One-to-one Tuition Services Framework - Virtual School and College

Portsmouth City Council ('the Council') has terminated the tender, prior to the tender return deadline, for the provision of one-to-one tuition services in relation to Portsmouth's Virtual School and College. The reasoning for the discontinuation of this current tender, is due to several factors related to clarifications raised by providers during the clarification stage.

The Council have concluded that in order to accurately portray the requirements of this proposed framework, many amendments would need to be made to the ITT, Service specification and FTS (Find a Tender) notice, and the Council does not wish to rely on responses to the clarification log, in order to put these changes into effect, as this may not offer a transparent process moving forward during the evaluation and award stages, and we wish to offer a fair, clear and comprehensive opportunity for all providers who are looking to submit a bid for the opportunity of joining this framework.

Additionally, it has been noted that that many key Council officers involved in this tender and the evaluation of bids will be unavailable over the summer period, which is why the tender will need to be pushed back to the Autumn period at the earliest. Delaying the tender will also help to ensure any clarifications raised can be answered accurately, with the assistance of virtual school and college colleagues, as this will align with their availability at the time.

To counter these issues, we are proposing that the current active tender is withdrawn, and a new updated tender is published later this year.

The updated tender will aim to clearly define provider's requirements in relation to face-to-face and online tuition delivery (this may now involve lots), in addition to more transparent procedures regarding service rates and uplifts, amongst other queries raised. This will allow for fair competition when evaluating bids and will ensure all providers are given equal opportunities.