--- title: "Alternative Provision (AP) services for children and young people with SEND" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0783b0" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0783b0" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0783b0.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0783b0.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "Metropolitan borough of Bury" published: "2026-10-08" --- # Alternative Provision (AP) services for children and young people with SEND Buyer: Metropolitan borough of Bury Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0783b0 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0783b0) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0783b0.json) ## Summary Bury Metropolitan Borough Council intends to commission alternative provision services for children and young people, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities, at risk of exclusion, or unable to access mainstream or specialist education. The service is intended to provide a graduated range of education and support: mainstream in-reach and early intervention, full-time alternative provision, specialist bespoke provision, vocational and employability pathways, preparation for adulthood after age 16, and tutoring. Its central purpose is to help young people return to mainstream education or move to suitable longer-term provision. The council proposes a two-tier directory of Core Providers and Approved Providers. Delivery is in Bury, within the wider Greater Manchester area. The process is at planning stage: the council has announced its intention to procure and is undertaking preliminary market engagement, not inviting tenders. It expects to use a commissioning arrangement, with the procurement route and final service specification to be shaped by engagement. A live market-engagement event is planned for 19 October 2026, followed by a questionnaire for attendees and interested providers; individual follow-up meetings may also be arranged. The intended service period is 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2031, with a possible extension to 30 June 2032. The procurement is divided into one lot. The lot is marked as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises. No evaluation basis or estimated contract value is stated here. This planned arrangement may suit education and training providers able to deliver flexible support across different levels of need, rather than a single narrow service. Relevant capabilities include early intervention and work within mainstream settings, full-time alternative education, specialist provision for children and young people with SEND, tutoring, vocational and employability programmes, and post-16 preparation for adulthood. Providers with experience supporting young people at risk of exclusion and helping them reintegrate into mainstream education or progress to suitable longer-term provision will be well placed to contribute. The council is explicitly seeking views from SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises, as well as providers able to identify gaps in specialist and therapeutic provision. Market engagement is intended to test service design, provider capacity and appetite, the proposed provider-directory structure, pricing and the eventual procurement approach. ## Notice Bury Metropolitan Borough Council ("the Council") intends to establish a new commissioning arrangement for the delivery of Alternative Provision (AP) to children and young people, with a particular focus on those with SEND, those at risk of exclusion, and those unable to access mainstream or specialist education. The service will deliver a graduated continuum of support from mainstream in-reach and early intervention through to full-time AP, specialist bespoke provision, vocational and employability pathways, Post-16 preparation for adulthood, and tutoring with the primary aim of supporting reintegration into mainstream education or transition to the most appropriate longer-term provision. The arrangement is proposed to operate a two-tier directory (Core Providers and Approved Providers). This Preliminary Market Engagement Notice is published to inform the market of the Council's intentions and to invite providers, partners and stakeholders to participate in a live PME event and post-event questionnaire. The outputs of PME will inform the final service specification and procurement strategy. ### Planning Information The Council is undertaking PME to: test the proposed service model, lotting structure and market management approach; assess market capacity, appetite and capability (including SMEs and VCSE organisations); identify gaps in specialist and therapeutic provision; and inform the final service specification, pricing mechanism and procurement route. • Live PME event on 19 October 2026 at 16:30 (UK time). • Post-event feedback questionnaire hosted on Microsoft Forms, circulated to all registered attendees and interested parties. • Bilateral follow-up meetings may be arranged with individual providers on request, subject to equal-treatment safeguards. Please use register for the live event using the following link: Link: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/f644851a-ebb1-4cbf-a370-b79a0d479943@b3b731d0-98c0-440b-8765-8d6464a8ed82?source=copyLinkLegacyShareLinkDialog ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095177-2026 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 8 Oct 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Jul 2027 - 1 Jul 2031 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Planning | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | Metropolitan borough of Bury | | Locality | BURY | | Postcode area | Bolton | | Postcode | BL9 0SW | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLD North West (England) | | ITL 2 | TLD3 Greater Manchester | | ITL 3 | TLD37 Greater Manchester North East | | Local authority | Bury | | Electoral ward | Bury East | | Westminster constituency | Bury North | | Delivery location | TLD North West (England) | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 80 - Education and training services ### Codes - 80000000 - Education and training services ## Release History - 8 Oct 2026 at 12:48 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095177-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095177-2026 8th October 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/f644851a-ebb1-4cbf-a370-b79a0d479943@b3b731d0-98c0-440b-8765-8d6464a8ed82?source=copyLinkLegacyShareLinkDialog - 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-0783b0. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0783b0.json.