---
title: "Pre Market Engagement Exercise for a Speech and Language Therapy Service for Nettlefield Primary School"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0785db"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0785db"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0785db.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0785db.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "Education Authority NI"
published: "2026-10-12"
---

# Pre Market Engagement Exercise for a Speech and Language Therapy Service for Nettlefield Primary School

Buyer: Education Authority NI  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0785db

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## Summary

The Education Authority (Northern Ireland) is seeking supplier views on possible approaches to providing a speech and language therapy service for Nettlefield Primary School in Belfast. The intended service is health and therapy support for pupils at the school. This is a preliminary market engagement exercise to help the Authority shape its plans for a potential future contract; it is not the procurement of the service itself. Interested providers are being asked to respond to a questionnaire about how such a service could be delivered and structured. The exercise is relevant to speech and language therapy providers, including organisations experienced in delivering therapy services in primary-school settings and advising public-sector commissioners on service design.

The process has reached preliminary market engagement: the Authority invited supplier feedback through a questionnaire, rather than inviting bids for a contract. Responses were due by 3pm on 26 October 2026 via eTendersNI’s messaging function. The exercise stated an indicative contract period from 1 March 2027 to 28 February 2029, with an option to extend by up to 24 months, subject to funding and the scope of requirements. The stated estimated value is £258,000 excluding VAT (£309,600 including VAT). This is a single requirement, marked as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. There are no award criteria for the market engagement exercise; responses will inform planning and will not be evaluated as part of any later tender.

This is an opportunity for speech and language therapy providers to contribute to the design of a potential school-based service before a formal procurement. Suppliers with experience assessing and supporting children’s speech, language and communication needs in a primary-school environment are well placed to offer practical feedback on service models, staffing and delivery. The Authority is seeking views to help shape a robust, value-for-money contract, so providers able to explain workable approaches and the resources needed to deliver them should find the exercise relevant. Small and medium-sized enterprises are explicitly considered suitable. Taking part, or choosing not to take part, does not affect eligibility for any future procurement, and questionnaire responses will not give suppliers an advantage or disadvantage in a later competition.

## Notice

The primary purpose of this preliminary market engagement exercise ("Exercise") is for the Education Authority (EA) to outline and seek supplier views and feedback on potential approaches for the provision of a Speech and Language Therapy Service for Nettlefield Primary School. This is not a tender exercise by the Education Authority. The Education Authority Northern Ireland (EANI) wishes to engage with the market to gather views on the establishment of a robust, value for money Contract for the provision of a Speech and Language Therapy Service for Nettlefield Primary School. The anticipated contract period is from 1 March 2027 to 28th February 2029 (indicative), with options to extend for periods up to a further 24 months. Any information gathered through this market consultation exercise will be used solely to inform internal business planning and any potential future procurement process. It will not be evaluated as part of any subsequent tender exercise. Participation or non participation in this preliminary market consultation will not preclude any supplier from taking part in any future procurement process, nor will any information submitted provide any supplier with an advantage or disadvantage. For the avoidance of doubt, this is the scoping phase and not part of a formal procurement procedure. Suppliers who wish to participate in the market engagement exercise should complete the pre-market engagement questionnaire available on eTendersNI under the unique reference EANI 5464. Further information, including the questionnaire, can be downloaded from the CfT documents. Completed questionnaires must be submitted via the Messaging function of eTendersNI no later than 3:00pm on Monday 26th October 2026. No additional tender documents are required at this stage beyond the questionnaire.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The contract may be extended for an optional period up to and including 24 months subject to funding and scope of requirements.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096204-2026 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 12 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 26 Oct 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Mar 2027 - 28 Feb 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £258,000 |
| Lots value | £258,000 |
| 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 | Education Authority NI |
| Locality | BELFAST |
| Postcode area | Northern Ireland |
| Postcode | BT1 2NQ |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| ITL 1 | TLN Northern Ireland |
| ITL 2 | TLN0 Northern Ireland |
| ITL 3 | TLN06 Belfast |
| Local authority | Belfast |
| Electoral ward | Duncairn |
| Westminster constituency | Belfast North |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services
- 98 - Other community, social and personal services

### Codes

- 85000000 - Health and social work services
- 85100000 - Health services
- 85110000 - Hospital and related services
- 85111000 - Hospital services
- 98300000 - Miscellaneous services

## Release History

- 12 Oct 2026 at 15:48 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096204-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096204-2026
  12th October 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- 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-0785db. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0785db.json.