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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Award of Centre for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) 2025

The Education and Training Foundation · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 30 Sept 2026, 03:58.

Opportunity overview

The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) is awarding a contract for a Centre for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) - Theme of 'People' following a competitive tender process. The Centre of Excellence will design and deliver CPD based on the theme for leaders, managers and practitioners who wish to put learners with SEND at the centre of their organisation, resulting in learners achieving the outcomes they aspire to. The Centre will have national reach across England. Working closely with ETF and SEND Employer Spokes, this Centre for Excellence will design and deliver live online events, Communities of Practice sessions and complete Peer Reviews focused on developing a whole organisational approach to SEND. This will result in learners achieving the outcomes they aspire to. Preparation for Adulthood is a key priority for the Centre. It will offer a specialism in the theme of 'People' and will have equal parity, providing peer to peer support and sharing effective practice to the existing Centres of Excellence, Employer Spokes and the FE sector. The ETF took a sector led approach to recruit FE providers who have been graded 'Good' or 'Outstanding' from Ofsted and/ or Care Quality Commission (CQC) for SEND provision. Following a thorough evaluation process, it was decided to award a contract for the theme of 'People' only. The theme of 'Careers' will not be awarded as originally anticipated. In the interest of transparency and fairness, ETF are observing a voluntary standstill period ending on the 15th August 2025. During this period, ETF will not enter into the contract, allowing time for any potential concerns to be raised. The award decision remains subject to the conclusion of this standstill period and no legal proceedings being initiated. ETF may consider a direct award contract for the theme of 'Careers' following the standstill period, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Procurement Act 2023, including any applicable direct award justifications under Schedule 5.

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.

City of Sunderland College

Match pending…
Published award value
£138k
Awarded
5 Aug 2025
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-UKPRN 10001475
Location
Sunderland, UKC23, SR3 4AH, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV80000000 — Education and training services

Lots

  • Lot 1£138.8k

Documents and notices

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
25-26.SEND-65
Status
complete
Above Threshold
No
Procurement Method
open
Main Procurement Category
services
How to submit
Tenderer should upload their response to the mytenders website www.mytenders.co.uk by the stated deadline.
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - open competition

Amendments

Entry 1
Id
030995-2025
Description
Please note, we have been unable to add attachments to this market engagement notice. To receive a copy of the draft invitation to tender document mentioned, please email tenderqueries@etfoundation.co.uk

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Tender Period

Ends
11 Jul 2025, 17:00

Communication

Future Notice Date
18 Jun 2025, 23:59

Enquiry period

Ends
4 Jul 2025, 17:00

Special regime

lightTouch

Submission terms

Electronic Submission Policy
allowed

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
complete
Has Renewal
Yes

Value

Amount
138,848
Currency
GBP
Including VAT
173,560

Renewal

Description
The value of the contract for each Centre is circa 86,780 GBP inclusive of VAT. Duration of the contract is 13 August 2025 - 31 March 2026 with a possible extension of one year subject to funding.

Suitability

Sme
Yes
Vcse
Yes

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Project Impact and Outcomes
Type
quality

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
10
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 2
Name
Approach and Methodology
Type
quality

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
25
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 3
Name
Capability, Capacity and Skills
Type
quality

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
15
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 4
Name
Communications, Recruitment and Dissemination
Type
quality

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
10
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 5
Name
Equality and Diversity
Type
quality

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
15
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 6
Name
Added Value
Type
quality

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
10
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 7
Name
Price and Total Contract Value
Type
cost

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
15
Weight
percentageExact

Contract period

Ends
31 Mar 2026, 23:59
Starts
13 Aug 2025, 00:00
Max Extent Date
31 Mar 2027, 23:59

Selection criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Description
The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) seeks wherever possible to take a sector led approach to recruit FE providers who have been graded ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ from Ofsted and/or Care Quality Commission (CQC) for SEND provision. There are two themes available for tenderers to bid for. Tenderers can choose to bid for one or both themes. However, if they are bidding for both themes, they will only be awarded a contract for one theme.

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 2
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 3
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
80000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Education and training services

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
L-1
Description
Invitation to Tender - Centres for Excellence in SEND
Document Type
biddingDocuments
Entry 2
Id
L-2
Description
Tender Response Document - Centres for Excellence in SEND
Document Type
biddingDocuments
Entry 3
Id
L-3
Description
Annex 1 - ETF's 12 principles of effective CPD in Further Education
Document Type
biddingDocuments
Entry 4
Id
L-4
Description
ETF Programme Learning Services Agreement
Document Type
biddingDocuments
Entry 5
Id
L-5
Description
ETF Delivery Partner Power BI terms and conditions
Document Type
biddingDocuments
Entry 6
Id
L-6
Description
ETF Delivery Partner Zoom licence terms and conditions
Document Type
biddingDocuments
Entry 7
Id
033497-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK4
Description
Tender notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
tenderNotice
Published
18 Jun 2025, 18:02

Planning and budget

Documents

Entry 1
Id
030971-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Published
9 Jun 2025, 14:26
Entry 2
Id
030995-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Published
9 Jun 2025, 14:59

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Status
scheduled
Due
13 Jun 2025, 23:59
Description
The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) are asking tenderers to provide written feedback to the attached invitation to tender. The feedback should: - identify points of clarification - identify any risks that may not have been considered - identify if the deliverables are achievable Any feedback on this tender should be emailed to tenderqueries@etfoundation.co.uk

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-PPON-PTPV-9936-RPRN
Name
The Education and Training Foundation

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKI32
Country
GB
Locality
London
Postal Code
SW1W 9SP
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
157 - 197 Buckingham Palace Road

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Description
Public authority - sub-central government

Identifier

Id
PTPV-9936-RPRN
Scheme
GB-PPON

Contact

Name
Commissioning and Procurement
Telephone
+442037408280
Organisation 2
Id
GB-UKPRN-10001475
Name
City of Sunderland College

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UKC23
Country
GB
Locality
Sunderland
Postal Code
SR3 4AH
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Bede Campus, Durham Road

Details

Vcse
No
Scale
large

Identifier

Id
10001475
Scheme
GB-UKPRN

Contact

Award information

Award 1
Id
1
Date
6 Aug 2025, 00:00
Title
Centre for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) 2025
Status
active
Has Renewal
Yes
Above Threshold
No
Main Procurement Category
services

Items

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
80500000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Training services
Entry 2
Id
80400000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Adult and other education services

Value

Amount
137,952
Currency
GBP
Including VAT
172,440

Renewal

Description
The value of the contract for each Centre was circa 86,780 GBP inclusive of VAT. The duration of the contract is until 31st March 2026 with a possible extension of one year subject to the availability of funding.

Documents

Entry 1
Id
047056-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK6
Description
Contract award notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
awardNotice
Published
7 Aug 2025, 16:59

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-UKPRN-10001475
Name
City of Sunderland College

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
1
Type
futureSignatureDate
Status
scheduled
Due
18 Aug 2025, 23:59

Related lots

1

Contract period

Ends
7 Mar 2026, 23:59
Starts
19 Aug 2025, 00:00
Max Extent Date
31 Mar 2027, 23:59

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · London · UKI32 · SW1W 9SP · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UK · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-054559-2025-08-07T16:59:18+01:00Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·