Alban Academies Trust ~ Catering Tender

Concepts

• school catering
• st albans
• alban academies trust
• ridgeway academy
• catering services
• wide catering contract
• academy status
• catering service
• members of the trust
• wide catering tender

Location

Hertfordshire

Description

The successful Supplier will be required to provide catering services for the Alban Academies Trust.

Total Quantity or Scope

The Alban Academies Trust serves primary and secondary schools in and near St. Albans. Our mission is to build a learning community that shares and promotes educational excellence for everyone. All members of the Trust are valued and able to make a powerful contribution to the on-going progress of improvement across the AAT. The Trust currently comprises of five schools, three secondary schools: Ridgeway Academy, Sandringham School and Verulam School and three primary schools: Garden Fields JMI School, Wheatfields Infants’ and Nursery School and Wheatfields Junior School. This catering tender is for the catering services at 2 schools – where this is a 2 + 3 contract. It is likely that a Trust wide catering contract to encompass the other secondary schools at least, will be run for 1st August 2024 – to align with the end dates of the current contracts at the other schools. Schools included in this tender: Ridgeway Academy Ridgeway Academy is an 11-18 Mixed Secondary School with Academy status and is part of the Alban Academies Trust. The school currently employs 116 teaching and support staff and has 902 students on roll )expected to rise to 952 next year) which includes 83 students in Sixth Form (expected to rise to 100 next year) •Please be advised that the catering service is currently contracted to Edwards and Blake •The total catering sales per annum at this school are: 2018/19 £185,793 (pre-pandemic) •Our current year to date sales for Sept 21 to Feb 22 are £72,848.95 (March 21 to August 2021was £58,750) Garden Fields Garden Fields Junior Mixed and Infant School is in St. Albans and currently has 578 pupils ages 4 to 11 and approximately 80 members of staff. The school is reducing its PAN from 90 to 60 in September 2022 and for subsequent years due to lower local pupil numbers. The school went through an expansion from 2015 to 2021 increasing PAN from 60 to 90 each year. •The school is currently using Herts Catering Ltd. •The 2019 sales were £164275 Therefore the total annual sales are £350,068 Therefore the total value of the contract (annual sales x 5) = £1,750,340 The Tender The tender project is seeking to appoint a Contractor whose initiative and innovation will be welcomed for the provision of service within the existing facilities of all schools, with a focus on exciting new food concepts to satisfy a wide range of pupil tastes and dietary requirements. The Schools would wish the successful contractor to review the current range of services offered and make recommendations accordingly. The contract being tendered is for two years in duration from 1st August 2022 to 31st July 2024 with the option to extend for up to a further 3 years at the discretion of the client. However, it is very much expected that a Trust wide catering tender will be run to bring all schools into one catering contract for a new Trust contract for 1st August 2024. This contract will operate as a Guaranteed Performance Contract, with the successful Contractor offering the School a guaranteed return / cost per annum for the provision of catering services. Sovereignty of the cash tariff is to remain with the Trust for the duration of this contract. The School year at all schools is based on a calendar of 195 days. Five days are to be used for staff professional development which means that School will be open to receive students for the legal minimum of 190 days. The contract offered covers the scope for the provision of all catering services within the School, which currently includes morning break, lunch, all hospitality and free issue requirements. Free School meals are to be charged with a margin attached and hospitality will be charged based on consumption and at net food cost. Whilst the Trust prioritises value for money as a key objective of the Competitive Tender Process, it is not obliged to accept the lowest price. See SQ Document for more information.

CPV Codes

• 55524000 - School catering services

Indicators

• Variant bids may be considered.
• This is a one-off contract (no recurrence)
• Renewals are not available.

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** 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-St-Albans:-School-catering-services./F9633... To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/F9633T44F7 GO Reference: GO-2022316-PRO-19807738