---
title: "RCC and Fostering Hubs Delivery Partner Preliminary Market Engagement Notice"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06764c"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06764c"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06764c.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06764c.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION"
published: "2026-07-13"
---

# RCC and Fostering Hubs Delivery Partner Preliminary Market Engagement Notice

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06764c

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06764c)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06764c.json)

## Summary

The Department for Education, a central government public authority based in London, has awarded a contract to Mutual Ventures Limited to act as a Delivery Partner for the Regional Care Cooperatives (RCC) and Fostering Hubs Delivery Partner Preliminary Market Engagement Notice. This procurement falls under the services category, specifically business and management consultancy services. The contract, awarded on 13th July 2026, is set to begin on 24th July 2026 and will continue until 31st March 2028, with a potential renewal extending it until 31st March 2029. The award follows an open procurement method, aiming to establish and operate five new RCCs and manage the Fostering Recruitment and Retention Programme across England.

This initiative offers significant business growth opportunities, particularly for SMEs specialising in consultancy, legal, and human resources services. These businesses can benefit by providing expertise in diagnostics, planning, governance, and adoption of national data models. The focus on fostering recruitment and retention further allows companies with a background in HR and stakeholder facilitation to contribute to improving care strategies. Working with around 100 local authorities, the Delivery Partner can leverage this contract to establish long-term capabilities and strategic alignments between RCCs and Fostering Hubs, setting a strong foundation for future engagements.

## Notice

The Department for Education (DfE) has procured a Supplier to support the establishment and early operation of five new Regional Care Cooperatives (RCCs) and to deliver the expanded Fostering Recruitment and Retention Programme. Regional Care Cooperatives Every child deserves safe, high-quality care close to home. Regional care cooperatives (RCCs) will help make this a reality by transforming the approach local areas take to commissioning and providing homes for children in care. Further background on RCCs and the policy intent behind this reform can be found here: Regional care cooperatives policy statement - GOV.UK The Delivery Partner will provide structured coaching, facilitation, and technical expertise to support regions through the RCC staged progression model-Foundation and Development-so that they are prepared to transition into Delivery, as set out in the RCC Design Specification Guidance here Apply to set up a regional care cooperative - GOV.UK This will include support for: * diagnostics, planning and governance * co design and development of sufficiency strategies * market shaping approaches * adoption of the national common data model * establishment of core regional functions for sustainable forecasting and commissioning Further information please see tender documentation. Fostering Recruitment and Retention Programme The Delivery Partner will also support the next phase of the Fostering Recruitment and Retention Programme, delivered under the same contract as the RCC support package. In this expanded phase, Fostering Hubs will progress beyond initial applicant engagement to manage the entire recruitment and approval process, creating a more integrated and end to end model of recruiting, assessing, and supporting foster carers. The programme contributes to the Department's ambition to secure homes for 10,000 more children by 2029. Fostering Hubs guidance and application forms can be found here Fostering Programme: New Hubs Expression of Interest - GOV-UK Find a grant. The Delivery Partner will provide subject matter expertise in fostering recruitment and retention, alongside support to hubs in establishing performance monitoring and reporting mechanisms, delivering change management, and offering troubleshooting support as programme and/or LA level issues emerge. Support may include stakeholder relationship facilitation, HR related assistance, and co production of assessing social worker practice models. For new hubs, the Delivery Partner will provide challenge, independent oversight, and practical support through design and implementation. All support should be designed to build long term capability within hubs. The Delivery Partner will work with approximately 100 participating LAs across new and existing hubs. The successful organisation will be expected to ensure strategic alignment between RCCs and Fostering Hubs, working closely with RCC leadership where established, and supporting areas to integrate hubs into RCCs as the system evolves. The long term vision is for every local authority to be part of an RCC.

### Planning Information

A preliminary market engagement session is being conducted on Thursday 2nd April at 1pm. Please email Commissioning.CSC@education.gov.uk. if you would like to register your interest in attending.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/065733-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award 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 | 13 Jul 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 22 Jun 2026 |
| Future notice date | 8 May 2026 |
| Award date | 12 Jul 2026 |
| Contract period | 23 Jul 2026 - 31 Mar 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £3,333,333 |
| Lots value | £3,333,333 |
| Awards value | £2,886,525 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## 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 | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | MUTUAL VENTURES |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
- 79410000 - Business and management consultancy services

## Release History

- 13 Jul 2026 at 14:51 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/065733-2026
- 18 May 2026 at 13:34 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/045392-2026
- 8 Apr 2026 at 14:58 - Planning - UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/032088-2026
- 27 Mar 2026 at 11:28 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/028421-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/065733-2026
  13th July 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/045392-2026
  18th May 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/032088-2026
  8th April 2026 - Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/028421-2026
  27th March 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://education.app.jaggaer.com/esop/toolkit/noticeFts/form/1485736/view.si?_ncp=1779108181044.310073-1
- https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html
- https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.htmlAlltendersmustbesubmittedviaJaggaerabove.Interestedbidderscancreateanaccountiftheydon'talreadyhaveone.From
- 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-06764c. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06764c.json.