---
title: "DMAT - Catering Tender"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06fa99"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06fa99"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06fa99.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06fa99.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "Educo"
published: "2026-09-15"
---

# DMAT - Catering Tender

Buyer: Educo  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06fa99

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[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06fa99.json)

## Summary

Educo is procuring school catering services on behalf of Durrington Multi Academy Trust, covering Durrington High School and The Laurels Primary School in Worthing, West Sussex. The requirement is for a contract catering company to provide catering operations and operational support to teams at the schools, with bidders expected to address how they would manage and support delivery on site. Educo Consultancy & Facilities Management is managing the procurement for the Trust. The work is categorised as school catering services and is suitable for businesses specialising in outsourced education catering, contract food services and the management of catering operations across school sites. The opportunity concerns one combined requirement covering both schools rather than separate school-specific packages.

The procurement has reached tender: the buyer invited suppliers to submit expressions of interest through a two-stage competitive flexible procedure. Stage one assesses the Selection Questionnaire, with the highest-scoring four or five bidders invited to stage two. The enquiry deadline was 14 October 2026 at 17:00, and the expression-of-interest submission deadline was 21 October 2026 at 12:00. Stage two includes an online briefing, school site visits, a financial proposal and answers to technical questions; the highest-scoring suppliers are shortlisted, with three invited to present. The estimated value is £2,768,000 excluding VAT, or £3,321,600 including VAT. The initial contract runs from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2030, with renewal potentially extending it to 31 March 2032. Award decisions are due by 29 January 2027. Evaluation weights financial status at 20% and operational questions at 80%.

This opportunity suits experienced contract catering companies able to run and manage school catering services across two education sites. Suppliers should be able to demonstrate sound organisational financial status and strong operational support and management arrangements, including how their teams would support staff working at the schools. The process requires bidders to complete a Selection Questionnaire, respond to technical and operational questions, develop a financial proposal, attend an online briefing and take part in school site visits. The strongest suppliers will need the capability to present their proposed approach to representatives of the schools and Educo. Small and medium-sized enterprises are identified as suitable, making this relevant to established regional caterers as well as larger education-catering providers, provided they can demonstrate the required experience, financial standing and delivery capacity.

## Notice

Educo on behalf of the Trust will manage a 2-stage process through the mytenders portal that links to the Find a Tender Central Digital Platform. 2.1 EXPRESSION OF INTEREST The 1st Stage of this tender is to assess the most appropriate Contractors from their expression of interest applied and on information and responses provided and submitted on the mytenders portal as requested in this Selection Questionnaire. Please see Section 4.0 for requirements for submission. The highest scoring 4 - 5 bidders will be invited to progress to Stage 2 2.2 PROPOSAL AND FORM OF TENDER STAGE The 2nd Stage will comprise of: * Initial on-line Briefing session to outline key requirements, expand on completing forms of tender and answer any questions. * Site visits to the School(s). * Submission by Tenderers of their Forms of Tender outlining their financial proposal and responses to Technical Questions within the ITT that describe the operational support to the teams on site, and the Schools * Submissions will be evaluated with the highest scoring being shortlisted. * The shortlist of 3 Tenderers will be asked to present to representatives of the Schools and Educo.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: completion of initial contract term of 3 years and successful attainment of the agreed kpi's

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/087524-2026 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Competitive flexible procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 15 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 21 Oct 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 2030 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £2,768,000 |
| Lots value | £2,768,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Educo |
| Locality | LEICESTER |
| Postcode area | Leicester |
| Postcode | LE1 7LT |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLF East Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire |
| ITL 3 | TLF21 Leicester |
| Local authority | Leicester |
| Electoral ward | Castle |
| Westminster constituency | Leicester South |
| Delivery location | TLJ27 West Sussex (South West) |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

### Codes

- 55524000 - School catering services

## Release History

- 15 Sep 2026 at 19:48 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/087524-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/087524-2026
  15th September 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.mytenders.co.uk/Authority/NoticeBuilder/NoticeBuilder_FileDownload.aspx?id=653085
  Selection Questionnaire
- https://www.mytenders.co.uk/Authority/NoticeBuilder/NoticeBuilder_FileDownload.aspx?id=653086
  example agreement

## Notice URLs

- http://www.educo.co.uk
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.mytenders.co.uk/

## 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-06fa99. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06fa99.json.