---
title: "DE - CURRICULUM REFORM - IMPROVING LITERACY IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-064ae1"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-064ae1"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-064ae1.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-064ae1.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION"
published: "2026-03-09"
---

# DE - CURRICULUM REFORM - IMPROVING LITERACY IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-064ae1

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## Summary

The Department for Education has successfully concluded a tender focusing on curriculum reform to improve literacy in primary schools across Northern Ireland. This procurement process, identified as DAC 84/25, falls under the Education and training services category and is a direct award due to the specialist nature and proprietary status of the programme. Ruth Miskin Literacy Limited, located in London, has been awarded the contract to provide their Read Write Inc. synthetic phonics programme. The contract, valued at £152,000 excluding VAT, commenced on 6th March 2026 and will run until 4th March 2029, supporting the Department's TransformED programme objectives.

This contract presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in educational services, particularly those with expertise in phonics and literacy initiatives. The direct award to Ruth Miskin Literacy Limited underscores the importance of a structured, evidence-based approach to early reading instruction, encouraging further research and development in effective educational programmes. Businesses that can offer innovative educational solutions and have the capability to support large-scale curriculum reforms stand to benefit from similar procurement initiatives by aligning their offerings with government priorities for improving literacy outcomes.

## Notice

Literacy provision in Northern Ireland primary schools currently varies widely, with no system wide standardised approach to early reading instruction. Although the curriculum provides support and schools implement their own interventions, significant attainment gaps persist, particularly in Communication at Key Stage 2. This research project is designed to address these gaps by evaluating the impact of a structured synthetic phonics programme, Read Write Inc., across a stratified and representative sample of schools. The aim is to generate robust, generalisable evidence to inform the new literacy strategy and curriculum reform. This initiative forms a core component of the Department's TransformED programme and directly supports the Minister's priorities for raising literacy outcomes system wide.

### Procurement Information

The selection of this programme as the basis of research in NI is due to a combination of factors that make it the only viable option for delivering this project to the required specification and within the necessary timeframe: Single supplier - intellectual property or exclusive rights The selection of this programme as the basis of research in NI is due to a combination of factors that make it the only viable option for delivering this project to the required specification and within the necessary timeframe: * Specialist nature and proprietary status: RMT is the sole provider of the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme, which is a Department for Education (England) validated Systematic Synthetic Phonics model. The programme's intellectual property, training model, and assessment tools are exclusively owned and delivered by RMT. No other supplier is authorised to provide access to these materials or deliver the programme with fidelity.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020753-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 9 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 9 Feb 2026 |
| Contract period | 6 Mar 2026 - 4 Mar 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £152,000 |
| Contracts value | £152,000 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION |
| Additional buyers | CPD - SUPPLIES & SERVICES DIVISION; DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION |
| Locality | BANGOR |
| Post town | Northern Ireland |
| Postcode | BT19 7PR |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| ITL 1 | TLN Northern Ireland |
| ITL 2 | TLN0 Northern Ireland |
| ITL 3 | TLN06 Belfast |
| Local authority | Belfast |
| Electoral ward | Sydenham |
| Westminster constituency | Belfast East |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | RUTH MISKIN LITERACY |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services

### Codes

- 80000000 - Education and training services

## Release History

- 9 Mar 2026 at 10:17 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020753-2026
- 23 Feb 2026 at 13:49 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016081-2026
- 9 Feb 2026 at 10:46 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011280-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020753-2026
  9th March 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016081-2026
  23rd February 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011280-2026
  9th February 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/
- https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/topics/procurement
- 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-064ae1. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-064ae1.json.