High Potential Initial Teacher Training Programme

This contract will see government investment in the recruitment and training (in 2 cohorts) up to 4 200 new teachers to work in schools with low attaining pupils and/or high numbers of disadvantaged pupils.

United Kingdom-Nottingham: Education and training services

2015/S 240-435669

Contract notice

Services

Directive 2004/18/EC

Section I: Contracting authority

I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)

Department for Education, National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL)
Learning and Conference Centre, Triumph Road
Contact point(s): Commercial Team
NG8 1DH Nottingham
UNITED KINGDOM
E-mail: niche.programmes@education.gsi.gov.uk

Internet address(es):

Electronic access to information: https://REDIMO.nationalcollege.org.uk/selfservice

Electronic submission of tenders and requests to participate: https://REDIMO.nationalcollege.org.uk/selfservice

Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)

Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)

Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: The above mentioned contact point(s)

I.2)Type of the contracting authority

Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions

I.3)Main activity

Education

I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities

Section II: Object of the contract

II.1)Description

II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:

High Potential Initial Teacher Training Programme RF x 122.

II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance

Services
Service category No 24: Education and vocational education services

NUTS code UK

II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)

The notice involves a public contract

II.1.4)Information on framework agreement

II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

Background
The Department for Education’s (DfE) vision is for a highly educated society in which opportunity is more equal for children and young people, no matter what their background or family circumstances.
This investment will contribute to the achievement of the DfE system goal: ‘Educational excellence, everywhere’ by 2020. It will do this by contributing towards 2 DfE delivery priorities: ‘improve recruitment by attracting and training new highly-skilled teachers’ and to ‘strengthen school leadership with a particular focus on a sufficient supply of leaders for our toughest areas’.
The new contract.
This contract will see government investment in the recruitment and training (in 2 cohorts) up to 4 200 new teachers to work in schools with low attaining pupils and/or high numbers of disadvantaged pupils. This is to help these schools close the gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. Trainees will be employed as unqualified teachers and would begin working in schools in September 2017 and 2018 in the cohorts in the initial term of the contract. They will benefit from one year’s initial teacher training, then a second year employed as a newly qualified teacher. The 2017 cohort will then complete by July 2019; and the 2018 cohort by July 2020. Contract exit activity is expected to take until October 2020.
Subject to satisfactory contractor performance; ministerial agreement; and availability of funding, there will be an option to extend the contract to deliver a further two cohorts (of up to 5 000 new teachers). This extension, would be into a new spending review period and will not be confirmed until 2018. Trainees will be employed as unqualified teachers and would begin working in schools in September 2019 and 2020 in the cohorts in the additional term. They will benefit from one year’s initial teacher training, then a second year employed as a newly qualified teacher. The 2019 cohort will then complete by July 2021; and the 2020 cohort by July 2022. Contract exit activity would be expected to take until October 2022.
The NCTL, an executive agency of the DfE, is seeking one national provider (or consortium) to:
— Recruit high quality graduates and career changers who have the potential to be highly skilled teachers and leaders and who would otherwise be unlikely to join the profession.
— Train them to be highly skilled teachers and emerging leaders in primary and secondary schools with low attaining pupils and/or high numbers of disadvantaged pupils. The places will be in England. Some places will be in Early Years settings.

II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

80000000, 80530000

II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): yes

II.1.8)Lots

This contract is divided into lots: no

II.1.9)Information about variants

Variants will be accepted: no

II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract

II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:

The minimum number of teachers to be trained will be 3 500 in the initial term and the anticipated maximum number of teachers to be trained will be 4 200 in the initial term. Subject to satisfactory contractor performance; ministerial agreement; and availability of funding, there will be an option for an extension to deliver two further cohorts of training. This would span from 2018 to October 2022 and would be likely to see a maximum of 5 000 trainees.
Please note that Contract requirements will be subject to available financial resources, supplier performance and flexibility to meet changing demands.
The contractor will be required to perform the services described in the specification in accordance with the Terms and Conditions. The services include the following:
— Attraction of high quality applicants.
— Selection and assessment of applicants.
— Recruitment and vetting of schools.
— Preparation of schools e.g. school mentor training.
— Placement of participants in schools.
— Initial Teacher Training.
— Leadership Development.
— Monitoring of progress.
— Management and reporting.
— Governance of the programme and contract.
NCTL will be looking for innovative proposals in line with government expectations in securing greater value for money.

II.2.2)Information about options

Options: yes
Description of these options: Duration of the contract.
56 months (from the date of the award of the contract (anticipated March/April 2016). Should the optional extension be taken up (this would be subject to satisfactory contractor performance; ministerial agreement; and availability of funding) the duration would be to October 2022, or 78 months in total from the date of the award; although this may be subject to change in accordance with the Terms and Conditions.
NCTL reserves the right to extend the Contract beyond the Initial Term so that the total Term may be up to 78 months.

II.2.3)Information about renewals

This contract is subject to renewal: no

II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completion

Duration in months: 56 (from the award of the contract)

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information

III.1)Conditions relating to the contract

III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:

III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:

III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:

Company, Prime Contractor, Joint Venture, or Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). In the event that a consortia bid is successful the Authority will anticipate the creation of an appropriate legal vehicle/SPV to provide satisfaction on capacity.
If the potential supplier bidding for the requirement is part of a consortium joint venture or SPV, the Authority will require full details of the consortium joint venture or SPV.
Potential suppliers should provide details of the actual or proposed percentage shareholding of the constituent members within the consortium in a separate attachment. If a consortium is not proposing to form a corporate entity, full details of alternative proposed arrangements should be provided in the attachment. Please note that NCTL reserves the right to require a successful consortium to form a single legal entity once they have been awarded the contract, in accordance with regulation 19 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015).
The Authority recognises that arrangements in relation to consortia may (within limits) be subject to future change. Potential consortia should therefore respond in the light of the arrangements as currently envisaged. Potential consortia are reminded that any future proposed change in relation to consortia must be notified to the Authority so that it can make a further assessment by applying the selection criteria to the new information provided.
If an SPV formed by a single organisation to separate liabilities from the parent company then NCTL would require a parent company guarantee.

III.1.4)Other particular conditions

III.2)Conditions for participation

III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

III.2.2)Economic and financial ability

Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: Bidder responses will be used to undertake an assessment of their organisation’s economic and financial standing. Bidders will be contacted by the Authority if this assessment identifies that a parent or other type of guarantee is required.

III.2.3)Technical capacity

Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
Responses will be used to undertake an assessment of your organisation’s technical and professional ability to provide the goods/services.
Where the Potential Supplier is a SPV and not intending to be the main provider of the goods or services, the information requested should be provided in respect of the principal intended provider of the goods or services.

III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts

III.3)Conditions specific to services contracts

III.3.1)Information about a particular profession

III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the service

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)Type of procedure

IV.1.1)Type of procedure

Open

IV.1.2)Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

IV.1.3)Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

IV.2)Award criteria

IV.2.1)Award criteria

The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document

IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction

IV.3)Administrative information

IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:

RFx 122 –High Potential Initial Teacher Training Programme

IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

Prior information notice

Notice number in the OJEU: 2015/S 054-094575 of 18.3.2015

IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document

IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

29.1.2016 – 14:00

IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up

English.

IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender

IV.3.8)Conditions for opening of tenders

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.1)Information about recurrence

VI.2)Information about European Union funds

VI.3)Additional information

This procurement is being conducted under the ‘Light touch regime’ (LTR) (see Regulations 74-77 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015). The procurement will use an adapted version of the open procedure which may, subject to the quality of compliant bids received, involve a move from a competitive procedure to negotiated procedure. Details of the evaluation approach are set out in IV.1.3 and in the Invitation to Bid documentation.
NCTL considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of bidders will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement, and the contract will be awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender.
NCTL reserves the right in its absolute discretion to abandon, terminate or suspend any or all of this procurement at any time. Further:
— NCTL does not bind itself to enter into any contract(s) arising out of the procedures envisaged by this contract notice;
— no contractual rights express or implied arise out of this contract notice or the procedures envisaged by it;
— NCTL reserves the right to vary its requirements and the procedure relating to the conduct of the award process; and
— NCTL reserves the right to amend dates and deadlines and to update the procurement timetable. Applicants and Tenderers will be notified as appropriate.
Bid costs — Applicants shall be fully responsible for and liable for all costs associated with and arising out of or in connection with responding to this contract notice. In no circumstances shall NCTL be responsible for or liable to any applicant for any cost incurred by such applicant in responding to this contract notice, any pre-qualification questions or any tender howsoever incurred.
Contract Period.
This notice pertains to the award of a contract with a maximum duration of 56 months expected to be from contract award in March/April 2016, subject to contract negotiations and subject to the agreement of DfE Ministers. The contract will include: initial set up phase following contract award, including ready for marketing, school and participant recruitment and selection from September 2016; programme delivery of initial teacher training from September 2017;
NCTL/DfE reserves the right to terminate, or reduce the scope of, any agreement should funding be withdrawn, changed or there is a significant change in government policy relating to the delivery of the programme and outputs required as part of this contract, by giving 3 months’ notice.
Indicative key dates for this procurement activity:
9.12.2015 — issue of invitation to bid via REDIMO
25.1.2016, 14.00 — deadline date for bids.
Further detailed timelines can be found within the Invitation to Bid documentation.
Registration for the procurement.
This procurement will be run through an e-procurement system named REDIMO2. REDIMO2 is NCTL’s e-procurement system, used for contracting for most works, goods and services that are awarded following an electronic competitive tendering process.

To participate in this procurement (RFx122) you will need to register on REDIMO2 (If you are not already). Please register at: https://www.gov.uk/nctl-e-procurement-system-Redimo2

Please e-mail our helpdesk commercial.admin@education.gsi.gov.uk if you have any queries with registering your details on REDIMO2.

Once the Invitation to Bid is launched it will be visible for bidders to respond.
This Invitation to Bid will be launched on 9.12.2015
All Tender documentation will be made available from REDIMO and Bidders should ensure that they have read all documentation prior to submitting a response.
All bidders will be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement before certain sensitive/in confidence documents can be released via REDIMO.
Where appropriate, the successful bidder will be required to deliver a Deed of Guarantee at the same time as the execution of the Agreement.

VI.4)Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures

The address in 1 in the first instance

VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals

VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:

7.12.2015