurement of the "Fun and Food Programme for Children in Receipt of Benefits-related Free School Meals" for Easter 2026. This initiative, set in County Durham, falls under the health and social work services industry category, identified by CPV code 85000000. The procurement process adopted an open method under light-touch regime rules, focusing on awarding services below the threshold through open competition. The procurement, completed by 13 April 2026, has a contract period from 7 April to 17 April 2026. This programme leverages Department for Education funding to provide enriching and physical activities, alongside food provision and safeguarding, to benefit children in receipt of free school meals.

This tender provides substantial opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) to contribute to social welfare initiatives, thereby promoting business growth in the community services sector. Ideal participants include providers capable of delivering educational and recreational services, such as health and social work services, that enhance children's well-being. The contract's potential extension for additional holiday periods can offer businesses sustained engagement opportunities, with contracts potentially covering the summer and Christmas holidays, subject to performance and council discretion. Bidders must demonstrate the capability to deliver structured programmes that align with DfE standards, making it essential for suitable businesses to showcase their proficiency in managing such comprehensive service contracts.

## Notice

The Council wishes to seek multiple Providers to deliver the Fun and Food programme to Children in Receipt of Benefits-related Free School Meals within the boundaries of County Durham. This project utilises Department for Education (DfE) funding which is for school aged children in receipt of benefits related free school meals. All providers must meet DfE framework of standards as below: * Food Provision * Enrichment Activities * Physical Activities * Increasing Awareness of Healthy Eating, healthy lifestyles, and positive behaviours * Signposting and referrals and supporting families * Safeguarding * Policies and Procedures Please note - sessions do not need to be exclusively for children in receipt benefits related Free School Meals, alternative funding may be sourced by the organisation to fund children ineligible for DfE funding i.e parents/carers may be charged for sessions by the activity organisation.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: Successful Providers' contracts, as delivered under the Easter 2026 holiday provision, may be extended/varied to cover delivery in the Summer and or Christmas school holiday period. At the sole discretion of the Council, providers will be identified and approached for Summer and or Christmas delivery, this is likely to be dependent on successful achievement from Easter 2026 delivery under this contract and Commissioners professional judgement. If Successful Providers meet the threshold that the Commissioner deems as successful delivery, they will be emailed a proposal form for completion for the next school holiday period. The same evaluation criteria will be applied to the subsequent proposals. There is also a possibility that DCC may acquire funding from different sources that may be used for main school holidays, half term holidays or funding for participants to attend that are not in receipt of Benefits-related Free School Meals. Where this is the case successful providers will be updated regarding the scope of delivery.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033281-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large, SME |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 13 Apr 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 20 Feb 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 17 Mar 2026 |
| Contract period | 6 Apr 2026 - 17 Apr 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £552,950 |
| Lots value | £552,950 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £552,950 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL |
| Locality | DURHAM |
| Post town | Durham |
| Postcode | DH1 5WB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear |
| ITL 3 | TLC41 Durham |
| Local authority | County Durham |
| Electoral ward | Framwellgate and Newton Hall |
| Westminster constituency | City of Durham |
| Delivery location | TLC14 Durham |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 14 |
| Supplier names | AJ STAGE SCHOOLS; BELLA MARIE TRAINING ACADEMY; DURHAM CATHEDRAL SCHOOLS FOUNDATION; FAST FEET FOOTBALL ACADEMY; GENIUS! TUITION; HOME ON THE RANGE; KALMA LIFE GATESHEAD & NORTH DURHAM; KARBON HOMES; MICHAEL COGHLAN FOOTBALL COACHING; NMC SPORTS LTD (TRADING AS ) ACTIVE FUTURE DURHAM; SHAPE PERFORMANCE; SIMPLY SPORT; SJ SSC LIMITED T/A SPORTSCOOL DURHAM; STEAM AHEAD |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services
- 85 - Health and social work services
- 92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services
- 98 - Other community, social and personal services

### Codes

- 80000000 - Education and training services
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
- 92000000 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services
- 98000000 - Other community, social and personal services

## Release History

- 13 Apr 2026 at 12:38 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033281-2026
- 22 Jan 2026 at 10:22 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005630-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033281-2026
  13th April 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005630-2026
  22nd January 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- www.open-uk.org
  Tender documents can be accessed free of charge at www.open-uk.org

## Notice URLs

- http://www.bellamarietrainingacademy.com
- http://www.dcsf.org.uk
- http://www.durham.gov.uk/
- http://www.fastfeetfa.com
- http://www.geniustuition.co.uk
- http://www.homeontherange.org.uk
- http://www.kalmalifeuk.co.uk/gatesheadwest
- http://www.shapeperformance.co.uk
- http://www.simplysportltd.co.uk
- http://www.steamaheadeducation.co.uk
- https://ajtheatricalproductions.com/stage-schools/
- https://www.karbonhomes.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-060be3. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060be3.json.