---
title: "Tackling Childcare Barriers through HAF and After School Activity"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06ef5c"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06ef5c"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ef5c.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ef5c.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "North East Combined Authority"
published: "2026-09-01"
---

# Tackling Childcare Barriers through HAF and After School Activity

Buyer: North East Combined Authority  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06ef5c

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## Summary

North East Combined Authority commissioned services to tackle childcare barriers and engage economically inactive parents and carers who are not accessing mainstream employment and skills provision. The work combines family engagement and recruitment activity with holiday and after-school activities for school-aged children, parents’ taster sessions with childcare provided on site, and community-based engagement events. Delivery is intended to take place through trusted local venues and partners in the North East of England, including areas covered by County Durham and the wider North East sub-region. The service is classified as career guidance services, although its practical focus is integrated childcare support, community engagement and routes towards employment and skills activity. Two voluntary-sector foundation organisations were selected to deliver the requirement.

This procurement has been completed and was awarded by direct award below the applicable threshold, without competition. The single lot was awarded to Foundation of Light and Newcastle United Foundation as separate awards. Each award is worth £70,000 including tax, and each covers the period from 1 September 2026 to 31 March 2027. The award was recorded on 1 September 2026, with contract signature scheduled for 1 September 2026. Both awards cover the same services and delivery area. The selected route did not involve a competitive tender, so no comparative evaluation basis or scored criteria is reported. The tender was made under the Procurement Act 2023 and the procurement was below threshold.

For a supplier considering similar work, this requirement shows demand for community-based programmes that combine childcare provision with employment and skills engagement. Credible delivery would require the ability to organise holiday and after-school activities for school-aged children, provide supervised childcare during parents’ taster sessions, and reach economically inactive parents and carers who do not use mainstream provision. Experience of family engagement, recruitment activity, career guidance or employment support would be relevant, alongside trusted relationships with local venues, community groups and partner organisations. Suppliers would also need to coordinate provision for children and adults, work across North East communities, and demonstrate the operational capacity and safeguarding arrangements needed for activity involving school-aged children.

## Notice

This project will deliver targeted family engagement and recruitment activity to engage economically inactive parents and carers who are not currently accessing mainstream employment and skills provision. Delivery will include holiday and after-school activities for school-aged children, parents' taster sessions with childcare provided on-site, and community-based engagement events delivered through trusted local venues and partners.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082567-2026 |
| Notice type | UK5 - Transparency Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large, SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 1 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Sep 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £70,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | North East Combined Authority |
| Locality | NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE |
| Postcode area | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Postcode | NE4 5BZ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear |
| ITL 3 | TLC43 Tyneside |
| Local authority | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Electoral ward | Arthur's Hill |
| Westminster constituency | Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 2 |
| Supplier names | Foundation of Light; Newcastle United Foundation |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 79634000 - Career guidance services

## Release History

- 1 Sep 2026 at 11:46 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082567-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082567-2026
  1st September 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.nufoundation.org.uk
- https://foundationoflight.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-06ef5c. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ef5c.json.