The FitzWimarc School - Catering Tender

The FitzWimarc School is a mixed comprehensive of approximately 1800 pupils. It has served the town of Rayleigh for 90 years and has a long tradition of excellence in education.

The school has consistently achieved examination results that have been well above national averages.

The FitzWimarc School is extremely proud of its excellent reputation, not only within the town of Rayleigh but across the county of Essex. Our vision is to be ambitious for every student, ensuring that each individual has the opportunity to achieve their full potential. High standards of behaviour are underpinned by our core values of respect, responsibility and resilience.

Further information regarding the School can be obtained here: https://www.fitzwimarc.com/

Tender information:

The successful tenderer will be required to provide excellent catering services to The FitzWimarc School, which has 1770 pupils of which approximately 12% are eligible for free school meals, and 230 teaching and support staff.

The contract term being tendered is for three years, 1st September 2027 – 31st August 2030. There is an option for a further extension period for up to two additional years to 31st August 2032.

The school has been selected by the Department for Education (DfE) to participate in the School Rebuilding Programme, with construction works scheduled to commence in October 2026 and continue over a five-year period.

The school kitchen and dining hall are excluded from the programme scope, as they are housed within a modern building completed in 2021 and already benefit from extensive contemporary facilities.

During the redevelopment, the Sixth Form servery will relocate to a temporary facility before moving into a new permanent building in 2030. Throughout this period, flexibility and adaptability will be essential to ensure that our Sixth Form students continue to receive a high-quality catering offer that supports their wellbeing and academic success.

The contract offers an excellent opportunity to review and propose enhancements to the current catering services at the School. This includes but is not limited to; breakfast, morning break, lunchtime and after school services, over the academic year, plus hospitality services upon request.

The school is keen to secure a high quality catering service including fresh locally sourced ingredients prepared on site, with a menu design that is flexible to suit the requirements of the school’s specific students. The school is proud of its ‘family ethos’ and expects both a tightly managed service and a management style delivered by the successful contractor that supports, encourages and develops the catering staff.

The school has an outstanding reputation for sporting excellence, competing successfully at both regional and national levels. To support this high level of participation, students need convenient access to nutritious, high-quality food throughout the day, providing the energy required for the wide range of extracurricular clubs, training sessions, and sporting activities on offer.

The school is not obliged to accept the lowest price submitted for this tender, rather the school is keen to secure ‘best value’ from this contract and to deliver ‘best value’ to its students. Innovative and creative ideas as to how the services can be developed and value added, will be welcomed. The school seeks a contractor that is keen to work in partnership and who will deliver to its highest abilities, at all times.

Competitive Flexible Procedure

This procurement will be run under the Competitive Flexible Procedure. This will follow a two stage approach, with stage 1 being the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ). Here a minimum of 5 candidates (or less, in the event less than 5 meet the minimum criteria) and a maximum of 10 candidates, will progress to stage 2. Any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement and a minimum score of 60% must be achieved.

Selected tenderers will then be invited to stage 2, the Invitation To Tender (ITT). Here, the evaluation of tender response will be set as 35% price and 65% quality.

Value of contract:

The annual value of the current contract is £672,385

Therefore the value of this contract is £3,361,925

The contract shall be a guaranteed performance contract with any hospitality requirements billed separately.

Additional requirements and information:

•The school has a minimum requirement for a contractor’s employers' liability and public liability insurances of £5 million

•The minimum annual turnover that your company must have achieved to be considered for this opportunity is £1 million

•There are not any incumbent catering staff currently within the Local Government Pension Scheme

•The catering services are currently contracted to Accent Catering

•The client reserves the right not to appoint in conclusion of this project.

For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at:

https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Essex:-School-catering-services./MB89FN873Q

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:

https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/MB89FN873Q