Official UK procurement notice
Birmingham Virtual School Training Services Flexible Contracting Agreement (FCA)
Authority: Birmingham City Council (Local council)
What is being bought3 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionBirmingham City Council (the "Council") has established a Flexible Contracting Agreement (FCA) for Birmingham Virtual School (BVS) Training Services in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023, applying the provisions for Light Touch Contracts as defined in Section 9 of the Act and Schedule 1 of the Procurement Regulations 2024. These provisions apply to certain social, health, and education services that are subject to more flexible procurement rules due to their direct impact on individuals and communities.
The Training FCA will cover training for professionals in children's schools, social workers, families, carers, and other key stakeholders in Birmingham and any other local authorities where children may be placed.
The Training FCA will serve as the primary channel for delivering training tailored to the needs of adults responsible for supporting the educational achievement of children known to a social worker. The programme is designed to equip these individuals including BVS staff, carers, guardians, adoptive parents, designated teachers, school staff, governors, social workers, and Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) with the essential knowledge and skills required to effectively promote the educational outcomes of children in care, previously looked after, or otherwise known to social services.
The contract(s) are for 3 Lots, as follows.
Lot 1: Training for staff at educational establishments and other professionals
Lot 2: Training for Social Care Professionals
Lot 3: Training for Parents, Carers and Family Members
The Council has reserved the right to reopen the procurement and conduct additional tender processes during the term of the FCA. This may be done to appoint new providers to the FCA where necessary to meet evolving service needs or ensure adequate market coverage.
The Training Services FCA will be for a period of 2 years with an option to extend for a further 2 years (on a 1+1 basis) subject to performance and budget.
- How the procedure runs: Stage 1: Appointment to the Flexible Contracting Agreement (FCA) All interested suppliers must complete and submit all the documents outlined in the Checklist including the main Response Document and other applicable response documents. Submissions will be evaluated against published selection criteria. Suppliers who meet the criteria will be appointed to the FCA and will be eligible to participate in future call-offs or further competitions. Stage 2: Call-Off Process – Direct Award and Further Competition Direct Award A Direct Award may be used where: A specific provider within the FCA has a unique capability or specialism that directly matches the training requirement. The training need is urgent and time-sensitive and conducting a further competition would cause undue delay. The value of the requirement is low and falls within thresholds that permit direct award under internal procurement guidance. The provider has previously delivered the same or similar training with proven success, and continuity is essential. In these cases, the contracting authority may award the contract directly to the most suitable FCA supplier, ensuring transparency and justification are documented. Further Competition Further Competition will apply where: Multiple FCA suppliers within the relevant lot are capable of delivering the required training. The training requirement is complex, high-value, or bespoke, and benefits from competitive evaluation. There is a need to assess value for money, innovation, or quality across multiple providers. All FCA suppliers within the relevant lot will be invited to tender for the requirement. The competition will be conducted in line with the award criteria set out in the tender documents. Ongoing opportunities The Council reserves the right to reopen the procurement and conduct additional tender processes during the term of the FCA. This may be done to appoint new providers to the FCA where necessary to meet evolving service needs or ensure adequate market coverage.
CPV: Specialist training services · Training seminars · Training services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
- Bids received
- 8 bids on the busiest of 3 lots · 4 suppliers appointed
- Framework period
- 2 yrs · up to 4 yrs from 8 Dec 2025
Published description of the framework
Appointment to the flexible contracting agreement is based on 100% quality.
Lots and requirements (3)Procurement structure
3 lots · all with a published value · same conditions of participation on every lotEvery one of these 3 lots carries the same published figure, £200,000: it is the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each lot's own budget, and no share per lot is published. The cards below say ceiling above rather than repeat it.
Lot #1Training for staff at educational establishments and other professionalsAwardedRenewalceiling above
To include a range of learning and development activities to meet the learning and development requirements of the staff at education establishments and other professionals. The learning and development activity provided must meet national and local standards, as well as any legislative requirements, and will be tailored to suit each key stage.
Commissioned activity will include tailored face-to-face and virtual classroom-based courses in response to legislative change and bespoke learning activity to meet the identified needs of specific groups or teams. Examples include initial and refresher training for designated teachers, school improvement training and training to support staff to develop their skills and knowledge to support children know to social care improve educational attainment and actively participate in educational pathways.
- Economic & financial standing
Details will be provided in the tender documentation.
- Technical & professional ability
Details will be provided in the tender documentation.
Lot #2Training for social care professionalsAwardedRenewalceiling above
To include a range of learning and development activities for the adult social care workforce of Birmingham. This includes providing learning opportunities to enhance the quality and effectiveness of Personal Education Plans (PEPs). The learning and development offered is required to meet national and local standards as well as any legislative requirements around social care practices.
Commissioned activity will include tailored face-to-face and virtual classroom-based courses in response to legislative change and bespoke learning activity to meet the identified needs of specific groups or teams. Examples of the types of learning and development requested from social workers includes Practical use of the ePEP system and Personal Education Plans and Pupil Premium Plus training.
- Economic & financial standing
Details will be provided in the tender documentation.
- Technical & professional ability
Details will be provided in the tender documentation.
Lot #3Training for parents, carers and family membersAwardedRenewalceiling above
This will cover bespoke learning and development activities for parents, carers and family members. This includes providing learning opportunities to support them in helping children with learning at home and motivational techniques. The learning and development offered is required to meet national and local standards as well as any legislative requirements around social care practices.
Commissioned activity will include tailored face-to-face and virtual classroom-based courses in response to legislative change and bespoke learning activity to meet the identified needs of specific groups or teams. Examples of the types of learning and development requested from carers includes attachment awareness and trauma informed practice, emotion coaching, education basics and homework and learning in everyday situations.
- Economic & financial standing
Details will be provided in the tender documentation.
- Technical & professional ability
Details will be provided in the tender documentation.
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- Economic & financial standing
Details will be provided in the tender documentation.
- Technical & professional ability
Details will be provided in the tender documentation.
- “Birmingham Virtual School Training Services Flexible Contracting…” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract: call-offs may be direct or by further competition.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 8 Sept 2025, 12:32 BST
- Last source update
- 17 Mar 2026, 11:29 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 16 Nov 2025
- Authority reference
P0886- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-054619- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0595c0Find a Tender
- How it runs
Stage 1: Appointment to the Flexible Contracting Agreement (FCA)
All interested suppliers must complete and submit all the documents outlined in the Checklist including the main Response Document and other applicable response documents.
Submissions will be evaluated against published selection criteria.
Suppliers who meet the criteria will be appointed to the FCA and will be eligible to participate in future call-offs or further competitions.
Stage 2: Call-Off Process – Direct Award and Further Competition
Direct Award
A Direct Award may be used where:
A specific provider within the FCA has a unique capability or specialism that directly matches the training requirement.
The training need is urgent and time-sensitive and conducting a further competition would cause undue delay.
The value of the requirement is low and falls within thresholds that permit direct award under internal procurement guidance.
The provider has previously delivered the same or similar training with proven success, and continuity is essential.
In these cases, the contracting authority may award the contract directly to the most suitable FCA supplier, ensuring transparency and justification are documented.
Further Competition
Further Competition will apply where:
Multiple FCA suppliers within the relevant lot are capable of delivering the required training.
The training requirement is complex, high-value, or bespoke, and benefits from competitive evaluation.
There is a need to assess value for money, innovation, or quality across multiple providers.
All FCA suppliers within the relevant lot will be invited to tender for the requirement. The competition will be conducted in line with the award criteria set out in the tender documents.
Ongoing opportunities
The Council reserves the right to reopen the procurement and conduct additional tender processes during the term of the FCA.
This may be done to appoint new providers to the FCA where necessary to meet evolving service needs or ensure adequate market coverage.
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 8 Oct 2025, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 30 Sept 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
This framework agreement is being issued using the Council's e-tendering system 'In-tend' and organisations must ensure that they are registered users. The procurement process will be managed using this system and therefore all bids must be submitted by Tenderers via the 'in-tend' system. in-tendhost.co.uk/birminghamcc ↗
Registration and use of in-tend is free. All correspondence for this procurement process must be via the in-tend correspondence function and you should not contact any individual directly either by email or by telephone. If you are already a registered user, you do not have to re-register. If you are unable to register with in-tend or are experiencing difficulties, please email the etendering@birmingham.gov.uk.
Tender deadline submission is noon on 8th October 2025.
Timeline
8 Sept 2025 → 28 Mar 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published8 Sept 2025, 12:32 BST
- Clarification questions by392 days ago30 Sept 2025, 12:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period ends384 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown8 Oct 2025, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by345 days ago16 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts324 days ago8 Dec 2025
- Assessment summaries sent293 days ago8 Jan 2026
- Latest notice published224 days ago17 Mar 2026, 11:29 GMT
- Standstill ends213 days ago28 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 8 Sept 2025- Tender notice published8 Sept 2025, 12:32 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published8 Sept 2025, 12:39 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published17 Mar 2026, 11:29 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete17 Mar 2026, 11:29 GMT
- Contract signature expected29 Mar 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · Training for staff at educational establishments and other professionals1 award | |||
| FLOURISH LEARNING LTD, Knowledge Change Action Ltd, Summit Psychology Services Ltd, The Care Leaders Limited1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2028 · up to 28 Feb 2030Extensions: Subject to satisfactory performance and budgetary availability | — | 7 Jan 2026standstill to 28 Mar 2026 | Standstill |
| Lot 2 · Training for social care professionals1 award | |||
| FLOURISH LEARNING LTD, Knowledge Change Action Ltd, The Care Leaders Limited1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2028 · up to 28 Feb 2030Extensions: Subject to satisfactory performance and budgetary availability | — | 7 Jan 2026standstill to 28 Mar 2026 | Standstill |
| Lot 3 · Training for parents, carers and family members1 award | |||
| FLOURISH LEARNING LTD, Knowledge Change Action Ltd, Summit Psychology Services Ltd, The Care Leaders Limited1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2028 · up to 28 Feb 2030Extensions: Subject to satisfactory performance and budgetary availability | — | 7 Jan 2026standstill to 28 Mar 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Training for staff at educational establishments and other professionals | 8final-stage tenders | 8 | 0 | — |
| 2 · Training for social care professionals | 7final-stage tenders | 7 | 0 | — |
| 3 · Training for parents, carers and family members | 8final-stage tenders | 8 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Framework contractors & participating bidders
4 commercial parties on the notice- Flourish Learning LimitedFramework contractor
- Knowledge Change Action LtdFramework contractor
- Summit Psychology Services LtdFramework contractor
- The Care Leaders LimitedFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender