OpenStage · tender 18 days to close

Holiday, Activities and Food (HAF) Programme - Round 4

HealthcareCPV 85000000

ValueValue not published

Deadline25 Sept 2026

Published22 Jul 2026

RegionNationwide

Timeline

Published 22 Jul 202618 days leftCloses 25 Sept 2026

Who to contact

procurementops@southend.gov.uk

The procurement contact named on the official notice.

How to submit

Open the submissions portal

The submission route named on the official notice.

When this comes round again

Southend-on-Sea City Council publishes Health & Social Care work continuously — 28 notices, roughly one every 27 days. This is a stream to watch, not a cycle to wait for.

40% of Southend-on-Sea City Council’s awards go to a supplier it has used before.

Which is the argument for getting on the list rather than winning this one. The incumbent is rarely the last winner — it is the roster. See the retention odds by category →

Match for your company

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The brief

Southend-on-Sea City Council are seeking to add additional suppliers to join the Framework Agreement for the provision of Holiday Activity and Food Programme Services (HAF) in Southend-on Sea.

The Healthy Activities and Food programme (HAF) has been funded by the Department for Education to deliver activities and food to vulnerable children during school holiday periods.

The provision must be used to provide access to holiday activity programmes as follows:- At least 4 hours for 4 days a week for 4 weeks the Summer, and a week in Easter and a week at Christmas- Inclusive and accessible provision - Provision offered to all Benefits related FSM children of statutory school age in Southend-on-Sea.

The minimum standards for the delivery of high quality provision include healthy food (meeting the school food standards) enriching activities, physical activities, nutritional education, and for children to: • Eat more healthily • Be more active • Take part in engaging and enriching activities • Be safe and not isolated • Have greater knowledge of health and nutrition • Be more engaged with school and other services • Have greater knowledge and awareness of the holiday club provision Further details in respect of this tender opportunity is contained within the Invitation to Tender documentation pack Suppliers are invited to view the documents and submit their tender to join the Framework and the second round will close at 12 Noon on Friday 25th September 2026.

Please view the documents here: https://procontract.due-north.com (https://procontract.due-north.com) with the reference DN773627.

The contracting authority is Southend-on-Sea City Council and any Successor Body meaning one or more entities which assumes any of the Council's functions (as applicable) as a result of Local Government Reform (LGR).

Such successor body or bodies may be, without limitation, a local authority, a combined county authority, a strategic authority or any other status determined pursuant to the Devolution and LGR Legislation.

Requirements

What the notice asks for

The Healthy Activities and Food programme (HAF)

The Healthy Activities and Food programme (HAF) has been funded by the Department for Education to deliver activities and food to vulnerable children during school holiday periods.

The provision must be used to provide

Sentences from the notice that state an obligation, surfaced automatically and shown in the order they appear. Not an exhaustive list — always confirm against the tender documents.

The gates

What this notice demands of you

1 named, none in explicit obligation language. Each one is quoted from the notice.

Framework agreement (any)Frameworks & routes to market

Southend-on-Sea City Council are seeking to add additional suppliers to join the Framework Agreement for the provision of Holiday Activity and Food Programme Services (HAF) in Southend-on Sea.

Matched against the notice text, so this is a floor — the tender pack will demand things the notice never mentions. “Says must” means the quoted sentence itself used obligation language; anything ambiguous is left as a mention.

What it takes to bid this

10–22 daysof bid-team effort

£6.8k–£15.1kat typical UK bid-team rates

Compressed window — start the same week

Typical UK bid effort for the value not published — mid-band assumed band — an estimate, not a quote.

Qualify & bid/no-bid ~10% · SQ / PQQ ~20% · Written response ~55% · Review & presentation ~15%

Typical for this category — confirm against the ITT pack

Hold at bidCQC registration / safeguarding policies
Plan for deliveryDBS-checked staff & vetting process
Plan for deliveryTUPE (incumbent staff often transfer)
Show at bidComparable references / case studies
Hold at bidFinancial standing (accounts, often ~2× contract value turnover)
Hold at bidInsurance cover (PL / EL, often PI)
Show at bidSocial value commitments

Hold at bid = pass/fail conditions of participation. Show at bid = scored in the quality response. Plan for delivery = contract obligations from day one.

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Buyer intelligence

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Free to start. Named contacts come from published notices; the strategy is generated from the buyer’s news, accounts and people.

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The full intelligence dossier

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Source & provenance