---
title: "Request for Information relating to Social Worker (Integrated) Degree Apprenticeships for Herefordshire"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-07938b"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07938b"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07938b.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07938b.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "Herefordshire Council"
published: "2026-10-29"
---

# Request for Information relating to Social Worker (Integrated) Degree Apprenticeships for Herefordshire

Buyer: Herefordshire Council  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-07938b

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07938b)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07938b.json)

## Summary

Herefordshire Council is exploring the future provision of integrated degree apprenticeships in social work. The service would combine higher education with apprenticeship learning and practice, including arrangements for practice placements and ongoing practice education support. The Council is especially interested in face-to-face delivery that can be provided within reasonable travelling distance of Hereford. The work is intended to support social worker training for Herefordshire. This is an early market-planning exercise to understand available delivery models and inform a later procurement, rather than a request for suppliers to deliver training under a current contract.

The process is at the planning stage: the Council is gathering market information through a written questionnaire, with no invitation to tender at this stage. The Council expects to use responses to shape a future procurement. The questionnaire is due by 12 November 2026. The indicative contract period for the planned service is 1 April 2027 to 31 July 2031. The information sought concerns possible programme models, practice placements, practice education support and contractual arrangements where apprentice numbers may change or remain uncertain. The planned procurement is described as a service and is marked for planning; no award basis or tender procedure is set out here.

This exercise is relevant to universities and other education providers able to deliver integrated social work degree apprenticeships, particularly those with capacity to provide face-to-face teaching within reasonable travelling distance of Hereford. Providers with established practice-placement networks and the ability to offer sustained practice education support are well placed to contribute useful detail. The Council is also looking to understand how commercial and contractual arrangements can accommodate apprentice numbers that are uncertain or may change over time, so flexible delivery and pricing models are relevant. Small and medium-sized businesses and voluntary, community and social enterprises are identified as suitable participants. Suppliers can use the market engagement to explain their delivery models and inform the Council’s plans.

## Notice

Herefordshire Council is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to seek feedback from the market in relation to the delivery of Social Worker (Integrated) Degree Apprenticeships. The Council is particularly interested in face-to-face delivery models that could be provided within a reasonable travel distance from Hereford City. The Council is interested in understanding: - The different programme delivery models available, including approaches to practice placements - The practice education support available throughout these programmes - Commercial and contractual consideration for situations where the number of apprenticeships required is not known or subject to future change. This exercise is being undertaken for information seeking purposes only to help inform the Council's approach to future procurements

### Planning Information

This Request for Information takes the form a written questionnaire.
Herefordshire Council has published this market engagement exercise on the ‘Supplying the Southwest Portal’. To view the documentation related to this opportunity you will need to register on the portal if you are not already registered with Procontract, and express an interest in the opportunity.
To register with Procontract on the Supplying the Southwest Portal, click on the link below or copy and paste the link into your browser’s address bar: https://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/102638-2026 |
| 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 | 29 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Apr 2027 - 1 Aug 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 | Herefordshire Council |
| Locality | HEREFORD |
| Postcode area | Hereford |
| Postcode | HR4 0LE |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG1 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire |
| ITL 3 | TLG11 Herefordshire, County of |
| Local authority | Herefordshire, County of |
| Electoral ward | Widemarsh |
| Westminster constituency | Hereford and South Herefordshire |
| Delivery location | TLG11 Herefordshire, County of |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services

### Codes

- 80300000 - Higher education services
- 80400000 - Adult and other education services

## Release History

- 29 Oct 2026 at 13:39 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/102638-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/102638-2026
  29th October 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.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-07938b. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07938b.json.