Maidenhill School ~ Catering Tender

The successful Supplier will be required to provide catering services for Maidenhill School.

In 2012, Maidenhill School had become clear that there was a need for refurbishment of the outdated main building which formed a stark contrast with the modern sports hall completed in 2011. In February 2014, after 18 months of building work, Maidenhill School's £3.8 million refurbishment was finally complete. The result was a transformation both inside and out.

Our mantra ‘Be Kind, Aspire, Persevere, Achieve’, underpins everything we believe in. We are renowned within Gloucestershire for working with our parents and for treating students as individuals and not statistics. Our focus more than ever is to raise aspiration, teaching virtues of responsibility and resilience; ultimately, ensuring students receive excellent qualifications that open the doors of opportunity.

The contract covers the scope for the provision of all catering services within the School, including hospitality and free issue requirements.

The duration of the contract offered is three years commencing on 1 August 2025, concluding on 31 July 2028, with the opportunity to extend by up to an additional two years at the discretion of the governing body.

The contract is offered on a ‘guaranteed performance’ basis with all free issue requirements and hospitality being recharged on consumption at “net” food cost only. Currently the cash meal deal price is £3.50 for all meals, including FSM, however in order to maintain the tariff at this level the client will need clear commitments and proposals regarding both improved quality and value for money. Approximately 130 of the current 728 pupils currently qualify for Free School Meals.

There is currently no breakfast service, however the client would like to explore viable options to introduce this. There is currently a 20 minute mid-morning break and a 35 minute lunch period.

It is appreciated that a level of investment may be identified as a requirement of your bid, and therefore bidders are encouraged to provide details of such requirements by providing detailed information of the equipment necessary. Bidders must provide the equipment make, model and cost and also a justification of how this equipment will assist in fulfilling the proposal and potential of the service. All investment suggested must be fully justified within the Service Development and Finance sections of your Bidder Response. The level of investment provided will be at the School’s’ discretion, subject to the method of obtaining the investment for the required equipment.

The quality of food provision will be critical and indeed your organisation must be flexible enough to source bakery, meat, fruit and vegetables and dairy products through local suppliers based no more than 25 miles from Maidenhill School. It is expected that menus will feature and utilise products in season.

Customer engagement will be fundamental to the continuous improvement in the service provision and within your tender response your methodology to this will need to be detailed along with examples of where this has been undertaken within similar contracts recently.

The successful contractor should have similar operations within the local area thus ensuring that the Operational Management Team responsible for the contract is available for regular visits and support for the contract, and that coverage for any planned or unplanned leave from within the establishment staffing structure can be easily provided.

A Civica biometric cashless system is already in operation, with thee tills and a balance checker that requires updating. The client would like to explore options for Plasma screens, to support an agreed programme of promotional activities.

The successful Supplier will work closely with the Client to manage the provision of catering and the overall ‘meal experience. The value of the current catering contract is circa £182K.