Official UK procurement notice
Test Operations Service - Future Service Management Programme
Authority: Department for Education (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Standards and Testing Agency (STA), an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE), is responsible for the delivery of statutory National Curriculum Assessments (NCAs), including Key Stage 1 assessments (optional), Phonics screening check (statutory) and Key Stage 2 assessments (statutory).
The current arrangements for the delivery of assessment operations for these assessments are due to expire following the delivery of assessments in 2029. To inform future decisions, STA has established the Future Service Management Programme to consider our delivery options.
The programme is considering a range of potential options for the future delivery of assessment services. These services include, but are not limited to, print production, collation and logistics, scanning, marking, customer support services, systems provision, data processing and integration.
The purpose of this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice is to advise the market of STA's intention to undertake early market engagement activities to inform the assessment of our options. This engagement is intended to improve STA's understanding of current market capability, emerging technologies, innovative delivery approaches, commercial models and potential opportunities and constraints associated with the future provision of assessment services.
STA is seeking input from organisations with relevant expertise and experience in one or more aspects of the service.
Details of the market engagement activity can be found in the engagement section of this notice.
Following the engagement activities, STA may invite interested organisations to participate in further market engagement through questionnaires, workshops, requests for information or additional discussions. Feedback gathered through these activities will help shape STA's understanding of the market and support the development of future recommendations.
Participation in this market engagement process will not form part of any future procurement evaluation and will not provide any supplier with an advantage in any subsequent procurement process.
The publication of this notice does not signify the commencement of any procurement process and does not constitute any commitment by STA to undertake any procurement exercise.
Any future procurement strategy will be determined following completion of the Delivery Model Assessment, approval of recommendations through the appropriate governance channels and consideration of government priorities.
STA wishes to ensure that potential providers have early visibility of the programme and future opportunities to engage. This supports STA's objective of promoting open, transparent and inclusive engagement with the market, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
STA reserves the right to amend, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the programme or market engagement activities at any time without liability. Participation in this engagement process is entirely voluntary and participants will bear their own costs associated with involvement in any engagement activity.
Any information provided by STA during market engagement activities is indicative only and should not be relied upon as a commitment regarding future service requirements, procurement arrangements or delivery model decisions.
The Authority administers its procurement activity electronically through Jaggaer education.app.jaggaer.com ↗ , the Department for Education's e-sourcing system, and further details of any future opportunities will be published at the appropriate time through the relevant procurement channels.
CPV: Education and training services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Department for Education buys Education and training services (CPV 80), and who usually turns up
Department for Education’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Education and training services (CPV 80) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in Greater London (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered. More of this buyer’s work stays local than in this market: 81% against 41%, n=26.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 50 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid11% / 12%
2–341% / 35%
4–626% / 30%
7+22% / 23%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate47% / 41%
Within ±2%29% / 37%
Above estimate24% / 21%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 80Estimate not published
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 80. The comparison uses that group.
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 92 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid12%
2–335%
4–630%
7+23%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pearson Education LimitedLive contract | Test Operations Services 2025 con_25418runs to Jan 2031 | — | £128m | Matched as the earlier contract |
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 2 Oct 2026, 11:52 BST
- Last source update
- 2 Oct 2026, 11:52 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-093267- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077f8cFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
2 Oct 2026 → 1 Dec 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published24 days ago2 Oct 2026, 11:52 BST
- Today27 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 65 days31 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
The market engagement activity will consist of an online supplier engagement event delivered by STA. The event will provide an overview of the programme, the scope of services under consideration and specific questions on which STA is seeking supplier feedback.
The main event will be held on 15 October 2026, see agenda below. All suppliers are expected to attend the Welcome and Introductions session.
Following this, suppliers should attend only the session(s) relevant to the services they currently provide or are interested in providing. There is no requirement to attend the entire event.
Event Agenda – 15 October 2026
- 09:00 – 09:30 Welcome and Introductions
- 09:30 – 10:20 Print
- 10:30 – 11:20 Collation
- 11:30 – 12:20 Logistics
- 12:20 – 12:50 Lunch
- 13:00 – 13:50 Scanning and Marking
- 14:00 – 14:50 Helpline
- 15:00 – 16:50 Service Integration
To support more detailed discussions regarding technology and systems capabilities, STA will also offer dedicated 60-minute one-to-one engagement sessions for system and data integration/reporting suppliers on 14 October 2026. These sessions will provide suppliers with an opportunity to discuss systems and data requirements, delivery approaches, integration requirements, reporting capabilities and other technology-related considerations.
The available one-to-one session times are below. These will be given on a first come, first serve basis:
- 10:00 – 11:00
- 11:00 – 12:00
- 13:00 – 14:00
- 14:00 – 15:00
Further details on how to register for the engagement event and book one-to-one sessions will be provided through the Department for Education's e-sourcing portal, Jaggaer, education.app.jaggaer.com ↗ , to access follow the "View Opportunities" link. Suppliers will then need to access the following SSQ: ssq_860 - Test Operations Service - Future Service Management Programme.
Following the engagement activities, STA may invite interested organisations to participate in further market engagement through questionnaires, workshops, requests for information or additional discussions. Feedback gathered through these activities will help shape STA's understanding of the market and support the development of future recommendations.
- Contract startsin 399 days1 Dec 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published2 Oct 2026, 11:52 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender