Specialist Education Framework Phase 1 – Independent Non-Maintained Special Schools Lots 1 and 2

This is a new competitive procurement using a open procedure conducted in accordance with the light touch regime of the Public Procurement 2015 Regulations.

Nottinghamshire County Council (‘the Council’) are running an open tender process to establish a new framework under which the Council are looking to commission Independent non-maintained special schools (INMSS) and Post-16 (where the provision is delivered in house by the school) for the provision of specialist school placements for pupils who are not attending mainstream or maintained schools and who have an Education Health Care (EHC) Plan.

The establishment of a framework agreement for INMSS is the first phase of the recommissioning of the Specialist Education provision for the Council as set out in the Vision document. Ultimately the framework will be extended to include Alternative Education Provision and Post-16 institutions (e.g., further education colleges that are not part of the INMSS), that will be the second/third phases of the recommissioning project and new procurement processes will be run at later dates which are yet to be decided.

The new framework will replace the current Independent / non-maintained special schools Approved Provider List for Nottinghamshire (NAPL).

This initial phase of the framework will have two lots under which the Council can make specialist school placements. In Lot 1 commissioners will put in place block contracts with providers and Lot 2 will see the establishment of an approved provider list.

The scope and nature of the services required by the Council are set out in more detail in the specification. The service is required across the whole of Nottinghamshire County (excluding Nottingham City).

The term of the framework agreement will be for a period of 5 years and will commence from 01 April 2024 to the 31 March 2029. “Call-off” contracts under Lot 2 may commence from the 1st of April 2024, however the earliest date “call-off” contracts can commence under Lot 1 is the 1st of September 2024.

There is potential to extend this Framework Agreement for up to a further 6 years in increments of 24 months

Please read all the tender documents. If you have any questions, please submit them through

the procurement portal using the messaging facility.

To register your interest in this tender and to view the tender documents, the tender is

published on https://www.eastmidstenders.org/

Reference DN694393

The closing date for all tenders is the 20th of December 2023 at 4.30pm.

Please note that a standstill period of 10 days will commence from the notification of the

contract award.

3 extension option(s) available, 0 taken; up to 24 months in total