Digital Methods to Support Modern Foreign Language GCSE Delivery – Discovery 18/1/18

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a school performance measure that measures the achievement of pupils who have gained GCSEs in English, mathematics, history or geography, the sciences and a language. Government has set an ambition that 75% of year 10 pupils in state-funded mainstream schools should be studying the EBacc combination of subjects by 2022. A programme of activity is underway to support this ambition. The biggest challenge to meeting this ambition is the proportion of pupils studying modern foreign languages (MFL) GCSEs. The Department wants to explore whether and how digital technology could increase uptake of MFL GCSEs Problem to Be Solved The discovery should explore whether and how digital solutions could support schools to increase the number of pupils studying Modern Foreign Languages GCSEs. By the end of the discovery, we expect the supplier to: establish whether there is a viable digital solution that can support MFL GCSE delivery; provide recommendations for any solutions; and provide insights about user needs to support these conclusions. In reaching these conclusions, we would expect the supplier to conduct user-research, focussing on the following questions: 1) how can digital help schools overcome teacher supply challenges? 2) how can digital improve pupil perceptions of MFL GCSEs? Who Are the Users We would expect the discovery to define user-stories for the following users: head teachers; heads of MFL departments; MFL teachers; pupils studying MFL GCSEs; pupils choosing GCSE options. Early Market Engagement Work Already Done We have spoken informally with a small number of users, subject experts and MFL ed tech suppliers, as part of limited pre-discovery work. Full details of this will be shared with the supplier during the project setup phase. The pre-discovery work: • Confirmed evidence of the barriers to increasing MFL uptake and provided informal evidence that there is scope for technology to support schools to overcome these. • Confirmed that MFL teachers are open to using technology in their teaching in a range of ways, and would be open to further use of technology. Existing Team The supplier will work closely with colleagues/teams from Teacher Sufficiency Group and Curriculum Policy Division. These teams have limited experience of agile/discovery methodologies. Curriculum Policy will provide a policy professional (1 FTE for the duration of the project); this person will act as a key liaison point and provide policy input, taking on many of the responsibilities of a product manager (though we expect the discovery team to provide a product manager to complement this). We expect the supplier to provide all of the roles required to deliver a discovery project. Current Phase Discovery Work Location We expect the supplier will be co-located with the DfE at their offices. This may be at: • London – Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BT; or • Croydon – Trafalgar House, Bedford Park, Croydon, CR0 2AQ. We also expect the supplier to travel to locations within London and the South East of England, as appropriate, to undertake research (limited travel could also be required to other regions in England, as yet undefined). Working Arrangments We expect the discovery team to work according to agile methodology, in line with the principles set out in the GDS Service Manual. We expect the discovery team to work 5 days per week for the duration of the discovery, primarily based onsite in DfE offices unless offsite conducting user-research. DfE will provide office space; if any specialist space is required for user-research, this will need to be sourced by the discovery team. The supplier should also provide their own IT equipment, though DfE can provide access to DfE systems and assets as necessary. Security Clearance BPSS clearance is required for all team members. This will need to be in place before the start of the discovery. We will consider suppliers without security clearance, and provide support to gain clearance. Additional T&Cs DfE shall have the right to terminate the Contract at any time, by giving 4 weeks written notice to the Supplier, and DfE's liability thereto shall be for costs reasonably incurred by the Supplier up until the termination date. Suppliers must confirm acceptance of this term. All title to and all rights and interest in the IPR’s in the Services delivered by the Supplier for the Customer under this Call-Off Contract (or by a third party on behalf of the Supplier), and all updates and amendments of these items, shall vest in the Customer. Skills & Experience Recent and demonstrable experience in delivering evidence-based research to inform a user-centred design, focused on user needs, end-to-end user journeys, motivations and goals Recent and demonstrable experience of designing and developing services that meet identified user needs and business objectives Demonstrable evidence of working successfully with users in the school/education landscape or in similar public services contexts Recent demonstrable experience of delivering discovery projects in accordance with Government Digital Standards (GDS) Recent and demonstrable evidence of managing and delivering discovery projects, meeting all requirements and successfully delivering outcomes within specified timescales Recent and demonstrable experience of working with in-house teams with limited Agile experience and sharing knowledge to develop in-house team capability Recent and demonstrable experience of working with public sector organisations, such as central and local government Nice to Haves Demonstrable experience of working with the Department for Education Demonstrable experience working successfully with educational technology stakeholders Demonstrable knowledge of the education and education policy landscape Demonstrable experience of digital learning services/solutions No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Evidence that the proposed approach and methodology for discovery will successfully ascertain user needs and meet specified objectives for the discovery Proposed plan of activities with clear deliverables and dates demonstrating the ability to complete the delivery of the discovery project within the required timescales Proposed supplier team structure, with evidence to demonstrate a strong team and how their skills and experience will deliver the required outcome Evidence that the supplier has an appreciation of the education and educational tech policy landscape and that the proposal is relevant to that context Identification of key options, assumptions, dependencies, risk and issues, with robust approaches to addressing them Evidence of how the proposal represents value for money for DfE Demonstration of ability to work with in-house teams with limited technical and Agile expertise Proposed approach to making use of existing pre-discovery research Proposed approach to co-location of the team with DfE Cultural Fit Criteria Demonstration of a proactive approach, taking responsibility for work and resolving issues quickly, without an over reliance on the client team Demonstration of working in a transparent and collaborative way with DfE Demonstration of an understanding of DfE’s need to deliver the best value for money solution Demonstration of ability to work at the boundary between modern digital ways of working and DfE/Government’s formal procedures and policies Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method Written proposal Case study Work history Reference Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 10% Price 25% Questions from Suppliers Budget range estimated budget of £90, 000 - £110,000 (excluding vat). bidders must fully detail their resources and charges at the proposal stage. travel and subsistence should be included in the proposed charges.