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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Independent Review Mechanism (IRM)_ Market Engagement Event

Department for Education · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 25 Sept 2026, 11:16.

Opportunity overview

The Department for Education is exploring options for the future delivery of the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), a statutory service that provides an independent review route for prospective and existing foster parents, adopters, and adult adoptees. The IRM enables applicants to request an independent review of certain decisions made by fostering and adoption services, including decisions relating to approval status and access to records. Cases are considered by independent panels comprising experienced children's social care professionals, ensuring an impartial and objective review process. The Department is seeking market feedback to inform the future service model, delivery approach, and commercial strategy. The service plays a key role in supporting transparency, fairness, and confidence in fostering and adoption decision-making processes across England. Please note: This notice relates to pre-procurement market engagement only and does not constitute the commencement of a procurement process. Any future procurement opportunity will be advertised separately. The scope, requirements, and estimated contract value may be subject to change following market engagement.

Classification

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

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

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
ocds-h6vhtk-077a23
Main Procurement Category
services
Above Threshold
Yes
Status
planning

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Special regime

lightTouch

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Has Renewal
Yes
Status
planning

Suitability

Sme
Yes
Vcse
Yes

Contract period

Starts
1 Apr 2027, 00:00
Ends
31 Mar 2029, 23:59
Max Extent Date
31 Mar 2030, 23:59

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

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

Planning and budget

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Description
Market Engagement Event - Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) The Department for Education is undertaking market engagement in relation to the future delivery of the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), a statutory service that provides an independent review route for prospective and existing foster parents, adopters and adult adoptees. An initial market engagement session will be held on 15 October 2026, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm, via Microsoft Teams, to present the service requirements and gather feedback from the market. Interested organisations should submit an expression of interest via Jaggaer (ssq_855). Any questions should be raised through the Jaggaer messaging system. Follow this link to access Jaggaer e-procurement portal - https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html Teams joining instructions will be issued on 14 October 2026 to all organisations that have registered their interest. A consolidated Q&A log will be shared via Jaggaer following the event. Important: This notice is for market engagement purposes only and does not constitute the start of a procurement process or any commitment by the Department for Education. Should a procurement proceed, a separate notice will be published in due course. Requirements and estimated values may be subject to change.
Due
15 Oct 2026, 23:59
Status
scheduled

Documents

Entry 1
Id
090828-2026
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Published
25 Sept 2026, 09:52
Format
text/html

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
Department for Education
Id
GB-PPON-PDZG-3487-DPVD

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PDZG-3487-DPVD

Address

Street Address
Sanctuary Buildings, 20 Great Smith Street
Locality
London
Postal Code
SW1P3BT
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKI32

Contact

Name
Score Quality

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthorityCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - central government

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · London · UKI32 · SW1P3BT · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. 090828-2026Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·