United Kingdom179 days leftOpen

Stratford School Academy Catering Tender 2026

Tender Overview

LOCATION

Inner London - East, United Kingdom

VALUE

£2,400,000

DEADLINE

July 31, 2026 at 23:00

CATEGORY

Other

CPV CODE

55524000

REFERENCE

008446-2026

Project Timeline

Contact Information

View Original

Original Tender Description

Stratford School Academy is a co-educational Secondary Academy located in the London Borough of Newham. The Academy serves up to 1500 students aged 11 to 16 and employs approximately 165 teaching and support staff across its two sites. Each site has its own kitchen and restaurant area. The Academy is tendering its catering services with a contract start date of 1st August 2026. The initial term will run for three years, ending on 31st July 2029, with a requirement for termly and annual reviews and a break clause to support both parties should the relationship not prosper. There will be an option to extend for up to two further years (1+1) by mutual agreement, based on qualitative and financial performance. The current contract with Innovate Food Group has reached the maximum tenure. The Academy is seeking a professional catering contractor who can deliver an excellent level of service, high-quality food and service enhancements, realistic and achievable sales targets and ongoing support to the Academy community throughout the contract. The projected turnover for the five-year contract is expected to be circa £2 million. The Academy is running this procurement as a Competitive Flexible, Two Stage, Light Touch Regime, Open Tender Process. To declare your interest in the tender and download contract documents (available free of charge), please register on https://in-tendhost.co.uk/cohesionconsulting/aspx/Home Once registered, please declare interest in the opportunity to access and download the full document set. In short, the Academy needs to be convinced that bidders can deliver their promises in full, achieve their sales projections, and meet their service enhancements. If the School is not convinced of this, it reserves the right to consider an insourced solution or make no award. Any investment proposals must align with DfE guidelines.
⚠️

MANDATORY EXCLUSION GROUNDS

  • (None explicitly stated in the provided text.)

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

  • The bidding entity must be a professional catering contractor.
  • Bidders must register on the designated online portal (https://in-tendhost.co.uk/cohesionconsulting/aspx/Home).
  • Bidders must declare interest in the opportunity via the online portal.
  • Bidders must download the full document set from the online portal to access complete tender information.
🔧

TECHNICAL CAPABILITY REQUIREMENTS

  • The contractor must be able to deliver an excellent level of catering service.
  • The contractor must be able to provide high-quality food.
  • The contractor must be able to propose and implement service enhancements.
  • The contractor must be capable of managing catering operations across two separate sites, each equipped with its own kitchen and restaurant area.
  • The contractor must provide ongoing support to the Academy community throughout the contract term.
  • Bidders must demonstrate their ability to fully deliver all promises made in their tender submission.
  • Bidders must demonstrate their capability to meet proposed service enhancements.
  • The contractor must be capable of serving approximately 1500 students and 165 staff.
  • The contractor must be prepared to participate in termly and annual performance reviews.
  • The contractor must operate under a contract that includes a break clause.
💰

FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS

  • Bidders must propose realistic and achievable sales targets.
  • Bidders must demonstrate their ability to achieve the sales projections presented in their bid.
  • Any investment proposals included in the bid must strictly align with Department for Education (DfE) guidelines.
  • The contractor must be capable of managing a contract with a projected turnover of approximately £2 million over a five-year period.
  • The contractor's financial performance will be a factor in any potential contract extension.
📋

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

  • The tender submission must be completed by the deadline of 2026-08-01T00:00:00+01:00.
  • Bidders must present a compelling case to the Academy demonstrating their capability to deliver promises, achieve sales projections, and meet service enhancements.
  • Bidders must register and declare interest on the specified online portal to gain access to the full tender documents required for submission.

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DOC
OCDS Record
Data008446-2026_ocds_record.json
Summary:
Download failed - no summary available
DOC
OCDS Release Package
OCDS Data008446-2026_ocds_release.json
Summary:
This OCDS Release Package provides structured data for Stratford School Academy's tender seeking a professional catering contractor for a 3-5 year, £2 million contract starting August 2026 to serve 1500 students and 165 staff.
PDF
Official PDF Version
Administrative Documents008446-2026_official.pdf
Summary:
This document is a tender notice for Stratford School Academy's catering services, seeking a professional contractor for a 3+2 year contract worth £2 million, and directs interested bidders to register online to access full tender documents.
HTM
Tender Notice
Administrative Documents008446-2026.html
Summary:
Stratford School Academy is tendering for professional catering services for a 3+2 year contract starting August 2026, with an estimated £2 million turnover, and interested bidders must register online to access full tender documents.

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63
Good

Tender Quality Score

This tender provides a clear description of the required catering services but suffers from significant issues regarding the lack of explicit evaluation criteria and a contradiction in the stated procurement procedure type, impacting transparency and fairness.

Score Breakdown

Legal Compliance75/100

The tender defines a 'Competitive Flexible, Two Stage, Light Touch Regime, Open Tender Process', which aligns with UK procurement practices for services of this nature. However, the 'Type' field states 'Restricted', creating a significant contradiction. The CPV code is correctly assigned, and the submission period is ample. The missing reveal date is a minor compliance issue.

Contradiction in tender procedure type ('Restricted' vs 'Open Tender Process')
Missing reveal date
Clarity60/100

The description of the academy, service scope, and general requirements (AI-extracted) are clear and well-documented. However, the critical absence of specified evaluation criteria makes it difficult for bidders to understand how their proposals will be assessed, significantly reducing overall clarity.

No explicit evaluation criteria specified
Completeness65/100

Basic information, value, and duration are well-defined. Requirements are outlined, but the crucial evaluation criteria are missing, which is a major gap. One of the four tender documents also failed to download, and some basic fields like 'Liable Person' are empty.

No explicit evaluation criteria specified
One tender document failed to download
Fairness55/100

Full document access is provided free of charge via an online portal, and the value is disclosed. However, the lack of specified, objective evaluation criteria is a major fairness concern, as it introduces subjectivity into the assessment process. The clause reserving the right to consider an insourced solution further highlights this potential for non-transparent decision-making.

Lack of specified, objective evaluation criteria
Practicality65/100

A document URL is provided, and the contract start date and duration are clear. The automated check flags 'No e-submission', which contradicts the instruction to register on an 'in-tendhost' portal, typically used for electronic submissions. This ambiguity creates a practical hurdle for bidders.

Ambiguity regarding electronic submission (automated check flags 'No e-submission' despite portal URL)
Data Consistency70/100

The most significant inconsistency is the contradiction between the 'Type: Restricted' field and the description stating 'Open Tender Process'. Other dates and financial figures are largely consistent, though the 'Liable Person' field is empty.

Contradiction in tender type ('Restricted' vs 'Open Tender Process')
Sustainability30/100

The tender makes no explicit mention of green procurement, social aspects beyond serving the school community, or innovation as key evaluation or contractual criteria. This indicates a low focus on sustainability considerations.

Lack of explicit sustainability, social, or innovation criteria

Strengths

Clear and detailed description of the service scope and academy context
Estimated value and contract duration are clearly specified
CPV code is correctly assigned and relevant
Tender documents are available free of charge via an online portal
Ample time provided for bid preparation (6 months)

Concerns

Critical absence of explicit evaluation criteria
Contradiction in the stated tender procedure type ('Restricted' vs 'Open Tender Process')
Ambiguity regarding the support for electronic bid submission
Lack of specific sustainability, social, or innovation requirements
One tender document failed to download

Recommendations

1. Clearly define and publish the evaluation criteria and their respective weightings to ensure transparency and fairness for all bidders.
2. Rectify the contradiction in the tender procedure type to provide unambiguous legal clarity to potential suppliers.
3. Explicitly confirm whether electronic submission of bids is fully supported through the provided online portal.

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B
Tender Quality Score
63/ 100 · Good

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