PP-10125 Aletheia Academies Trust Catering

Aletheia Academies Trust consists of twelve academies including eleven Primary schools, one Nursery and one All-Through School in Kent. The catering service across Aletheia Academies Trust may require a new approach. Currently the catering is carried out via the model in Attachment 5, but the Trust are interested to see whether improvements can be found that are in the best interest of all the schools and offer best value.

The Trust are open to finding new innovative ideas to make the catering service more efficient, better quality and more cost effective. At the sole discretion of the Trust any future schools that the Trust may incorporate into the Trust will also be added to the contract. Any additional schools will co-terminate to the end same end date of the initial contract.

The Contract period will be for 3 years initially with the option to extend for two further one year periods.

Aletheia Academies Trust consists of twelve academies including eleven Primary schools, one Nursery and one All-Through School. With expansion on the horizon and our community growing, our student population of 4,600 pupils is projected to increase to over 8,000 by 2031 based on current and known growth plans. Alkerden Academy is expected to be open by September 2025. It is important that the Successful bidder is able to cope with the growth and support the Trust in a flexible manner. The catering service across Aletheia Academies Trust may require a new approach. The Contract period will be for 3 years initially with the option to extend for two further one year periods. The proposed contract will be for the outsourced provision of catering services to the Client. It is the Client’s expectation that the Successful Bidder shall be responsible for the operation of the catering function including employment and management of staff, supply of foodstuffs, consumables and light equipment and preparing and serving appropriate meals. The Client will retain responsibility for payment of utilities and the operation and maintenance of core catering equipment and facilities. The Successful bidder will provide a range of good quality, nutritious, attractively presented meals for pupils and staff, that comply with Government’s minimum nutritional and food based standards for the educational sector. Meals should reflect growth in healthy eating trends, promote uptake, and comply with the new Ofsted guidance for catering.The Successful Bidder shall establish effective management and operational level communication systems at all levels regarding the catering service with customers that include; School management, parents, and pupils. In addition, the Successful Bidder will also be responsible for all legal and health and safety & food safety requirements in delivering the catering services.