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Tenders

The Maplesden Noakes School - Catering Services

Open
Deadline
118 days left
July 31, 2026
Contract Details
Category
Open Procedure
Reference
011924-2026
Value
£2,346,000
Location
Surrey, East and West Sussex, United Kingdom
Published
March 28, 2026
CPV Code
Project Timeline

Tender Published

February 10, 2026

Deadline for Questions

July 24, 2026

Submission Deadline

July 31, 2026

Contract Start Date

July 31, 2026

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Budget
£2,346,000
Duration
36 months
Location
Surrey, East and West Sussex
Type
Open Procedure
87
Quality Score/100
Excellent

Original Tender Description

The Maplesden Noakes School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Maidstone, Kent, England. At Maplesden, we know we take on a weighty responsibility when you entrust your child to us. Education at Maplesden includes a commitment to helping every child reach their full potential in all their courses, but we believe it goes well beyond this too. Our goal and Just Cause at Maplesden is To Provide the Best Curriculum and Experience for all, and the Best Start to an Exciting Future. Further information regarding the School can be obtained here: https://www.maplesden.kent.sch.uk/. Tender information: The successful tenderer will be required to provide excellent catering services to The Maplesden Noakes School, which has 1413 pupils of which 28% are pupil premium, and 190 teaching and support staff. The contract term being tendered is for three years, 1st August 2026 – 31st July 2029. There is an option for a further extension period for up to two additional years to 31st July 2031. The contract offers an excellent opportunity to review and propose enhancements to the current catering services at the School. This includes but is not limited to; breakfast, morning break, lunchtime and after school services, over the academic year, plus hospitality services upon request. The school is keen to secure a high quality catering service including fresh locally sourced ingredients prepared on site, with a menu design that is flexible to suit the requirements of the school’s specific students. The school requires a balanced, healthy offer that is popular with its students. Maplesden Noakes is proud of its ‘family ethos’ and expects both a tightly managed service and a management style delivered by the successful contractor that supports, encourages and develops the catering staff. Strong marketing and engagement initiative are sought and the capability to manage or interact with the school’s cloud-based digital signage would be welcomed. The school is not obliged to accept the lowest price submitted for this tender, rather the school is keen to secure ‘best value’ from this contract and to deliver ‘best value’ to its students. Innovative and creative ideas as to how the services can be developed and value added, will be welcomed. The school seeks a contractor that is keen to work in partnership and who will deliver to its highest abilities, at all times. Competitive Flexible Procedure. This procurement will be run under the Competitive Flexible Procedure. This will follow a two stage approach, with stage 1 being the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ). Here a minimum of 5 candidates (or less, in the event less than 5 meet the minimum criteria) and a maximum of 10 candidates, will progress to stage 2. Any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement and a minimum score of 60% must be achieved. Selected tenderers will then be invited to stage 2, the Invitation To Tender (ITT). Here, the evaluation of tender response will be set as 35% price and 65% quality. Value of contract: The annual value of the current contract is £391,000 (the total sales including fsm, in the last contract year). Therefore the value of this contract is £1,955,000. The contract shall be a guaranteed performance contract with any hospitality requirements billed separately. The tender process will be run under a two stage Competitive Flexible procedure. Additional requirements and information: •The school has a minimum requirement for a contractor’s employers' liability and public liability insurances of £5 million. •The minimum annual turnover that your company must have achieved to be considered for this opportunity is £1 million. •There are not any incumbent catering staff currently within the Local Government Pension Scheme. •The catering services are currently contracted to Impact Food group. •Capital investment would be welcomed. •Please note that the successful tenderer will be required to pay the RIVA tender fee for this project directly to RIVA, upon their contract award. The client reserves the right not to appoint in conclusion of this project. To view this notice, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=1013200752

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Requirements & Qualifications

23 requirements across 5 categories

Submission (3)
Mandatory (1)
Compliance (1)
Technical (14)
Financial (4)
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS3
--Submit a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) in Stage 1.
--Submit an Invitation To Tender (ITT) response if selected for Stage 2.
--Adhere to the submission deadline of 1st August 2026.
MANDATORY EXCLUSION GROUNDS1
--None explicitly stated in the provided information.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS1
--Achieve a minimum score of 60% in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) to progress to Stage 2 (ITT).
TECHNICAL CAPABILITY REQUIREMENTS14
--Provide excellent catering services.
--Propose enhancements to current catering services.
--Cover breakfast, morning break, lunchtime, after-school services, and hospitality services upon request.
FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS4
--Hold Employers' Liability insurance with a minimum cover of £5 million.
--Hold Public Liability insurance with a minimum cover of £5 million.
--Have achieved a minimum annual turnover of £1 million.

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Documents

4 documents available with AI summaries

OCDS RecordDOC
011924-2026_ocds_record.json

This tender seeks a partner to provide catering services for The Maplesden Noakes School for a three-year term with an option for a two-year extension, emphasizing quality, local ingredients, flexible menus, and requiring a minimum annual turnover of £1 million.

OCDS Release PackageDOC
011924-2026_ocds_release.json

The Maplesden Noakes School is seeking a high-quality, partnership-oriented catering service provider for a 3-year contract (with an option for a 2-year extension) valued at £1.955 million, requiring a minimum of £5 million insurance and £1 million annual turnover, with bids evaluated 65% on quality and 35% on price.

Official PDF VersionPDF
011924-2026_official.pdf

The Maplesden Noakes School seeks a high-quality catering service provider for a 3-5 year contract, requiring excellent service, local sourcing, healthy menus, strong marketing, and a minimum annual turnover of £1 million and £5 million insurance.

Tender NoticeHTM
011924-2026.html

The Maplesden Noakes School seeks a high-quality catering service provider for a 3-5 year contract, requiring a minimum £1M annual turnover and £5M insurance, emphasizing fresh local ingredients, flexible menus, and a partnership approach, with evaluation based on 35% price and 65% quality.

Documents Preview

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87
Excellent

Tender Quality Score

This tender for catering services at The Maplesden Noakes School is well-structured and highly transparent, demonstrating strong clarity in requirements and a commendable focus on sustainability. Minor data inconsistencies and missing administrative details are present but do not significantly detract from the overall quality.

Score Breakdown

Legal Compliance85/100

The tender outlines a clear competitive flexible procedure, uses the correct CPV code, and provides ample time for submission from today's date. It appears compliant with national procurement regulations. The only minor issue is the absence of a specific reveal date.

Missing tender reveal date
Clarity90/100

The description of services, desired outcomes, and evaluation criteria (35% price, 65% quality) is exceptionally clear and unambiguous. Requirements for technical capability, financial standing, and the two-stage process are well-documented and easy to understand.

Completeness90/100

All essential information, including title, reference, organization, detailed description, estimated value, duration, and location, is comprehensively provided. Key requirements and evaluation criteria are clearly defined, and supporting documents are listed.

Fairness95/100

The tender demonstrates high fairness with a disclosed value, transparent evaluation criteria, and a reasonable submission period of over five months. The use of an e-sourcing platform implies equal access, and requirements are generic, not tailored to a specific company.

Practicality85/100

The tender provides a clear document URL and specifies the contract duration and financing information. The contract start date is known, although there's a minor one-day discrepancy between the basic info and description. Electronic submission is strongly implied by the e-sourcing platform.

Minor discrepancy in contract start date (July 31 vs. August 1)
Data Consistency70/100

While most data is consistent, some key administrative fields like 'Liable Person', 'Type Code', and 'Procedure Code' are empty. There is also a minor inconsistency regarding the exact contract start date. The value conversion from GBP to EUR is acceptable.

Empty administrative fields (Liable Person, Type Code, Procedure Code)
Minor inconsistency in contract start date
Sustainability90/100

The tender explicitly incorporates strong sustainability aspects, including a focus on 'fresh locally sourced ingredients' (green procurement), 'supports, encourages and develops the catering staff' (social aspects), and welcomes 'Innovative and creative ideas' and 'Capital investment' (innovation focus).

Strengths

Exceptional clarity in requirements and evaluation criteria (35% price, 65% quality).
Strong emphasis on sustainability, including local sourcing, staff development, and innovation.
Comprehensive provision of essential tender information and detailed description.
Fair and transparent process with reasonable submission timeline and objective criteria.
Utilizes an e-sourcing platform for accessibility.

Concerns

Absence of a specific tender reveal date.
Empty administrative fields ('Liable Person', 'Type Code', 'Procedure Code').
Minor inconsistency in the stated contract start date.

Recommendations

1. Populate all administrative fields to ensure full data consistency and transparency.
2. Clarify and align the exact contract start date across all tender sections.
3. Consider explicitly stating the e-submission method and platform requirements for clarity.

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