School catering services

Tender description

The successful supplier will be required to provide catering services for the Girls’ Learning Trust at the following schools: — Nonsuch High School for Girls, — Wallington High School for Girls, — Carshalton High School for Girls. The Girls’ Learning Trust (GLT) was formed on 1.9.2015 and was originally called the Nonsuch and Wallington Education Trust (NWET). At first there were 2 schools in the Trust; Nonsuch High School for Girls and Wallington High School for Girls. In April 2018, Carshalton High School for Girls joined the Trust. All 3 schools are high performing, successful schools located in the London Borough of Sutton and are within easy reach of each other. With around 4 000 students, 400 staff and a highly effective operating model, GLT gives member schools the financial and operational strength to drive school improvement and provides increased opportunities for students and staff across the Trust. Further information is provided in the tender documents. The tender project is seeking to appoint a supplier whose initiative and innovation will be welcomed for the provision of service within the existing facilities for the students and teaching/support staff at each trust school. The client requires a focus on exciting new food concepts to satisfy a wide range of pupil tastes and dietary requirements. The client would wish the successful supplier to review the current range of services offered and make recommendations accordingly. The contract being tendered is for three years in duration from 1.8.2019 to 31.7.2022 with the option to extend this contract by a further 2 years, in agreement with the client. The contract will operate as a guaranteed performance contract, with the successful Supplier offering the client a guaranteed return/cost per annum for the provision of catering services. Sovereignty of the cash tariff is to remain with the client for the duration of this contract. The academic year 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 school catering services, which currently includes morning break, lunch, all hospitality and free issue requirements. Free school meals will be charged based on uptake and at a margin, where hospitality will be provided at net food cost. Whilst the client prioritises value for money as a key objective of the competitive tender process, the client is not obliged to accept the lowest price. The client expects the successful supplier to enable the continued development of catering through the provision of an innovative, healthy food services, with fresh, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients being prepared on-site. The client expects the successful Supplier to evidence, through their bid, how they shall support and complement its values and support the principles of every child matters. The client believes that success should be celebrated and that pupils should enjoy their time at school; if lessons are stimulating and challenging then students will love learning. Much time therefore, is spent reviewing and planning schemes of work to ensure that they are differentiated to meet the needs of all students. The client requires a catering contractor to become a partner to the school, becoming involved in the pupils’ learning experience. As a trust who are continually seeking ways to improve and develop the ethos and environment for students and staff across their schools, to give them the facilities they deserve and need to meet the challenges of the 21st Century, any consideration regarding inward capital investment as part of the Supplier’s tender submission would be welcomed. There are no current catering staff in the LGPS. This is a growing trust and should any further schools join the Trust during the course of this contract, these additional schools may — at the discretion of the client — be added to this catering contract. Further information is provided in the tender documents.