---
title: "SEND Specific Fun and Food Programme for Children in Receipt of Benefits-related Free School Meals (Easter 2026)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-060cf6"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-060cf6"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060cf6.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060cf6.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL"
published: "2026-03-26"
---

# SEND Specific 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-060cf6

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## Summary

Durham County Council, based in Durham, United Kingdom, has successfully completed the procurement process for the "SEND Specific Fun and Food Programme for Children in Receipt of Benefits-related Free School Meals" for Easter 2026, focusing on services within the health and social work sector. This initiative, supported by Department for Education funding, aims to provide various enriching activities to school-aged children eligible for free school meals. The award was made to Karbon Homes, a large supplier located in Newcastle, with the contract active from 7th to 17th April 2026. The procurement method was open competition, specifically below the threshold, and managed under a light-touch regime. 

The programme presents a significant opportunity for businesses specialising in health, social services, education, and recreational activities to expand their service offerings within County Durham. Companies able to offer innovative solutions in food provision, physical activities, and nutritional education, particularly those accommodating children with special educational needs, would be well-suited for such contracts. With potential extensions covering Summer and Christmas holiday periods, successful providers may see extended business growth. SMEs and VCSEs are encouraged to apply, given their suitability criteria, with future funding opportunities potentially expanding beyond the scope of current benefits-related free school meals.

## Notice

The Council wishes to seek multiple Providers to deliver the Fun and Food programme to Children with SEND 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. Further details of the requirements are set out in Document 3A Specification.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027879-2026 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 26 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 20 Feb 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 26 Mar 2026 |
| Contract period | 6 Apr 2026 - 17 Apr 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £250,000 |
| Lots value | £250,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £1,905 |

## 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 | 1 |
| Supplier names | KARBON HOMES |

## 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

- 26 Mar 2026 at 12:29 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027879-2026
- 23 Jan 2026 at 09:48 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006040-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027879-2026
  26th March 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006040-2026
  23rd 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.durham.gov.uk/
- 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-060cf6. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060cf6.json.