Ecclesia Partnership Catering Tender

Bishop Winnington-Ingram CofE Primary School is acting as the lead contracting authority in this procurement exercise on behalf of itself and the following participating schools within the Ecclesia Partnership: Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, St Mary’s CofE Primary School and St John’s CofE Primary School.

The procurement is being conducted collaboratively to secure catering services across all participating schools, with the aim of achieving consistency of service, economies of scale and operational efficiencies, while recognising the individual needs and operational differences of each school. Each participating school reserves the right to enter into its own contract with the successful bidder(s) and no guarantee of volume or award is given in respect of any school.

The participating schools are each committed to providing a nurturing, inclusive and values-led environment where pupils are supported to achieve their full potential. While each school has its own identify and community all share a common ethos centred on wellbeing, high standards and a positive learning experience.

The Schools are seeking to appoint a catering contractor capable of delivering a high-quality, reliable and engaging meal service across all sites. The service model is predominantly delivered-in hot meals, reflecting the absence of production kitchen facilities at most sites. However, St John’s CofE School operates a traditional on-site kitchen.

The contract will be tendered as a single procurement exercise. The participating Schools’ preferred outcome is the appointment of a single contractor across all sites; however, they reserve the right to award the contract either as a single combined contract across all schools, or as separate individual contracts for each school, where this is deemed to provide the most advantageous outcome. Bidders are therefore required to submit proposals that clearly demonstrate their ability to deliver both a combined service and where required, individual school contracts.

The initial contract, due to commence on 1st September 2026 will be for three years, with the option to extend for a further two years (3+1+1), subject to satisfactory performance and client agreement on budgets and service levels. Some of the staff at St John’s CofE School are members of the LGPS pension schemes and either having ABS in a London Borough or the ability to achieve ABS status, will be essential for bidders.

The projected turnover for the three-year contract is expected to be circa £946,000 (excluding VAT). This estimated total value represents the aggregated value across all participating schools. Individual contract values will vary and there is no guarantee of spend by any individual school.

To declare your interest in the tender and download contract documents (available free of charge), please register on in-tendhost.co.uk/cohesionconsulting/a… ↗

The procurement process follows a single stage ‘Competitive Flexible’ procedure. Bidders will be invited to respond to an Invitation to Tender (ITT) in full. This process is managed under the Light Touch Regime, and the School reserves the right to refine the award criteria throughout.

In essence, the Ecclesia Partnership Schools seek a trusted Catering Partner who can deliver a robust, flexible and sustainable catering service, capable of meeting the varying requirements of each school while maintaining consistently high standards across the contract.

The Ecclesia Partnership and participating Schools reserve the right to not award the contract, including the option to pursue alternative delivery models, or to award on a school-by-school basis, should submissions fail to the meet the required standard.