Specialist Education - Alternative Provision

The Nottinghamshire County Council is creating a single open framework to commission specialist education – alternative provision services for children and young people who are not currently attending mainstream schools. The framework will cover a range of provision types, from short‑term transitional placements and online teaching programmes to more bespoke, longer‑term individualised learning and external tuition, all designed to support learners in achieving re‑engagement and progression. The Council intends to launch the framework in early 2027 for a four‑year term with two optional two‑year extensions, with renewal decisions made on a value‑based basis.

Providers successful in the procurement will be added to the framework under the appropriate lot and will be able to call off placements or offer block contracts as required. Lot 1 will deliver short‑term placement to learners needing intervention before mainstream reintegration, including those under Sections 19, 61, 100 of the relevant Education Acts. Lot 2 will provide online, remote learning programmes for individual or small groups, run by organisations enrolled on the Online Education Accreditation Scheme. Lot 3 allows the Council to request bespoke individual programmes combining academic, vocational and personal development pathways, while Lot 4 will bring in qualified teachers or tuition companies for 1‑to‑1 or small group sessions, face‑to‑face or virtual, tailored to each student’s developmental needs. Each lot requires clear quality assurance procedures, with regular audits by the Council and the possibility of suspension for those failing to meet the established standards.

All services must adhere to the service specification set by the Council, demonstrate evidence of quality through routine QA checks, and for many lots prefer providers registered with the Department for Education or accredited by the Online Education Accreditation Scheme, with all tuition delivered by QTS‑qualified teachers.

The Council is seeking to establish an Open Framework of suitable Providers under which the Council intend to commission Specialist Education - Alternative Provision.
These services will cover the requirements for Alternative Provision placements of children & young people (Learners) made directly on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council with additional scope to include Local Council maintained Schools, or Free Schools and Academies (Contracting Council) within Nottinghamshire and surrounding areas if they wish to use it.
Providers that are successful in demonstrating that they are able to meet the Council's standards, as set out in the service specification, will be awarded onto the Framework under the appropriate Lot and will be subsequently invited to offer places that match the needs of the Learners.
Providers will be expected to evidence the quality of their provision by participating in regular Quality Assurance (QA) checks that will be carried out on behalf of the Contracting Authorities. Any Providers that fail to maintain the quality standards will be suspended from the Framework until they are able to provide evidence that they can meet the quality standards.

Contract location: UKF15
Communication: Tenders must be submitted electronically via https://www.eastmidstenders.org/
Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: En
This is a recurrent procurement: Yes
Enquiry deadline: 2026-06-26T23:59:59+01:00
Submission address and any special instructions: Tenders must be submitted electronically via https://www.eastmidstenders.org/
Tenders may be submitted electronically: allowed
Award decision date (estimated): 2026-11-13T23:59:59Z
Recurring procurement:
Publication date of next tender notice (estimated): 2027-05-13T23:59:59+01:00

Lot number: 1
Description: The Council is seeking to commission transitional short-term time limited alternative provision placements designed to re-engage learners and support a successful return to mainstream education via a block booking arrangement for the following groups of young people: • Students requiring short term intervention prior to reintegration into mainstream education or other provision. • Students supported under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 due to illness, exclusion, or otherwise. • Section 61 learners with complex SEMH/SEND (Social, Emotional and Mental Health/Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) needs preventing mainstream attendance. • Students under section 100 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 who have been permanently excluded and require provision within 6 days. • Primary and secondary aged learners Provision may be full or part time and delivered through DfE registered or unregistered settings (DfE registered preferred). The Council is looking to put in place up to three block contracts in each of the following geographic areas: North Notts, Mid Notts and South Notts. There will be a maximum of three providers per geographic area and in order for the block contracting arrangements to be viable the Council require at least one Provider per locality during Framework One. Lot 1 may be re-opened as a successive Framework to increase capacity in response to need/demand and appoint additional Providers in accordance with Procurement Legislation and associated regulations.
Lot value (estimated)
3.159.000,00 GBP excluding VAT
3.790.800,00 GBP including VAT
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals: It is anticipated this Framework will commence from January 2027 with a maximum initial term of four years. This may be supplemented by up to two optional extensions of two years each, resulting in a potential total duration of 8 years until January 2035. Tenderers should be aware that when reviewing whether to take up any contract extension provision which is at the sole discretion of the Council, the Council will, under its duty to obtain best value, consider a range of factors when deciding whether to extend or retender this contract.

Lot number: 2
Description: The Council is seeking to specifically commission Providers of online Alternative Provision who are successfully enrolled on the Online Education Accreditation Scheme (OEAS). Placements under this Lot would be short term, remote learning programmes delivered in small groups or 1:1. The provision will be designed to support students to thrive outside of the traditional classroom. It should be accessible full or part-time from home or other agreed locations. The curriculum should be tailored to individual need and designed to ensure continuity of learning. Support should include tailored reintegration planning to either mainstream or in-person alternative provision.
Lot value (estimated)
1.579.500,00 GBP excluding VAT
1.895.400,00 GBP including VAT
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals: It is anticipated this Framework will commence from January 2027 with a maximum initial term of four years. This may be supplemented by up to two optional extensions of two years each, resulting in a potential total duration of 8 years until January 2035. Tenderers should be aware that when reviewing whether to take up any contract extension provision which is at the sole discretion of the Council, the Council will, under its duty to obtain best value, consider a range of factors when deciding whether to extend or retender this contract.

Lot number: 3
Description: The Council is seeking a range of Alternative Provision Providers for which they can call off contracts for placements for individual children and young people as and when required. Education placements will be commissioned on an individual basis as per the referral process detailed in Section 4. Placements will be bespoke, longer-term programmes combining academic learning, vocational pathways and wider personal development. This Lot includes both 1-1 and small group work and is to include ongoing reintegration planning and can be full-time or part-time.
Lot value (estimated)
11.500.000,00 GBP excluding VAT
13.800.000,00 GBP including VAT
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals: It is anticipated this Framework will commence from January 2027 with a maximum initial term of four years. This may be supplemented by up to two optional extensions of two years each, resulting in a potential total duration of 8 years until January 2035. Tenderers should be aware that when reviewing whether to take up any contract extension provision which is at the sole discretion of the Council, the Council will, under its duty to obtain best value, consider a range of factors when deciding whether to extend or retender this contract.

Lot number: 4
Description: The Council is seeking to commission arrangements with high quality external tuition services to provide tailored education plans and to ensure positive outcomes including progression and achievement, enable participation, increase wellbeing and increase independence. The Lot will be made up of tuition companies and 1-1 tutors. Tuition should be delivered by qualified teachers (QTS) and can be offered face to face or through virtual sessions. Sessions will be 1-1 or small groups. Tuition must be tailored to meet identified developmental and educational needs of students.
Lot value (estimated)
9.500.000,00 GBP excluding VAT
11.400.000,00 GBP including VAT
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals: It is anticipated this Framework will commence from January 2027 with a maximum initial term of four years. This may be supplemented by up to two optional extensions of two years each, resulting in a potential total duration of 8 years until January 2035. Tenderers should be aware that when reviewing whether to take up any contract extension provision which is at the sole discretion of the Council, the Council will, under its duty to obtain best value, consider a range of factors when deciding whether to extend or retender this contract.

Award criteria:

Name	Type	Weighting
Quality	quality	60%
Price	price	40%