Scope
Description
The Department for Education is commissioning an evidence-based early maths programme aimed at improving numeracy outcomes for children in early years settings across England.
Early maths skills are strongly linked to later academic achievement and workforce success, yet many children begin school without the expected level of development in maths.
Despite its importance within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), maths remains one of the lowest-performing areas, partly due to limited training and confidence among educators.
This contract will support the delivery of an evidence-based early maths programme to at least 5,000 settings, with a minimum completion rate of 80%, and requires programmes to be backed by robust evaluation, either a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) or Quasi-Experimental Design (QED) plus an implementation and process evaluation (IPE).
A PIN was published on 20th June 2025. A Market Engagement Event was subsequently held on 10 July 2025 and the slides and Question & Answer document from this event have been uploaded to Jaggaer.
For further information, please access the ITT documents via the Jaggaer e-Procurement platform (itt_3727).
The Department will be holding a Bidder Engagement Event on 11th November 2025, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.
1. Potential suppliers are invited to participate in this bidder engagement session, which will be facilitated via Microsoft Teams.
2. The session will be led by representatives of the Department for Education and will focus on the programme's requirements and the tendering process.
3. To register your interest in attending, please use the messaging facility in the Jaggaer Portal and include the email contact details of all attendees in your message. Following registration, an invite will be sent to the email addresses of the attendees by 10th November 2025.
Attendance is not mandatory. Slides and any Q&As from the session will be uploaded to Jaggaer following the event.
Total value (estimated)
- £4,500,000 excluding VAT
- £5,400,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 April 2026 to 31 August 2029
- 3 years, 5 months
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 80000000 - Education and training services
Participation
Particular suitability
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
- Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE)
Submission
Enquiry deadline
20 November 2025, 5:00pm
Tender submission deadline
5 December 2025, 12:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
The Department is administering the Tender process via its e-Tendering Portal, (Jaggaer; https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html). Jaggaer is the only method for submitting tenders and suppliers should not make any other form of approach to the Department in connection with this procurement. It is the responsibility of Potential Suppliers to ensure they can access and use the Jaggaer system. Jaggaer is owned and hosted by an independent organisation, any issues in respect of functionality or using the system must be directed to the Jaggaer helpdesk via 0800 069 8630 or https://www.jaggaer.com/submit-supplier-support-request/
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
5 February 2026
Award criteria
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
| Evaluation report | Quality |
| Delivery and implementation | Quality |
| Recruitment and retention | Quality |
| Governance and assurance | Quality |
| Social value | Quality |
| Price | Price |
Weighting description
Price per quality point
Other information
Applicable trade agreements
- Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Open procedure
Contracting authority
Department for Education
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PDZG-3487-DPVD
Sanctuary Buildings, 20 Great Smith Street
London
SW1P3BT
United Kingdom
Email: maisie.monroe@education.gov.uk
Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education
Region: UKI32 - Westminster
Organisation type: Public authority - central government