Tender

Thomas Mills High School ~ Catering Tender

  • Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form

F02: Contract notice

Notice identifier: 2024/S 000-034075

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-04aff6

Published 22 October 2024, 10:05am



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

Email

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