Tender

Provision of ICT Managed Services

• Equals Trust UK4: Tender notice - Procurement Act 2023 - view information about notice types

Notice identifier: 2026/S 000-031140

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-066b28

Published 16 March 2026, 2:33pm

Last edited 2 April 2026, 4:58pm

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• 2 April 2026, 4:58pm (this version)
• 16 March 2026, 2:33pm

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Contents

Scope Participation Submission Award criteria Other information Procedure Contracting authority Other organisation Contact organisation

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• Copy link Print this notice Report concerns about this procurement ## Changes to notice

This notice has been edited. The previous version is still available.

The Award Criteria has been updated to ensure it reflects the award criteria published in the tender pack.

Scope

Reference

ET01.17

Description

Equals Trust has issued a tender inviting contractors to provide ICT Managed Services. The aim of the contact is to have a consistent approach to IT support both for the pupils and the staff, moving over to a Trust model approach rolled out to all schools. This enables the Trust to maximise the effectiveness of the equipment and service, as well as helping to share resources and best practise across all sites. The proposed contract will encompass delivering the following services to the Trust which: a. are cost effective and delivers high quality technical support, system management and consultancy b. provides transparent all-inclusive pricing which allows accurate budgeting over the term of the Contract. c. provides a single point of contact for all of the Trust’s IT requirements and management of third-party providers. d. moves to a centralised Trust operating model, which has a consistent approach across schools. e. Centralises the management of the Contract at Trust level, rather than on an individual school by school basis.

Total value (estimated)

• £3,000,000 excluding VAT
• £3,600,000 including VAT Above the relevant threshold

Contract dates (estimated)

• 4 January 2027 to 3 January 2030
• Possible extension to 3 January 2032
• 5 years Description of possible extension:

Option of two further, one year extensions

Options

The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid.

For the Trust to encompass any new schools that join the Trust and the procurement of Hardware and any related IT services that will be managed by the Provider on behalf of the Trust.

Main procurement category

Services

Additional procurement category

Goods

CPV classifications

IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Helpdesk and support services

Computer-related services

Computer support and consultancy services

Contract locations

• UKF14 - Nottingham

Participation

Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation

Please confirm whether you already have, or can commit to obtain, prior to the award of the contract, the levels of insurance cover indicated below: · Employer’s (Compulsory) Liability Insurance* = £5m · Public Liability Insurance = £5m · Professional Indemnity Insurance = £1m · Cyber Liability Insurance = £1m

Technical ability conditions of participation

Relevant experience and contract examples: Provide details of up to three contracts to meet conditions of participation relating to technical ability set out in the relevant notice or procurement documents, in any combination from the education sector. To constitute a pass, at least one contract example provided shall be relevant to the requirement, with a sufficient level of detail that provides confidence in the Tenderer’s established past experience in similar and relevant projects/contracts. Required to have: • Cyber Essentials and/or ISO 27001 Accreditations or Competencies can be equivalents and can be confirmed will be in place in time for the start of the Contract.

Particular suitability

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)

Submission

Enquiry deadline

21 April 2026, 12:00pm

Tender submission deadline

28 April 2026, 12:00pm

Submission address and any special instructions

https://uk.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_s.asp?PID=103569&TID100108762&B=

Tenders may be submitted electronically

Yes

Languages that may be used for submission

English

Award decision date (estimated)

4 June 2026

Recurring procurement

Publication date of next tender notice (estimated): 3 March 2031

Award criteria

| Name | Type | Weighting |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Price | 30% |
| Service Delivery & Technical Support | Quality | 10% |
| Support Structure & Service Level | Quality | 10% |
| Pricing Approach | Quality | 10% |
| Collaboration, Communication & Reporting | Quality | 7.5% |
| Risk Management & Mobilisation | Quality | 7.5% |
| Network Environment | Quality | 5.0% |
| Asset & Software Management | Quality | 5% |
| Hardware Procurement & Replacement | Quality | 5% |
| Staff, Safeguarding & Compliance | Quality | 5% |
| Sustainability & Value for Money | Quality | 5% |

Other information

Payment terms

The Contractor shall operate the Service efficiently and provide a commercial solution that offers best value to the Trust, proactively assessing where efficiencies can be made and discussing these and their cost benefits with the Trust. Invoicing will be monthly, in arrears from the end of the previous month. Where, during a monthly period, it has been identified, and agreed, that adjustments are required (in respect of service credits, additional works, errors or omissions), these will be taken account of within the invoice for the following month. The Contractor shall be aware of the following: a. The contract is a fixed price for the price per visit and therefore annual inflation must be built into the costs. b. No other pricing variance can be incorporated into the pricing for any year of the contract, including extensions.

Description of risks to contract performance

Service outages disrupting teaching, safeguarding and exams Cyber security & data protection breaches involving pupil and staff data Safeguarding failures due to ineffective filtering or monitoring Over‑reliance on a single supplier, creating exit or resilience issues Poor change management causing disruption during school hours Insufficient skills or capacity from the provider Cost escalation or poor value for money over the contract term Non‑compliance with GDPR, FOIA and education regulations

Applicable trade agreements

• Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

Conflicts assessment prepared/revised

Yes

Procedure

Procedure type

Open procedure

Justification for not publishing a preliminary market engagement notice

The Trust did not carry out preliminary market engagement (PME) prior to tender publication to prepare for this procurement. Tenderers shall be aware that under the Act, the Trust is not obligated to carry out PME. The justification is that the requirements are not complex, or niche and the Contracting Authority already has an understanding of what they want the service to deliver and the market is known.

Contracting authority

Equals Trust

• Public Procurement Organisation Number: PPCP-6759-YCGX c/o Keyworth Primary & Nursery School, Keyworth

Nottingham

NG12 5FB

United Kingdom

Contact name: Elizabeth Gregory

Email: elizabeth.gregory@equalstrust.org

Region: UKF16 - South Nottinghamshire

Organisation type: Public authority - central government

Other organisation

These organisations are carrying out the procurement, or part of it, on behalf of the contracting authorities.

PHP Law LLP

Summary of their role in this procurement: Tender process support

• Public Procurement Organisation Number: PPRM-9434-VNYQ Unit 3 The Brutus Centre Station Road Totnes

Totnes

TQ9 5RW

United Kingdom

Contact name: James Medforth

Telephone: +44 01234567890

Email: james.medforth@phplaw.co.uk

Region: UKK43 - Devon CC

Contact organisation

Contact PHP Law LLP for any enquiries.