Explore education statistics

Tender description

Work done so far Discovery report is available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/721729/HiveIT_-_DfE_dissemination_discovery.pdf The current service is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk To see existing code, our GitHub repository is available at: https://github.com/dfe-analytical-services/explore-education-statistics The main technologies used are ● C# and .NET 8 including EF Core, Identity, and Azure SDKs ● MSAL and Entra ID integration ● React and Typescript ● Next.js ● Azure services including Azure Web App, Azure Storage, Azure SQL Database, Data Factory and DevOps ● Robot Framework, and K6 (performance testing) ● Public API infrastructure: PostgresSQL / DuckDB Which phase the project is in Beta Existing team The supplier will be working with the DfE Explore education statistics platforms team comprising of subject matter experts, one of which will be a product owner. The team we need will likely include (at varying levels): • Developer (front & back end) • Data architect • Microsoft Azure expertise • Quality Assurance • User Researcher • Designer (UX and content design) • Delivery Manager We may require access to people with different skill sets at different times throughout the project. As such, we would require any supplier to be able to scale and flex as quickly as required to ensure the work can maintain momentum. Address where the work will be done Remote working. The DfE team are usually based in Sheffield & Darlington. Travel to those offices and various locations throughout England may be required. Working arrangements Detailed working arrangements will be contained within each statement of work. Day to day delivery will be governed by standard agile delivery techniques. These could be either a Kanban or a scrum approach (depending on the work) but the standard agile ceremonies appropriate to those should be undertaken. Scope and prioritisation of work is decided by the product owner with input from the SRO and wider governance when appropriate. All work should be done in accordance with Government digital service standards. Provide more information about your security requirements: Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) Latest start date 2026-02-02 Enter the expected contract length: 2 years Extension period: 1 year Special terms and conditions Bidders must respond to the opportunity using the response template found within the project attachments. Only essential and nice to have criteria require responses at stage 1. Special terms and conditions In order to participate in this opportunity, DOS6 awarded suppliers should have followed all necessary registration steps through the Public Procurement Gateway, operated by Crown Commercial Service (CCS). Please follow instructions sent to you at the email address supplied during the DOS6 application process. Write the term or acronym: EES Are you prepared to show your budget details?: Yes Indicative maximum: 3000000 Provide further information: An indicative budget of up to £2.82 million is available for use across the 24-month contract term. Should DfE decide to exercise the option to extend, up to an additional 50% of the value may be made available. Budget approval is subject to internal spending controls. Payments will be linked to delivery against agreed SoW throughout the contract lifecycle. Confirm if you require a contracted out service or supply of resource Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply Summary of work Explore Education Statistics is aimed at making education statistics easier to find, access, navigate and understand. Public beta launched in 2020 and live assessment is imminent in late 2025. We're now planning for beyond live assessment to maintain and enhance the service to meet expanding demand. We need a team to maintain and continue to develop the service in line with user feedback. Where the supplied staff will work No specific location (for example they can work remotely) Why the work is being done DfE publishes over 70 official statistics series’ each year, with data being used by the public, schools, local authorities, the media and central government amongst others. These are used to improve the transparency of the education system, shine a light on education delivery, and facilitate evidence-based departmental and sector decision making. After completing a discovery, alpha, private beta, the Department moved to publishing its statistics via its own ‘Explore Education Statistics’ service (EES) - aimed at making education statistics easier to find, access, navigate and understand. The service is recently gone through live assessment. As more users interact with EES and the demand for efficient data increases, it is clear that continuing enhancement work is essential to keep the platform and the forefront of statistical publishing. The business problem you need to solve We are looking to maintain and optimise the explore education statistics platform. The contract will include: Maintenance To support maintenance of the service throughout the duration of the contract, including monitoring and optimisation of the service as well as bug fixing. Development Researching, designing, and developing enhancements to the service. These developments will be identified during user testing and then prioritised and grouped into distinct SoWs as appropriate. A backlog of features already exists as a starting point. Enhancing large data capabilities Review and improve the existing data infrastructure and delivery to better handle the increasing size of data sets. This includes: - Implement performance improvements in storage, transfer and processing of data and associated infrastructure - Enhance and future proof the existing table tool functionality to better deal with large and more complex data sets - Review processes and protections around public API usage and implement any necessary improvements Automation and data source connectivity - Design and develop new automation processes allowing analysts to create releases from more complete templates - Develop tools to directly load data into the EES databases from analyst data processing pipelines (including integration with Databricks) All development and solutions will need to be GDS compliant and conform to WCAG 2.2. First user type: System super-user First user type: Statistics creators First user type: Statistics consumers - automator First user type: Statistics consumer - builder First user type: Statistics consumer - headline seeker Questions and Clarifications 1. Would the authority be able to disclose the names of any incumbents? The current incumbent is HiveIT. Last Updated: 12 November 2025, 10:44 2. Is the budget in the requirements document (£2.82 million) inclusive or exclusive of VAT? The budget estimate includes VAT. Last Updated: 12 November 2025, 10:35