School catering services

Tender description

The successful supplier will be required to provide catering services for St Laurence School. We are a thriving and successful comprehensive academy where we place great value on both academic excellence and developing the whole person. We benefit from a dual foundation status. One of these is the diocese of Salisbury, meaning that we are a church of England school. We are proud to have the Lord Fitzmaurice Educational Trust as the other part of our foundation. Our GCSE exam results are excellent, with student attainment well above the national average. We have a strong and successful sixth form, with a very high proportion moving on to university including Oxbridge. Following their visit in June 2017, Ofsted inspectors commented on our commitment to high standards. St Laurence School agrees that all food and drink provided to pupils shall comply with current school food standards legislation. Similarly compliance to current GDPR and allergen legislation are deemed critical to ensure the overall quality of the catering service is appropriate. There are currently 1 406 pupils with circa 60 entitled to free school meals. The guaranteed performance contract will commence on 1.8.2019 for an initial period of 3 years, with the opportunity to extend for a further period of 2 years at the discretion of the school governing body. This is the first time the market has been tested for the catering service, having previously been managed in-house by ‘Team St Laurence’ for a number of years. The client expects the successful supplier to enable the continued development of catering through the provision of an innovative, healthy food service, with fresh, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients being prepared in the well-appointed kitchen on-site. The client expects the successful supplier to evidence, through their bid, how they shall support and complement their stated target. The client requires year one menus to be fully compliant with the food for life silver standard. The contract covers the scope for the provision of catering services, which currently includes: breakfast, morning break, lunch and 6th form, all hospitality and free issue requirements. The client would like to discuss the feasibility of the provision of a catering service to pupils and local community members, attending after school clubs and events. A snacks vending service could be considered. Meals shall be charged at 2,80 GBP on consumption for the first year of the contract (main course, dessert and drink), with free school meals, hospitality and free issues at net cost. There are some staff duty meals. Packed lunches shall be required for some school trips. The client intends to focus heavily on healthy, fresh, seasonal, locally sourced produce and sees the catering service as an exciting opportunity to complement the overall pupil experience, through the regular introduction of new ingredients, themed and promotional events. The successful supplier will be required to play their part in acting as a catalyst for improvement of the pupil experience. The successful supplier will work closely with the client to manage the provision of catering and the overall meal experience. The annual turnover of the current catering service is circa 254 000 GBP (with FSM at margin). Suppliers’ thoughts regarding how to support the client’s catering improvement objectives within the term of the initial contract are welcome. The current NRS cashless catering system is ready for a software upgrade, with a quote for circa 10 000 GBP received for this, as part of a license and ongoing support package. An additional balance checking machine could be of benefit to pupils. The client invites suppliers to consider offers of appropriate capital investment and suppliers’ ideas for the development of the current catering service will be welcomed.