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Discovery Educational Trust - Catering Tender

Discovery Educational Trust · compiled

Tender information last checkedLast checked 29 Sept 2026, 19:08.

Opportunity overview

The supplier will provide excellent catering services to the Discovery Educational Trust a Multi Academy Trust, based in South Essex and currently comprising five schools – Chase High School in Southend, Hogarth Primary School, Kelvedon Hatch Community Primary School, Larchwood Primary School and St. Martin’s School, all in Brentwood.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Contract value
£7.5m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
13 Jul 2025
Award ID
076817-2025-1
Status
active
Identifier
02613820
Location
Birmingham,, UKG31, B45 9PZ, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV55524000 — School catering services

Lots

  • Discovery Educational Trust is a Multi Academy Trust, based in South Essex and currently comprising five schools – Chase High School in Southend, Hogarth Primary School, Kelvedon Hatch Community Primary School, Larchwood Primary School and St. Martin’s School, all in Brentwood. We aim for each of our schools to become the school of choice within the community, offering a broad and exciting range of extracurricular activities to enhance the opportunities within their formal curriculum. More information with regards to the Trust can be found here: https://www.discoveryeducationaltrust.co.uk The successful tenderer will be required to provide catering services to all five schools currently within the Discovery Educational Trust. The contract term being tendered is for three years, 1st September 2025 – 31st August 2028. There is an option for a further extension period for up to two additional years to 31st August 2030. The contract offers an excellent opportunity to review and propose enhancements to the current catering services at the Schools. This includes but is not limited to; breakfast, morning break, lunchtime and after school services, over the academic year of 190 days. The schools are keen to secure a high quality catering service including fresh locally sourced ingredients prepared on site, with a menu design that is flexible to suit the requirements of the schools’ specific students. The schools are proud of their ‘family ethos’ and expects both a tightly managed service and a management style delivered by the successful contractor that supports, encourages and develops the catering staff. The schools are not obliged to accept the lowest price submitted for this tender, rather they are keen to secure ‘best value’ from this contract and to deliver ‘best value’ to their students. Innovative and creative ideas as to how the services can be developed and value added, will be welcomed. The schools seeks a contractor that is keen to work in partnership and who will deliver to its highest abilities, at all times The annual value of the current contract is £1,251,514 (the total sales per annum over the last annual period, for all schools added together) Therefore the value of this contract is £6,257,570 (total annual costs as above x 5 as this contract is for a maximum of 5 years) The contract shall be a fixed price contract with invoices raised monthly to the school. Additional requirements and information: •The School has a minimum requirement for a contractor’s employers' liability and public liability insurance of £5 million •The minimum annual turnover that your company must have achieved to be considered for this opportunity is £1 million •It is anticipated that some employees may be members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and therefore the successful contractor in that instance would be expected to gain Admitted Body Status (ABS) in order to continue contributing to the scheme. •The winning bidder is required to pay the tender fee directly to RIVA Partnership, upon contract award •This is a growing Trust. During the tenure of this catering contract - any further schools that join this Trust may join this catering contract, at the discretion of the client.Value not stated

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
ocds-h6vhtk-0444a6
Status
complete
Procurement Method
selective
Main Procurement Category
services
Procurement Method Details
Restricted procedure
Why this procedure was chosen
This is a Direct Award C under PSR - This is a notice of intention to award. Contract award will be notified as a corrigendum after the standstill period which ends at midnight on the 8th working day following publication of this notice

Covered By

GPA

Amendments

Entry 1
Id
1
Description
This is a notice following award under Direct Award Process C. The decision makers for this process have been the Programme Team for New Born Screening. There have been no conflicts of interest identified.

Legal basis

Id
32014L0024
Scheme
CELEX

Classification

Id
55524000
Scheme
CPV
Description
School catering services

Procedure reasons

Entry 1
Id
D_OUTSIDE_SCOPE
Scheme
TED_PT_AWARD_CONTRACT_WITHOUT_CALL
Description
The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
cancelled
Has Options
No
Description
Discovery Educational Trust is a Multi Academy Trust, based in South Essex and currently comprising five schools – Chase High School in Southend, Hogarth Primary School, Kelvedon Hatch Community Primary School, Larchwood Primary School and St. Martin’s School, all in Brentwood. We aim for each of our schools to become the school of choice within the community, offering a broad and exciting range of extracurricular activities to enhance the opportunities within their formal curriculum. More information with regards to the Trust can be found here: https://www.discoveryeducationaltrust.co.uk The successful tenderer will be required to provide catering services to all five schools currently within the Discovery Educational Trust. The contract term being tendered is for three years, 1st September 2025 – 31st August 2028. There is an option for a further extension period for up to two additional years to 31st August 2030. The contract offers an excellent opportunity to review and propose enhancements to the current catering services at the Schools. This includes but is not limited to; breakfast, morning break, lunchtime and after school services, over the academic year of 190 days. The schools are keen to secure a high quality catering service including fresh locally sourced ingredients prepared on site, with a menu design that is flexible to suit the requirements of the schools’ specific students. The schools are proud of their ‘family ethos’ and expects both a tightly managed service and a management style delivered by the successful contractor that supports, encourages and develops the catering staff. The schools are not obliged to accept the lowest price submitted for this tender, rather they are keen to secure ‘best value’ from this contract and to deliver ‘best value’ to their students. Innovative and creative ideas as to how the services can be developed and value added, will be welcomed. The schools seeks a contractor that is keen to work in partnership and who will deliver to its highest abilities, at all times The annual value of the current contract is £1,251,514 (the total sales per annum over the last annual period, for all schools added together) Therefore the value of this contract is £6,257,570 (total annual costs as above x 5 as this contract is for a maximum of 5 years) The contract shall be a fixed price contract with invoices raised monthly to the school. Additional requirements and information: •The School has a minimum requirement for a contractor’s employers' liability and public liability insurance of £5 million •The minimum annual turnover that your company must have achieved to be considered for this opportunity is £1 million •It is anticipated that some employees may be members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and therefore the successful contractor in that instance would be expected to gain Admitted Body Status (ABS) in order to continue contributing to the scheme. •The winning bidder is required to pay the tender fee directly to RIVA Partnership, upon contract award •This is a growing Trust. During the tenure of this catering contract - any further schools that join this Trust may join this catering contract, at the discretion of the client.

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Quality
Type
quality
Description
70
Criterion 2
Name
Cost
Type
cost
Description
30

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery Location

Description
Essex

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKE
Entry 2
Region
UKH3

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-FTS-3022
Name
NHS England

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UK
Locality
Leeds
Postal Code
LS2 7UE
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Quarry House, Quarry Hill

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
BODY_PUBLIC
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Body governed by public law
Entry 2
Id
07
Scheme
COFOG
Description
Health

Identifier

Legal Name
NHS England

Contact

Name
claire burns
Telephone
+44 7872812559
Organisation 2
Id
GB-FTS-106616
Name
THE NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UK
Locality
Newcastle
Postal Code
NE7 7DN
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Freeman Hospital, Freeman Road, High Heaton, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE7 7DN

Details

Scale
large

Identifier

Legal Name
THE NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
Organisation 3
Id
GB-FTS-1661
Name
The High Court

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
London
Postal Code
WC2A 2LL
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
The Strand

Details

Identifier

Legal Name
The High Court
Organisation 4
Id
GB-FTS-107961
Name
NHS England

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UK
Locality
Leeds
Postal Code
LS1 4AP
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
7-8 Wellington Place

Details

Identifier

Legal Name
NHS England

Contact

Name
Claire Burns
Organisation 5
Id
GB-FTS-167430
Name
Discovery Educational Trust

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKH3
Locality
Hutton
Postal Code
CM13 2HG
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
St Martin's House, St Martin's School, Hanging Hill Lane

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
BODY_PUBLIC
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Body governed by public law
Entry 2
Id
09
Scheme
COFOG
Description
Education

Identifier

Id
PMQW-4887-GNTM
Legal Name
Discovery Educational Trust

Contact

Name
Rachel OGrady
Telephone
+44 1252977017
Organisation 6
Id
GB-FTS-167431
Name
CH&CO Catering Limited, Trading as Pabulum

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UKG31
Locality
Birmingham,
Postal Code
B45 9PZ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Parklands Court, 24 Parklands,, Birmingham Great Park, Rubery,

Details

Scale
large

Identifier

Id
02613820
Legal Name
CH&CO Catering Limited, Trading as Pabulum

Contact

Organisation 7
Id
GB-FTS-138942
Name
Discovery Educational Trust

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
Hutton
Postal Code
CM13 2HG
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
St Martin's House, St Martin's School, Hanging Hill Lane

Identifier

Legal Name
Discovery Educational Trust

Award information

Award 1
Id
006665-2024-1
Status
active

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-FTS-106616
Name
THE NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

Related lots

1
Award 2
Id
076817-2025-1
Status
active

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-FTS-167431
Name
CH&CO Catering Limited, Trading as Pabulum

Related lots

1

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
006665-2024-1
Status
active
Award ID
006665-2024-1
Date Signed
1 Mar 2024, 00:00

Value

Amount
121,000
Currency
GBP
Entry 2
Id
076817-2025-1
Status
active
Award ID
076817-2025-1
Date Signed
14 Jul 2025, 00:00

Value

Amount
7,525,055
Currency
GBP

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Hutton · UKH3 · CM13 2HG · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKE
  • Delivery location · UKH3

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-0444a6-2025-11-25T12:05:44Zcompiled ·