AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Sheffield City Council published an award and contract notice for therapeutic alternative provision for secondary school-aged pupils, including at least one hour of therapy per pupil each week. Two active awards are recorded for the same lot: CARE COVE LIMITED and Make A Difference Provision Limited. The notice records a £2.47m contract against each award, but the source does not clarify whether these are separate values or a duplicated/shared total.
Published outcomeTwo awards and associated active contract records are reported, each linked to lot 1 and dated as signed on 12 October 2026.
Market significanceThis is a specialist secondary alternative-provision requirement for complex pupils, including many excluded pupils. Value allocation between the two suppliers cannot be determined from the published data.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
2 supplier records analysed
CARE COVE LIMITED
87% confidenceAward 096317-2026-1-1 · Lots 1 · £2,470,000 recorded at contract level; allocation may be duplicated or shared GBP · Award and contract recorded as active; supplier identity unverified
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Award 096317-2026-1-1 names CARE COVE LIMITED and relates to lot 1. Its associated active contract states £2,470,000 and dateSigned 2026-10-12. Supplier verification status is checked_unmatched.
Make A Difference Provision Limited
87% confidenceAward 096317-2026-2-2 · Lots 1 · £2,470,000 recorded at contract level; allocation may be duplicated or shared GBP · Award and contract recorded as active; supplier identity unverified
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Award 096317-2026-2-2 names Make A Difference Provision Limited and relates to lot 1. Its associated active contract states £2,470,000 and dateSigned 2026-10-12. Supplier verification status is checked_unmatched.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published award and contract notice
98% confidence12 October 2026
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Release 096317-2026 is tagged "award, contract" and dated 2026-10-12T18:22:00+01:00.
Award status
95% confidenceActive for both recorded awards
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Awards 096317-2026-1-1 and 096317-2026-2-2 each have status "active".
Contract status
95% confidenceActive for both recorded contract records
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Both contracts in the source JSON have status "active".
Contract signature date
98% confidence12 October 2026
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Both contract records state dateSigned: 2026-10-12T00:00:00+01:00.
Lot status
99% confidenceCancelled
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Lot 1 is marked "cancelled" in the tender data, despite active awards and contracts referencing that lot.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value recorded for award 096317-2026-1-1
98% confidence£2,470,000
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Associated contract 096317-2026-1-1 states value.amount 2470000, currency GBP.
Contract value recorded for award 096317-2026-2-2
98% confidence£2,470,000
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Associated contract 096317-2026-2-2 states value.amount 2470000, currency GBP.
Value interpretation
99% confidenceUnclear whether £2.47m is separately awarded to each supplier, duplicated across both contracts, or represents a shared total.
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Both contracts reference the same procurement and lot and show the same value; no value basis, lot allocation or pricing breakdown is supplied.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Tender update published
98% confidence9 July 2026
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Release 064727-2026 is a tenderUpdate dated 2026-07-09T13:49:50+01:00.
Award and contract notice published
98% confidence12 October 2026
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Release 096317-2026 is dated 2026-10-12T18:22:00+01:00.
Recorded contract signing
98% confidence12 October 2026
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Both associated contract records contain dateSigned 2026-10-12T00:00:00+01:00.
Contract start and end
99% confidenceUnknown
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No contract start or end date is supplied in the process or contract data.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceTherapeutic alternative provision for secondary school-aged pupils
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Tender title and description state "Therapeutic Alternative Provision - Further Competition" and delivery of alternative provision for secondary school-aged pupils.
Therapy offer
98% confidenceAt least one hour of therapy per pupil each week
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Lot description states that the offer shall deliver at least 1 hours of therapy to the pupil each week.
Target cohort
98% confidenceMost complex pupils, including many excluded pupils
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Lot description says the service is targeted to the most complex pupils, many of which will be excluded pupils.
Classification
99% confidenceCPV 80200000 — Secondary education services
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Tender classification is CPV 80200000, described as Secondary education services.
Delivery area
95% confidenceUKE32
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Item 1 specifies deliveryAddresses region UKE32.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement method
99% confidenceSelective
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Tender procurementMethod is "selective".
Procedure detail
99% confidenceRestricted procedure
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Tender procurementMethodDetails is "Restricted procedure".
Award criteria
94% confidenceQuality 85%; price 15%
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Lot 1 awardCriteria lists Quality with description 85 and price with description 15.
Competition data
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information on tenderers, bid counts and evaluation results is not supplied in the published notice data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Contract records
97% confidenceTwo active contract records, each associated with a separate award and the same lot
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The contracts array contains two active entries, each tied to one award ID and each award relates to lot 1.
Options
98% confidenceNo options recorded
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Lot 1 hasOptions is false.
Duration, extension and renewal terms
99% confidenceUnknown
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No start date, end date, duration, extension or renewal provisions are supplied.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Quality weighting
94% confidenceThe published criteria place substantially greater weight on quality than price (85% versus 15%).
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Lot 1 award criteria lists Quality 85 and price 15.
Multi-supplier arrangement
97% confidenceTwo suppliers have active awards against the same lot, but the operational allocation model is not published.
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Both awards relate to lot 1; no allocation, volume split or call-off detail is provided.
Value comparability
99% confidenceThe identical value recorded on both contracts should not be aggregated or attributed as separate supplier revenue without clarification.
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Each active contract contains £2.47m, while both relate to the same opportunity and lot; the notice does not explain the relationship between these values.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Contradictory lifecycle fields
99% confidenceLot 1 is marked cancelled while two awards and two contracts linked to it are marked active.
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Tender lot 1 status is cancelled; awards and contracts referencing lot 1 have active status.
Supplier identity verification
99% confidenceBoth supplier names remain unverified following completed matching checks.
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Both supplier records have supplier_identity_status "checked_unmatched"; verification records show lookupDecision "still_unmatched".
Ambiguous contract values
99% confidenceThe same £2.47m value appears in each contract record; the source does not state whether values are separate, duplicated or shared.
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Both contract records show amount 2470000 GBP and both relate to the same lot.
Missing commercial dates and allocation information
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No award date, contract start/end date, duration, pricing breakdown, lot value, supplier allocation or volume split is provided.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The source contains an unresolved status contradiction: lot 1 is cancelled, while linked awards and contracts are active.
- Both supplier identities are checked_unmatched and therefore unverified; no Companies House match should be inferred.
- The identical £2.47m contract value appears on both supplier-linked contracts, with no published explanation of whether it is duplicated, shared or separately allocated.
- Information not supplied in the published notice includes award dates, contract start/end dates, duration, extension and renewal terms, tenderer counts, evaluation outcomes, individual lot value, allocation model and pricing breakdown.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Sheffield City Counciltherapeutic alternative provisionCARE COVE LIMITEDMake A Difference Provision Limitedsecondary education servicesrestricted procedure
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who was awarded Sheffield City Council's therapeutic alternative provision contract?
The published notice records active awards to CARE COVE LIMITED and Make A Difference Provision Limited, both against lot 1. Both names remain unverified in the supplied supplier-matching data.
What is the contract value?
Each of the two associated contract records states £2.47m. The notice does not clarify whether this is a separate amount for each supplier, a duplicated value, or a shared total.
When was the contract signed?
Both contract records state a signing date of 12 October 2026. No contract start or end date is published.
What services are covered?
The requirement is therapeutic alternative provision for secondary school-aged pupils, with at least one hour of therapy per pupil per week, aimed at complex pupils including many who are excluded.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.