AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
The Department for Education has published a contract award notice naming ACCENTURE (UK) LIMITED as supplier for lead creative and strategic agency services supporting the National Fostering Recruitment campaign.
Published outcomeAward 1 is recorded as active, with a stated value of £2,550,000 including VAT. The notice schedules a future signature date of 5 November 2026; it does not evidence that the contract has been signed.
Market significanceThis is a below-threshold limited-competition award for advertising and marketing services, covering campaign strategy, creative development, production and brand support.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
ACCENTURE (UK) LIMITED
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 2550000 GBP · verified
View supporting evidence
Award 1 names supplier “Accenture”; supplier verification matches company number 04757301 to ACCENTURE (UK) LIMITED.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice type
99% confidenceContract award notice on Find a Tender
View supporting evidence
Published document 097906-2026 is described as a Contract award notice on Find a Tender.
Award status
94% confidenceActive
View supporting evidence
Award 1 has status “active”; tender and lot 1 are marked “complete”.
Signature status
99% confidenceFuture signature date scheduled for 5 November 2026
View supporting evidence
Award milestone type “futureSignatureDate” has due date 2026-11-05T23:59:59+00:00 and status “scheduled”.
Planned contract start
98% confidence12 November 2026
View supporting evidence
Award contractPeriod startDate is 2026-11-12.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value
98% confidence£2,550,000 including VAT
View supporting evidence
Award 1 value records amount and amountGross as 2,550,000 GBP.
Value allocation
91% confidenceAward-level value for lot 1
View supporting evidence
Award 1 relates to lot 1; no separate lot value is published.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Award date
98% confidence16 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Award 1 date is 2026-10-16.
Award notice published
99% confidence16 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Document 097906-2026 datePublished is 2026-10-16T12:26:11+01:00.
Scheduled signature date
99% confidence5 November 2026
View supporting evidence
Scheduled futureSignatureDate milestone is 2026-11-05.
Planned initial end date
98% confidence12 November 2028
View supporting evidence
Award contractPeriod endDate is 2028-11-12T23:59:59+00:00.
Maximum possible end date
98% confidence12 November 2029
View supporting evidence
Award contractPeriod maxExtentDate is 2029-11-12T23:59:59+00:00.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
98% confidenceLead creative and strategic agency for the National Fostering Recruitment campaign
View supporting evidence
Tender title and description identify the campaign and lead-agency role.
Services
98% confidenceCreative strategy and development, paid-channel asset production, brand guardianship, support for owned/shared content, and collaboration with DfE and other campaign agencies
View supporting evidence
Tender description lists these activities.
Procurement classification
99% confidenceAdvertising and marketing services (CPV 79340000)
View supporting evidence
Award item 1 lists CPV 79340000.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceBelow threshold – limited competition
View supporting evidence
Tender procurementMethod is “limited” and procurementMethodDetails states “Below threshold - limited competition”.
Competition information
99% confidenceNumber of bidders and evaluation results unknown
View supporting evidence
Information not supplied in the published notice data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term
98% confidence12 November 2026 to 12 November 2028
View supporting evidence
Award contractPeriod specifies startDate 2026-11-12 and endDate 2028-11-12.
Extension option
99% confidenceOne optional additional year
View supporting evidence
Award hasRenewal is true and renewal description states “single optional additional 1 year extension”.
Maximum term
98% confidenceUp to 12 November 2029 if the option is used
View supporting evidence
Award maxExtentDate is 2029-11-12.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Delivery model
96% confidenceThe supplier is expected to work with WPP 650, DfE and other contracted campaign agencies.
View supporting evidence
Tender description explicitly describes this collaboration requirement.
Commercial detail
99% confidencePricing breakdown, performance measures and evaluation rationale are unknown.
View supporting evidence
Information not supplied in the published notice data.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier naming difference
99% confidenceThe source award names “Accenture”, while company-number verification identifies ACCENTURE (UK) LIMITED. The verified legal name is used in this analysis.
View supporting evidence
Supplier verification records sourceName “Accenture”, verifiedCompanyName “ACCENTURE (UK) LIMITED”, company number 04757301, and nameMismatch true.
Execution status
99% confidenceThe notice records a scheduled future signature date, not completed signature evidence.
View supporting evidence
The futureSignatureDate milestone is scheduled for 5 November 2026.
Unpublished information
99% confidenceLot title and description, individual lot pricing, bidder numbers, scores, pricing detail and evaluation rationale are not supplied.
View supporting evidence
Lot 1 title, description and value are null; no competition or evaluation data is provided.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The scheduled future signature date does not prove that a contract has been signed or commenced.
- The source supplier name is “Accenture”, whereas the verified legal entity is ACCENTURE (UK) LIMITED; the legal name has been used throughout.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: bidder count, evaluation scores, award rationale, pricing breakdown, performance measures, lot title, lot description and individual lot value.
- No extension decision date or renewal pricing is published; the extension horizon is an estimate based on the stated initial end date.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Department for EducationACCENTURE (UK) LIMITEDNational Fostering Recruitment campaigncreative agencyadvertising and marketing servicespublic procurement
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who was named in the DfE fostering campaign award?
ACCENTURE (UK) LIMITED, verified against company number 04757301.
What is the stated contract value?
£2,550,000 including VAT, recorded at award level.
Has the contract been signed?
The published data schedules a future signature date of 5 November 2026; it does not confirm completed signature.
How long could the arrangement run?
The initial period is stated to end on 12 November 2028, with one optional additional year to a maximum end date of 12 November 2029.
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.