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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Children's External Placements Education & Tuition PDPS

Peterborough City Council · compiled

Tender information last checkedLast checked 29 Sept 2026, 22:01.

Opportunity overview

The procurement is to set up a multi supplier "pseudo DPS" (referred to as "PDPS"). As the PDPS Agreement will be "pseudo PDPS", it will look and feel similar to a DPS agreement set up under Regulation 34 of the PCR. This means that the Authority envisages the PDPS will re-open at (12) twelve-month intervals (or at other intervals at the Authority's discretion) for new providers to apply or previously unsuccessful providers to re-apply. Reopening of the PDPS is solely at the discretion of the Authority. The Procurement is being run using a procedure similar to the open procedure described in Regulation 27of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended). However, the Authority reserves the right to deviate from the formalities of the open procedure given the flexibilities permitted by Regulation 76 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) in the conduct of procurements for "Social and Other Specific Services", otherwise referred to as "Light Touch Regime" procurement • Lot 1 Independent Fostering Agencies • Lot 2 Residential Children's Homes • Lot 3 Independent Special Education Provisions/Post 16 Placements • Lot 4 Out of School Tuition • Lot 5 Post 16 Alternative Provision There is an additional Lot 6 which will comprise of mini competition stage for block contracts, Please note that only those bidders that are awarded onto Lots as detailed below will be invited to participate in mini competition • Lot 6a - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 1 Independent Fostering Agency will be invited to participate • Lot 6b - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 2 Residential Children's Homes will be invited to participate • Lot 6c - Only those successfully awarded ont Lot 3 Independent Special Education Provision will be invited to participate • Lot 6d - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 4 Out of School Tuition and Alternative Provision will be invited to participate • Lot 6e - Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 5 Post 16 Education will be invited to participate Where it is appropriate to do so, Peterborough is committed to supporting children and young people to remain living and learning in their local area. It should be noted that for Independent Special Educational Provisions offering 38+ week boarding or 52 week placements, Providers will need to meet the requirements within both the Lot 3 Specification (for ISEPS) and Lot 2 Specification (for Residential Children's Homes) The definition of Partner Organisation for the purpose of this procurement will be any Educational Establishment within Peterborough as defined at: https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/residents/schools-and-education/all-schools-colleges, or any Local Authority Council in England whether County, Unitary, District, Borough, Metropolitan, parish or community Council as defined at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/index.htm

Classification

  • CPV85000000 — Health and social work services
  • CPV85100000 — Health services
  • CPV85300000 — Social work and related services
  • CPV85310000 — Social work services

Lots

  • Independent Fostering Agency£93.6m
  • Residential Childrens Homes£277m
  • Independent Special Education Provision£216.3m
  • Out of School Tuition and Alternative Provision£131.6m
  • Post 16 Education£19.6m
  • Block Contracts (Mini Competition)£1

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
DN740736
Status
active
Procurement Method
open
Award Criteria Details
The PDPS will follow a two-stage process: All Lots - Stage 1: The first stage is concerned with setting up the PDPS. Under this stage Bidders are invited to apply for inclusion on the PDPS (i.e. this Invitation to Tender). Bidders complete and submit a response in the form of the standard selection questionnaire (SQ), and those who meet the Selection Criteria and Award Stage Criteria who are not excluded will be admitted onto the PDPS as a Supplier for the Lot(s) that they have applied for. Lots 1-5 Stage 2: The second stage will be the referral stage. The Referral process is detailed in Appendix 11k and 11l to the ITT and a Call off Contract will be entered into with the successful provider. Lot 6 – Stage 2: The second stage will be the mini competition stage, and the process is detailed in Appendix 12. Please note that only those bidders that are awarded onto Lots as detailed below will be invited to participate • Lot 6a – Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 1 Independent Fostering Agency will be invited to participate • Lot 6b – Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 2 Residential Children’s Homes will be invited to participate • Lot 6c – Only those successfully awarded ont Lot 3 Independent Special Education Provision will be invited to participate • Lot 6d – Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 4 Out of School Tuition and Alternative Provision will be invited to participate • Lot 6e – Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 5 Post 16 Education will be invited to participate Appointment to the PDPS (Stage 1) Any interested organisation/consortium may submit a Bid in response to this ITT. Bids submitted for Lot 1, Lot 2 & Lot 3 will be evaluated on response to questions indicated below on the Selection Questionnaire (SQ) Lot 1 Questions 8.1(a) and 8.1(b) Lot 2 Questions 8.2(a) and 8.2(b) Lot 3 Questions 8.3(a) and 8.3(b) Bids for Lots 4 and 5 will be evaluated on both the Selection Questionnaire ("SQ") and Quality Questions and ITT response documents for each Lot being bid for. All aspects of this ITT should be completed in full and submitted as advised in the ITT Lot 6 does not require any documents to be completed and will not be evaluated. Only those bidders that are awarded onto Lots 1 - 5 will be invited to participate in further competition. The Authority will evaluate Bidders' responses to the selection questions in the SQ before evaluating the remainder of the Bid. All bidders for Lot 1, Lot 2 and Lot 3 that meet the selection criteria will be admitted onto the PDPS as a supplier for the Lot(s) All Bidders for Lot 4 and Lot 5 meeting the selection criteria set out in the SQ Explanatory Document (Appendix 5: SQ Explanatory Document) will proceed to the tender evaluation stage and will have the remainder of their Bids evaluated. Bids for Lot 4 and Lot 5 which do not meet the selection criteria, will not proceed to the tender evaluation stage. All bidders for Lots 4 and 5 who meet the quality threshold of 70% or more will be admitted onto the PDPS as a supplier for the Lot(s) which has been bid for. Award of Call Off Contract (Stage 2) Each Call off Contract awarded under this PDPS may be made following the referral process detailed in Appendix 11k and Appendix 11l to the ITT to appoint Suppliers. All Suppliers appointed to the relevant Lot (s) (Lot 1 – 5) will be invited to take part via the referral process for the specific Lot they have been appointed to. Suppliers are not obligated to respond at this stage. Lot 6 will be conducted as a mini competition The questions that Bidders are required to answer in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) are set out for Lot 4 – Appendix 8a and Lot 5 – Appendix 8b Quality Questions. Appendix 9 – Financial Submissions are not applicable at PDPS award stage. Financial Submissions will be reviewed at referral stage for Lots 1,2,3,4 and 5 but will not be evaluated. For Lot 6 evaluation methodology will be published in mini-competition documentation.
Main Procurement Category
services
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure

Legal basis

Id
32014L0024
Scheme
CELEX

Lot Details

Maximum Lots Bid Per Supplier
9,999,999
Maximum Lots Awarded Per Supplier
5

Techniques

Has Framework Agreement
Yes

Framework Agreement

Period Rationale
This is a procedure similar to the open procedure described in Regulation 27of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended). However, the Authority reserves the right to deviate from the formalities of the open procedure given the flexibilities permitted by Regulation 76 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) in the conduct of procurements for "Social and Other Specific Services”, otherwise referred to as “Light Touch Regime” procurement. The total contract inclusive of extensions is 8 years.

Tender Period

Ends
24 Mar 2025, 12:00

Contract terms

Has Electronic Payment
Yes
Has Electronic Ordering
Yes
Electronic Invoicing Policy
allowed

Classification

Id
85000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Health and social work services

Submission terms

Languages

en

Submission Method

electronicSubmission

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Title
Independent Fostering Agency
Status
active
Description
Lot 1 will encompass placements for children and young people in care with foster carers registered to Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs), in accordance with the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011. Additional information: Suppliers must be awarded onto this Lot in order to be eligible for Lot 6a Competitive Tender should it be required. Lot 6 has no value attached and any award made under Lot 6a will be included in aggregated spend for this Lot.

Value

Amount
93,632,012
Currency
GBP

Contract period

Ends
31 Aug 2029, 23:59
Starts
1 Sept 2025, 00:00
Entry 2
Id
2
Title
Residential Childrens Homes
Status
active
Description
Lot 2 is for placements for Children and young people in care in registered, Residential Children’s Homes in accordance with the Children’s Home (England) Regulations 2015. Additional information: Suppliers must be awarded onto this Lot in order to be eligible for Lot 6b Competitive Tender should it be required. Lot 6 has no value attached and any award made under Lot 6b will be included in aggregated spend for this Lot.

Value

Amount
277,003,148
Currency
GBP

Contract period

Ends
31 Aug 2029, 23:59
Starts
1 Sept 2025, 00:00
Entry 3
Id
3
Title
Independent Special Education Provision
Status
active
Description
Lot 3 is for both registered Independent Specialist Education Placements (ISEPS) and Post 16 Placements; for children & young people with Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCPs). Additional information: Suppliers must be awarded onto this Lot in order to be eligible for Lot 6c Competitive Tender should it be required. Lot 6 has no value attached and any award made under Lot 6c will be included in aggregated spend for this Lot.

Value

Amount
216,328,150
Currency
GBP

Contract period

Ends
31 Aug 2029, 23:59
Starts
1 Sept 2025, 00:00
Entry 4
Id
4
Title
Out of School Tuition and Alternative Provision
Status
active
Description
Lot 4 relates to both Out of School Tuition and Alternative Provision for children & young people with special educational needs & disabilities. Additional information: Suppliers must be awarded onto this Lot in order to be eligible for Lot 6d Competitive Tender should it be required. Lot 6 has no value attached and any award made under Lot 6d will be included in aggregated spend for this Lot.

Value

Amount
131,590,228
Currency
GBP

Contract period

Ends
31 Aug 2029, 23:59
Starts
1 Sept 2025, 00:00
Entry 5
Id
5
Title
Post 16 Education
Status
active
Description
Lot 5 relates to Post 16 Alternative Provision for young people & young adults with special educational needs & disabilities. Additional information: Suppliers must be awarded onto this Lot in order to be eligible for Lot 6eCompetitive Tender should it be required. Lot 6 has no value attached and any award made under Lot 6e will be included in aggregated spend for this Lot.

Value

Amount
19,608,773
Currency
GBP

Contract period

Ends
31 Aug 2029, 23:59
Starts
1 Sept 2025, 00:00
Entry 6
Id
6
Title
Block Contracts (Mini Competition)
Status
active
Description
Mini competition stage, Please note that only those bidders that are awarded onto Lots as detailed below will be invited to participate • Lot 6a – Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 1 Independent Fostering Agency will be invited to participate • Lot 6b – Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 2 Residential Children’s Homes will be invited to participate • Lot 6c – Only those successfully awarded ont Lot 3 Independent Special Education Provision will be invited to participate • Lot 6d – Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 4 Out of School Tuition and Alternative Provision will be invited to participate • Lot 6e – Only those successfully awarded onto Lot 5 Post 16 Education will be invited to participate Additional information: This lot has no value as any contracts awarded value is included in the appropriate lot value.

Value

Amount
1
Currency
GBP

Contract period

Ends
31 Aug 2029, 23:59
Starts
1 Sept 2025, 00:00

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery Location

Description
Cambridgeshire

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
85000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Health and social work services
Entry 2
Id
85300000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Social work and related services
Item 2
Id
2
Related Lot
2

Delivery Location

Description
Cambridgeshire

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
85310000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Social work services
Item 3
Id
3
Related Lot
3

Delivery Location

Description
Cambridgeshire

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
85000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Health and social work services
Item 4
Id
4
Related Lot
4

Delivery Location

Description
Cambridgehire

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
85300000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Social work and related services
Item 5
Id
5
Related Lot
5

Delivery Location

Description
Cambridgeshire

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
85100000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Health services
Entry 2
Id
85300000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Social work and related services
Item 6
Id
6
Related Lot
6

Delivery Location

Description
Cambridgeshire

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
85300000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Social work and related services

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-FTS-15047
Name
Peterborough City Council

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UK
Locality
Peterborough
Postal Code
PE2 8TY
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Sand Martin House, Bittern Way

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
REGIONAL_AUTHORITY
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Regional or local authority
Entry 2
Id
01
Scheme
COFOG
Description
General public services

Identifier

Legal Name
Peterborough City Council

Contact

Name
Mrs Jan Thistleton
Telephone
+44 1733864553
Organisation 2
Id
GB-FTS-223
Name
Peterborough City Council

Roles

reviewBody
mediationBody

Address

Locality
Peterborough
Postal Code
PE2 8TY
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Sand Martin House

Details

Identifier

Legal Name
Peterborough City Council

Contact

Telephone
+44 7984004212

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Peterborough · UK · PE2 8TY · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UK

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-04e704-2025-02-21T15:16:06Zcompiled ·