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- Current contracts advertised by the Department
- The Department's Procurement Policy
- Prompt payment policy
Current contracts advertised by the Department
Since January 2006 the Department has been required to publicise requirements advertised via the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). You can view the OJEU notices in full on the TED website.
The Department may also publish here adverts for requirements not advertised in OJEU. See the Public Procurement section for further details. However, due to the nature of the Department's requirements, contracting opportunities are also advertised in specialist publications, trade, national and local press. Therefore this information should not be solely relied on to identify all potential contracts that may be of interest.
It would be impractical for us to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive list of all the Department's live contracts, in addition to the list of current opportunities. We hope instead that this information provides a flavour of the work of the Department as well as points of contacts to obtain further information.
TITLE: School improvement school standards advisers
DESCRIPTION: The Chief Adviser on School Standards (Sue Hackman) heads the Standards Group in the Department to provide advice to ministers on school standards and improvement. Her work is focused on the Department's Public Service Agreement targets at Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 in narrowing the gap in educational achievement and raising the educational achievement of all children and young people.
We now wish to recruit a team of three highly experienced school improvement professionals to help us to implement our strategy to improve schools. Ideally two of these posts will specialise in primary school improvement, while the other post will focus on secondary school improvement, or between them, all three candidates will be able to cover both phases. The aim of these posts will be:
- to offer professional advice and support to the Department’s team developing the school improvement strategy(ies)
- to help devise, monitor, coordinate and evaluate the progress of the strategy(ies) in schools and local authorities, and thus help us to maintain an overview and adapt our approach for best effect
- to maintain high-quality liaison and integration with others working on school improvements e.g. National Challenge advisers, National Strategies and partner organisations
- to advise and conduct negotiations when issues or problems arise that need more particular attention
- to lead and contribute to fieldwork studying the effects of school improvement strategies
- to collect and help us to distil and disseminate best practice in school improvement.
CONTACT:
Jodie Semp
2nd Floor
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT
0207 925 5430
Jodie.semp@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
CLOSING DATE: 3:00pm Friday 5 December 2008.
TITLE: A programme to address underperformance in 'coasting' secondary schools
DESCRIPTION: As part of our overall school improvement strategy, on 13th November the Department launched Gaining Ground, a strategy aimed at supporting schools where reasonable numbers of pupils achieve five or more good GCSEs including English and mathematicsbut progression from KS2 to KS4 is below the national average. Part of this strategy is a school to school support programme aimed at addressing theunderperformance in these schools.
The programme has two specific aims:
(i) to rectify the cause(s) of poor progression in the participating schools;
(ii) to secure a rapid upward trend in results in the participating schools.
The Department seeks to work with a supplier who has an extensive knowledge of school improvement strategies, the National Curriculum and the progression and personalisation agenda, and a proven track record in this field. The successful contractor must also be experienced in working with excellent schools and school leaders, as well as other organisations supporting improvement, and will be expected to work closely with local authorities through their School Improvement Partners (SIPs).
The supplier will be required to support the implementation of a programme that meets the requirements set out below.
The contractor will be expected to:
- Design, promote and facilitate appropriate programme(s) that deliver school to school support;
- Ensure that schools on the programme participate fully: the contractor will have to promote the collaborations, persuade schools of the benefits and work closely with the LA/ SIP and Governors to highlight the importance of this programme;
- Develop an appropriate incentive(s) for partner schools to collaborate with schools on the programme.
In addition to the school to school support, we will provide (through the Department's Standard's Fund) small amounts of funding for the participating schools to support specific actions or to 'buy in' additional expertise. The contractor will be expected to liaise with the SIP via the school's LA to ensure that school is aware of other support that is available to them and, where required, support the SIP and LA in brokering in this support. The contractor will be required to show how they will ensure that the school uses this funding effectively
The capacity of the programme will be:
- To support all schools in the programme for two years and four months (from April 1 2009 to July 31 2011)
- Each school to receive 2 years and four months of support with review points at the end of each term.
The contractor will need to show they have capacity to work in all areas of England, across a wide geographical spread. Not all local authorities will have schools falling within our definition. On 2007 figures we estimate that around 120 authorities have relevant schools.
The contract value is betwen £3m and £5m.
CONTACT:
Lorna Serieux
2nd Floor
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith St
London
SW1P 3BT
tel: 0207 925 6703
Fax: 0207 925 6111
lorna.serieux@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
CLOSING DATE: Bids must be received by 12 noon on 19th January 2009.
The Department’s Procurement Policy
Government procurement aims to make tax-payers' money go further. To do this we have to identify what we need and then select, deliver and manage the best supply strategies to meet those needs.
When Government procurement is done well we make the most use of what we have and free up resources for priorities elsewhere.
In the Department, procurement is very well developed. It is recognised as an essential part of the organisation and fully supports the Department's business objectives.
We aim to deliver continuous improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of what we do, harnessing appropriate tools such as information technology.
If you have dealings with the Department you can expect the following:
- We will treat you and your organisation with impartiality, honesty and integrity in a spirit of co-operation, not adversity.
- Procurement standards will be of the highest calibre, clearly visible and consistent..
- Competitive tendering, conforming to international obligations, will be the norm wherever this method adds value,
- To facilitate improved performance, and within the bounds of commercial confidentiality, we will (on request) debrief winners and losers on the outcome of the tendering process.
- We will adhere to our contract terms, but they are negotiable and reasonable.
- Contract management will be proactive not punitive – we will act as partners not policemen.
- A positive response to change, underpinned by common-sense.
- To be paid promptly for work done in accordance with contracts made.
By the same token, the best types of organisations for us to work with are those which:
- Are fair and open in their dealings with customers.
- Put in bids which address the absolute essentials and cover all the issues in an easy-to-follow format.
- Fulfil all the contract conditions that fall to them.
- Recognise, and are seen to recognise, that the key to success lies in the two-way relationship between contractor and customer.
- Share ideas to help us and themselves improve.
It is Government policy to encourage the use of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to help improve our commercial performance.
The Department is also keen to expand the supply side of the education market. We think small businesses can play an important role in achieving this goal.
Therefore, the Department’s aim is to enhance opportunities for SMEs wherever possible and when it is consistent with value for money and the need to treat all companies fairly.
We are fair and honest in the way we select suppliers, endeavour to make prompt payments, and have simplified our contracting procedures and documentation to make dealing with the Department as straightforward as possible.
Prompt payment policy
Government policy is to pay all correctly submitted invoices within 10 days of receipt and we are 100% committed to paying correctly submitted invoices within 30 days of receipt from the day of physical or electronic arrival at the nominated address of the Department.
A correct invoice is one that:
- is delivered in timing in accordance with the contract;
- is for the correct sum;
- is in respect of goods / services supplied or delivered to the required quality (or are expected to be at the required quality);
- includes the date, supplier name, contact details and bank details;
- quotes the relevant purchase order / contract reference (where used);
- has been delivered to the nominated address;
Any correctly submitted invoices that are not paid within 30 days will be subject to the provisions of the Late Payment of Commercial Debt (Interest) Act 1998.
