The Litmus Partnership: Wyre Forest School ~ Catering Tender

UK-Worcestershire: School catering services.
Section I: Contracting Authority
      I.1) Name and addresses
             Wyre Forest School
             Habberley Road, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY11 6FA, United Kingdom
             Tel. +44 1276673880, Email: tenders@litmuspartnership.co.uk
             Main Address: https://www.wfs.worcs.sch.uk/
             NUTS Code: UKG12
      I.2) Joint procurement
      The contract involves joint procurement: No.
      In the case of joint procurement involving different countries, state applicable national procurement law: Not provided       
      The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body: No.
      I.3) Communication
      The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/MU2628TCJ4
      Additional information can be obtained from: the abovementioned address
      Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to the abovementioned address       
      Electronic communication requires the use of tools and devices that are not generally available. Unrestricted and full direct access to these tools and devices is possible, free of charge, at: Not provided
      I.4) Type of the contracting authority
            Body governed by public law
      I.5) Main activity
            Education

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
      II.1.1) Title: Wyre Forest School ~ Catering Tender       
      Reference Number: Not provided
      II.1.2) Main CPV Code:
      55524000 - School catering services.

      II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES
      II.1.4) Short description: The successful Supplier will be required to provide Catering services for Wyre Forest school.
We are a broad-spectrum special needs school for children aged 3 to 19. We also have Russell House, a 16-bed weekly residential unit. We have only been in our building since April 2015. Before this the school was on two sites following the Wyre Forest restructuring in 2011 (Bewdley Road site, formerly Blakebrook, and Comberton Road site, formerly Stourminster).       
      II.1.5) Estimated total value:
      Value excluding VAT: 530,000       
      Currency: GBP
      II.1.6) Information about lots:
      This contract is divided into lots: No       
   
II.2) Description
      
      II.2.2) Additional CPV codes:
      Not Provided       
      II.2.3) Place of performance:
      UKG12 Worcestershire
      
      II.2.4) Description of procurement: The successful Supplier will be required to provide Catering services for Wyre Forest school.
We are a broad-spectrum special needs school for children aged 3 to 19. We also have Russell House, a 16-bed weekly residential unit. We have only been in our building since April 2015. Before this the school was on two sites following the Wyre Forest restructuring in 2011 (Bewdley Road site, formerly Blakebrook, and Comberton Road site, formerly Stourminster).
We share our campus with Baxter College. We also have a vocational hub and a Sixth Form which prepares children for life after school. Offsite we run the award-winning Blossom Tree Café in Springfield Park.
We work tirelessly to meet the needs of all the children, so they develop and progress academically, socially, emotionally and physically. Our values of enthusiasm, resilience, honesty, teamwork and trust shine out from all that we do. We have an exciting curriculum which is broad and balanced and make the use of our specialist facilities, including soft play, dark room, sensory rooms, vocational hub, hydropool, gym and riding for the disabled. We are also a communication specialist school and use sign-a-long, PECS and communication passports. We are passionate about the benefits of outdoor education from Forest Schools and The John Muir Award to outdoor pursuits, working the land and exploring the Wyre Forest. This work is crucial in building emotional resilience, teamwork and independence.
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 January 2026, concluding on 31 December 2028, with the opportunity to extend by up to an additional two years at the discretion of the governing body. There are 190 academic days each year, plus 5 teacher training days which require no catering service. There are currently 371 students and 304 staff, however this number is anticipated to increase to circa 427 during the period of the contract, with the addition of a number of extra classrooms.
The contract is offered on a ‘guaranteed performance’ basis. Currently Meal Deals of salad, main and pudding are at a maximum of £2.53 for pupils and staff £2.90, charged on consumption with margin applied. Currently circa 210 – 230 lunches are served each day, with circa 160 being plated and served via the classrooms, the remainder via the dining room service point. The School has a variety of dietary requirements that need accommodated, including allergies, sensory and individual pupil preferences.
The residential centre is open for meals Monday to Thursday during term time only and commence a week after the main School, consequently serving for 185 days.
It is appreciated that a level of investment may be identified as a requirement of your bid, and therefore bidders are encouraged to provide detailed information of any equipment felt necessary. Bidders must provide the equipment make, model and cost and 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. It is expected that menus will feature and utilise products in season.
Please see SQ Document for more information.
      II.2.5) Award criteria:
            Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents            
      II.2.6) Estimated value:
      Value excluding VAT: 530,000       
      Currency: GBP       
      II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system:
      Start: 01/01/2026 / End: 31/12/2030       
      This contract is subject to renewal: No       
      Description of renewals: Not provided
      II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited:
             Envisaged minimum number: 5
            / Maximum number: 10       
      Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates: A minimum of 5 suppliers and a maximum of 10 suppliers will be taken forward to the tender stage of the process. Where less than 5 suppliers meet the minimum standards, only those that meet the minimum standards will be taken through to the tender stage. Where more than 5 suppliers meet the minimum standard, those suppliers with the highest scores will proceed to the tender stage.
      II.2.10) Information about variants:
      Variants will be accepted: Yes
      II.2.11) Information about options:
      Options:       No             
      Description of options: Not provided
      II.2.12) Information about electronic catalogues:
      Tenders must be presented in the form of electronic catalogues or include an electronic catalogue: No
      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds:
      The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No       
      Identification of the project: Not provided             
      II.2.14) Additional information: To respond to this opportunity please click here: https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/MU2628TCJ4       


Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial And Technical Information
   III.1) Conditions for participation
      III.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
      List and brief description of conditions:          
      Not Provided       
      III.1.2) Economic and financial standing          
      Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents       
      List and brief description of selection criteria:       
      Not Provided    
      Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required (if applicable) :       
      Not Provided    
      III.1.3) Technical and professional ability    
      Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
      List and brief description of selection criteria:       
      Not Provided      
      Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required (if applicable) :          
      Not Provided   
      III.1.5) Information about reserved contracts (if applicable)   
      The contract is reserved to sheltered workshops and economic operators aiming at the social and professional integration of disabled or disadvantaged persons: No       
      The execution of the contract is restricted to the framework of sheltered employment programmes: No    
      
   III.2) Conditions related to the contract
      III.2.1) Information about a particular profession    
      Reference to the relevant law, regulation or administrative provision:          
      Not Provided    
      III.2.2) Contract performance conditions          
      Not Provided          
      III.2.3) Information about staff responsible for the performance of the contract
      Obligation to indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff assigned to performing the contract: No

Section IV: Procedure
   IV.1) Description RESTRICTED
      IV.1.1) Type of procedure: Restricted   
   
   IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system    
         The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement - NO        
         The procurement involves the setting up of a dynamic purchasing system - NO    
         In the case of framework agreements justification for any duration exceeding 4 years: Not Provided    
   
   
   IV.1.6) Information about electronic auction:
      An electronic auction will be used: No
      Additional information about electronic auction: Not provided
   IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
      The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes       
   IV.2) Administrative information
      IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure:
         Notice number in the OJ S: Not provided       
      IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
       Date: 11/04/2025 Time: 12:00
      IV.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates: 26/05/2025       
      IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: English,       
      IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender: Not Provided      
      

Section VI: Complementary Information
   VI.1) Information about recurrence
   This is a recurrent procurement: No    
   Estimated timing for further notices to be published: Not provided
   VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
   Electronic ordering will be used Yes       
   Electronic invoicing will be accepted Yes       
   Electronic payment will be used Yes       
   VI.3) Additional Information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.

It will be the supplier's responsibility to obtain any necessary documents in order to submit a response by the closing date and time.

The contracting authority reserves the right not to award any or part of the contract which is the subject of this contract notice and reserves the right to terminate the procurement process at any time.

The contracting authority will not be liable for any costs incurred by those expressing an interest in tendering for this contract opportunity.

The contracting authority will consider variant bids, evaluating them (so far as the variant or the evaluation of the variant is in the opinion of the contracting authority practicable) on the same basis as a conforming bid, but shall not be obliged to accept any such bid in preference to a conforming bid even if the variant bid scores more highly. No variant will be considered unless the bidder simultaneously submits a conforming bid.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at:
https://litmustms.co.uk/tenders/UK-UK-Worcestershire:-School-catering-services./MU2628TCJ4

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/MU2628TCJ4
   VI.4) Procedures for review
   VI.4.1) Review body:
             Wyre Forest School
       Habberley Road, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, Worcesters, United Kingdom
       Tel. +44 1276673880, Email: tenders@litmuspartnership.co.uk
   VI.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures:
Not provided
   VI.4.3) Review procedure
   Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:    
    Not Provided    
   VI.4.4) Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained:
Not provided
   VI.5) Date Of Dispatch Of This Notice: 13/02/2025

Annex A