Published date: 23 September 2021

This notice was replaced on 26 November 2021

This notice does not contain the most up-to-date information about this procurement. The most recent notice is:

Awarded contract (published 15 July 2022)

Closed early engagement


Contract summary

Industry

  • Education and training services - 80000000

Location of contract

North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South West

Procurement reference

tender_256967/999309

Published date

23 September 2021

Closing date

4 October 2021

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes

Description

The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to notify the market of a forthcoming opportunity to bid for a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme for those teaching the sciences in primary and secondary schools and further education institutes in England. Interested parties are invited to hear details about this opportunity and share thoughts and questions about the programme.

The contract is due to commence in April 2022. The length of the contract will be 17 months, finishing at the end of August 2023.

The continued growth of science-related research and industry is a central part of the government's industrial strategy. To support this, and to increase the flow of people into STEM-related careers, it is vital to increase the number of students achieving good grades in the sciences.

CPD has a key role to play in the development of a world class education system. Evidence shows that CPD can lead to improved student outcomes by allowing teachers to improve and refine their practice. CPD can also contribute to improved teacher retention, which is vital for maintaining a high quality workforce.

In recent years science-specific CPD funded by the Department for Education has been delivered to thousands of teachers and technicians, including those teaching at schools in areas of disadvantage. This has supported participating schools to increase the number of students achieving the science component of EBacc.

The new CPD contract will replace three current agreements for science CPD. The intention is that the current offer of a general science network, a specific physics network and a bursary scheme is replicated in the new contract. However, instead of three separate oversight bodies as currently, the new arrangement will be for a single oversight body to oversee all three programmes to help present a clear and easily-navigable offer for teachers to access science-specific CPD from key stage 1 to key stage 5.

The Department is seeking a lead provider, consortia or similar entity to deliver the programme according to the following primary objective:

To provide high quality science CPD to teachers in primary schools, secondary schools and FE colleges in order to improve the number of students studying science subjects at GCSE and A level and achieving good results. The CPD should support the teaching of a knowledge rich curriculum at primary, secondary and post-16 level.

In addition, the programme will have the following related strategic objectives:

- To carry out targeted action to address the disadvantage gap in GCSE and A level science by targeting support towards schools with a high percentage of students with free school meals in order to improve outcomes.
- To carry out targeted action to improve participation from under-represented groups progressing to A level science. In particular, this should include action to increase the number of females studying A level Physics

More information

Links

Additional text

- To deliver targeted support to primary science leaders in delivering a knowledge-rich curriculum in order to improve engagement in primary science and to maximise the quality of training that science leaders deliver in turn to their colleagues.
- To improve teacher retention by supporting teachers to confidently deliver a knowledge-rich curriculum in the science subjects they teach.


Indicative Dates for Procurement:

Subject to internal clearances, we intend to publish the Invitation to Tender in November 2021. Contract award will take place around January 2022 with contract commencement in April 2022. Again, this is subject to internal clearances and the outcome of the spending review . Further detailed information on the procurement process will be provided in the Invitation to Tender documents.

The Department is managing this Procurement based upon the 'Open' tendering procedure as defined by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Regulation 27).

For information: Attendance at the market engagement event is not a pre-requisite for being able to submit a tender against this opportunity. If you are unable to attend the market engagement event, the slides and Q&A outcomes will be made available to all that register interest in this procurement opportunity using the Jaggaer portal.

Any subsequent tender will be advertised via both OJEU and contracts finder and will be managed via the Department's Jaggaer e-Procurement platform. Suppliers who are not already registered on Jaggaer will need to register their company details in order to access this tender opportunity.

Links to the site and related guidance can be found via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/about/procurement#jaggaer-the-dfe-etendering-portal

This notice is a zero value PIN notice for pre-market engagement. It is for information only and is not a call for competition. The Department reserves the right not to enter a formal procurement process and not proceed with contract award. Accordingly, the Department will not be liable for any bid cost, expenditure, work or effort incurred by any organisation in acting on the basis of this Prior Information Notice. All information included in this notice is indicative and subject to change and is neither exhaustive nor binding. The authority reserves the right at its absolute discretion to amend it at the time of issue of any further notices or at any other time.

If you are interested in attending the online event on 6th October 2021 or you would just like to receive direct communication regarding this potential future procurement, please register your interest using the URL link here: https://education.app.jaggaer.com

About the buyer

Address

Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street,
London
SW1P 3BT
England

Email

john.burton@education.gov.uk