AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
The Department for Education has published a contract award notice for a proposed direct award to I CAN Charity, trading as Speech and Language UK, for Reception early-language monitoring and CSCOT observation services within the English Hubs programme.
Published outcomeAward 1 is pending. The notice schedules a future signature date of 28 October 2026 and a contract start date of 2 November 2026; it does not evidence a signed or active contract.
Market significanceThe proposed award covers an integrated digital platform, observations, training, quality assurance, data management, reporting and programme governance requirement, with a stated initial term of nearly 29 months and a potential extension to 31 March 2030.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
I CAN Charity (trading as Speech and Language UK)
98% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 445355.83 GBP · Pending proposed award
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Award 1 names “I CAN Charity (trading as Speech and Language UK)” as supplier and gives a GBP 445,355.83 amount excluding VAT. No verified_company_name was supplied.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published notice
99% confidenceContract award notice published 15 October 2026
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Award document 097451-2026 is labelled “Contract award notice on Find a Tender” and dated 2026-10-15.
Award status
99% confidencePending
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Award 1 status is “pending”.
Signature status
99% confidenceFuture signature scheduled; signature not evidenced
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The award milestone is a scheduled futureSignatureDate of 2026-10-28.
Contract start status
98% confidencePlanned start: 2 November 2026
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Award 1 contractPeriod startDate is 2026-11-02.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value excluding VAT
99% confidenceGBP 445,355.83
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Award 1 value.amount is 445355.83 GBP.
Award value including VAT
99% confidenceGBP 534,427
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Award 1 value.amountGross is 534427 GBP.
Value allocation
96% confidenceSingle award, linked to lot 1
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Award 1 relates to lot 1; no separate lot value is published.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Award decision date
98% confidence3 September 2026
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Award 1 date is 2026-09-03.
Notice publication date
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Award notice 097451-2026 datePublished is 2026-10-15.
Standstill end
99% confidence26 October 2026, 23:59:59 UTC
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Award 1 standstillPeriod.endDate is 2026-10-26T23:59:59+00:00.
Scheduled signature date
99% confidence28 October 2026
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Scheduled futureSignatureDate is 2026-10-28.
Planned initial end date
99% confidence31 March 2029
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Award 1 contractPeriod.endDate is 2029-03-31.
Maximum possible end date
99% confidence31 March 2030
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Award 1 contractPeriod.maxExtentDate is 2030-03-31.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceReception Early Language Monitoring and CSCOT Observation Programme
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Tender and award title.
Service components
99% confidenceCSCOT platform access; observation delivery and coordination; observer training and quality assurance; data collection, storage and management; dataset access; reporting and analytics; governance and coordination.
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Published tender description lists these integrated services.
Programme context
98% confidenceSupport for Reception early-language monitoring within the English Hubs programme.
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Published tender description.
Category
99% confidenceServices; CPV 80000000 — Education and training services
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Award 1 mainProcurementCategory is services and its item carries CPV 80000000.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement route
99% confidenceDirect award
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Tender procurementMethod and procurementMethodDetails are both recorded as direct/direct award.
Threshold status
99% confidenceAbove threshold
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Award 1 aboveThreshold is true.
Competition information
99% confidenceNot supplied in the published notice.
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No bid count, competitor list or evaluation detail is provided.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term
99% confidence2 November 2026 to 31 March 2029
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Award 1 contractPeriod startDate and endDate.
Extension option
98% confidenceUp to 12 months, subject to continued delivery requirements, funding, performance, governance approvals and applicable statutory conditions.
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Award renewal and options descriptions; maxExtentDate is 31 March 2030.
Break clauses
96% confidenceAnnual break clauses stated
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Tender description states “Break clauses: Annual break clauses”.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial structure
97% confidenceA proposed direct award combines technology access, field observation operations, training, quality assurance, data services, analytics and programme coordination under one requirement.
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Tender description lists each service element; procurement method is direct award.
Value interpretation
98% confidenceThe published GBP 445,355.83 excluding VAT is the award-level value for the single listed award and is not a confirmed contracted spend while the award remains pending.
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Award 1 is pending and reports value.amount of 445355.83 GBP.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Pending lifecycle
99% confidenceThe record is a pending award, with future signature and start dates; it must not be treated as a signed or active contract.
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Award status is pending; futureSignatureDate is scheduled for 2026-10-28.
Supplier verification limitation
99% confidenceNo verified legal company name or company number was supplied. The supplier is therefore presented using the published notice name.
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verified_company_name, verified_company_number and source_company_number are null; identity status is not_applicable.
Lot detail limitation
99% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or standalone value.
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Lot 1 title, description and value_amount are null.
Unpublished procurement detail
98% confidenceInformation on competing bids, evaluation, pricing breakdown, contract signature and detailed break-clause operation was not supplied in the published notice.
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These fields or details are absent from the supplied data.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The award is pending; the supplied notice does not evidence contract signature, conclusion or service commencement.
- No verified legal company name or company number was supplied for the named supplier; the published supplier name is retained.
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or individual value.
- Information not supplied in the published notice includes bid counts, evaluation and award rationale, detailed pricing, signature confirmation, and detailed break-clause terms.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Department for EducationSpeech and Language UKI CAN CharityCSCOTEnglish Hubsearly language monitoringdirect awardcontract award notice
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who is named as supplier for the CSCOT Observation Programme?
The published notice names I CAN Charity (trading as Speech and Language UK). No verified legal company name was supplied in the data.
Is the Department for Education contract signed?
No signed contract is evidenced. The award is pending, with signature scheduled for 28 October 2026.
What is the published award value?
GBP 445,355.83 excluding VAT, or GBP 534,427 including VAT.
How long could the arrangement run?
The published initial period runs to 31 March 2029, with an option of up to 12 months that could extend it to 31 March 2030.
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.