Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form
Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form, Saxtead Road
Framlingham
IP13 9HE
tenders@litmuspartnership.co.uk
Telephone
+44 1276673880
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKH14 - Suffolk
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://thomasmills.suffolk.sch.uk/
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/659XM99F3N
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted to the above-mentioned address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Education
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Thomas Mills High School ~ Catering Tender
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 55524000 - School catering services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The school is presenting an exciting opportunity to partner with a Supplier who is able to deliver their vision of promoting the health and wellbeing of their circa 1030 pupils and 100 staff through the catering provision.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £1,500,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKH14 - Suffolk
Main site or place of performance
Suffolk
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form is a flourishing 11-18 high school situated in the historic town of Framlingham, Suffolk. We set high expectations of our pupils and, together with our well-qualified staff, this leads to excellent teaching and learning.
Pupils travel to the school from across east and central Suffolk, as well as south Norfolk, to experience an academic education of high quality.
The school is presenting an exciting opportunity to partner with a Supplier who is able to deliver their vision of promoting the health and wellbeing of their circa 1030 pupils and 100 staff through the catering provision. Current catering sales revenue is around £300k per annum, but there is considerable upside thought possible with some potential investment in the catering infrastructure.
The Client would like to see innovative delivery of emerging food trends that are seen on the high-street and in supermarkets that pupils frequent and therefore need to be reflective in the school dining environment. There is a need to maximise sales and uptake – this can be achieved by offering a dynamic and bespoke food offering at morning break and lunchtime. The ITT will investigate the addition of a breakfast service and the anticipated impact that this may make.
The key areas of focus for the successful service provider will include;
Fresh and innovative menus that are nutritionally balanced and appealing;
The best use of local seasonal produce;
Efficient and consistent speed of service with great customer interaction;
Sustainable solutions for food packaging;
Catering staff integration with the School community and support with Curriculum activities.
Identifying and potential funding of appropriate additions to the existing offer notably in terms of potentially funding and sourcing a new 6th form/ teacher facing offer in the 6th form hub
The Client expects the successful Supplier to evidence, through their bid, how they will deliver these focus areas.
The existing team have resilience and consistency in day to day production, but in order to produce the innovative and dynamic food offer required they will need to be supported by an engaged operational team that can demonstrate and upskill menu content to provide services that meet expectation.
Aside from the food, the environment in which the pupils engage with the catering offer is adequate but lacks some definition and merchandising, so the catering partners will need to consider what the requirements are to drive the whole pupil experience in the dining hall and other service areas.
With a contract start date of Summer 2025, the Supplier will need to consider how they will manage the mobilisation and launch the service in what should be an adequate mobilisation timetable.
The Client is seeking a catering service partner that has the ability and appetite to work flexibly and with complete transparency to deliver an exceptional standard of service and take on the development of a loyal and dedicated team. The contract will be for an initial three year-term, (with likely potential for further extension),
Litmus are in the process of concluding a consumer insight survey which looks in detail into current levels of satisfaction of the pupils of all ages and the staff, this data and insight report will feature in the ITT data for those shortlisted.
The catering tender presents an exciting time for the School and the Client is looking forward to developing a successful partnership with a service provider demonstrating the right cultural fit as well as hunger and appetite continuous improvement.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
two.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT: £1,500,000
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start date
1 September 2025
End date
31 August 2030
This contract is subject to renewal
No
two.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.
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: Yes
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section three. Legal, economic, financial and technical information
three.1) Conditions for participation
three.1.2) Economic and financial standing
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
three.1.3) Technical and professional ability
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Restricted procedure
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date
29 November 2024
Local time
12:00pm
four.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
13 January 2025
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: No
six.2) Information about electronic workflows
Electronic ordering will be used
Electronic invoicing will be accepted
Electronic payment will be used
six.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-Framlingham:-School-catering-services./659XM99F3N
To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/659XM99F3N
GO Reference: GO-20241022-PRO-28235581
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form
Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form, Saxtead Road
Framlingham
IP13 9HE
Country
United Kingdom