--- title: "DE - Teacher Education and Professional Learning - Replacement for Professional Qualification for Headship for Northern Ireland" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-065b44" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-065b44" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065b44.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065b44.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Award" buyer: "DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION" published: "2026-05-15" --- # DE - Teacher Education and Professional Learning - Replacement for Professional Qualification for Headship for Northern Ireland Buyer: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Current stage: Award OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-065b44 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-065b44) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065b44.json) ## Summary The Department of Education has awarded a contract to develop and deliver the Replacement for Professional Qualification for Headship (PQH) programme in Northern Ireland. Queen's University Belfast, the selected supplier, will fulfil this contract. The procurement, initiated by the Department of Education as the buying organisation, focuses on education and training services and follows an open procedure under Northern Irish devolved regulations. The procurement process is now at the award phase, with the contract active and signed on 15th May 2026. The delivery of the programme will commence in May 2026, with project completion anticipated by June 2029, and a potential extension until June 2031. The location for these activities will be centred around Bangor and Belfast in Northern Ireland. This contract presents significant business growth opportunities for suppliers within the education and training industry, particularly those experienced in professional development programmes. With a contract value of £3,600,000 inclusive of VAT, it is an attractive proposition for large education service providers such as universities and professional training organisations, who can leverage their expertise in designing and delivering targeted educational programmes. SMEs focused on innovative education solutions may also benefit by positioning themselves as key subcontractors, particularly given the high emphasis on quality and content in the selection criteria, which accounted for 70% of the evaluation weight in the procurement process. ## Notice The Department of Education, wishes to appoint an external supplier to develop and deliver a replacement programme for the Professional Qualification for Headship (PQH), in line with the stated commitment in the TransformED Strategy . This is a Ministerial priority with a defined timeline for the development, piloting and delivery of the replacement programme which has been crafted to deliver the Minister's stated objective and work within the confines of each academic year. The contract duration is anticipated to be from May 2026 until June 2029 with one optional extension until June 2031. The supplier will be required to develop the programme from Contract Award until December 2026, with delivery of the pilot to commence in January 2027 to the end of December 2027(excluding Northern Ireland school holidays), running over 12 months with a cohort of 40 participants(cohort split in two, to allow the two modules to run concurrently and the pilot to be completed within this timeframe. The programme will officially launch January 2028 which will run over an 18-month period. Delivery in subsequent years through agreement with DE, could be split into separate January and September entry points (combining to a total of 100 participants) each year which will provide practical preparation as a key component in the pathway to Principalship through a comprehensive and tailored programme for recently appointed and aspiring Principals. Suppliers should refer to the Specification Schedule for full detail on the deliverables of this Contract. ### Lot Information Lot 1 Renewal: 1 optional extension of 2 years to complete cohorts who start in January 2029 and January 2030 ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/044749-2026 | | Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Large | | All stages | Tender, Award | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 15 May 2026 | | Submission deadline | 24 Mar 2026 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | 29 Apr 2026 | | Contract period | 17 May 2026 - 30 Jun 2029 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £2,150,000 | | Lots value | £2,150,000 | | Awards value | £3,000,000 | | Contracts value | £3,000,000 | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Complete | | Lots status | Complete | | Awards status | Active | | Contracts status | Active | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | | Additional buyers | CPD - SUPPLIES AND SERVICES DIVISION | | 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 | QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY BELFAST | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 80 - Education and training services ### Codes - 80000000 - Education and training services ## Release History - 15 May 2026 at 07:46 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/044749-2026 - 5 May 2026 at 08:56 - AwardUpdate - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040845-2026 - 5 May 2026 at 08:52 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040837-2026 - 18 Mar 2026 at 16:50 - TenderUpdate - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/024832-2026 - 24 Feb 2026 at 15:24 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016563-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/044749-2026 15th May 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040845-2026 5th May 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040837-2026 5th May 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/024832-2026 18th March 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016563-2026 24th February 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps - https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/ - https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/ar - 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-065b44. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065b44.json.