Pre-tender

UK2 Market Engagement Notice - Best Start Digital Parenting Offer

Details

Buyer: Department for Education
Value: £8,300,000
Topic: E-learning services
Published: 6 November 2026
Submission: 15 January 2027in 2 months
Source: uk:find_a_tender

Tender description

The Department for Education (DfE) is seeking to procure a structured, evidence-based digital parenting programme to support parents and carers of children aged 0-5 through the Best Start Digital Parenting Offer pilot. This forms part of the Government's commitment in Giving every child the best start in life to introduce digital parenting support. DfE intends to pilot and evaluate a digital programme supporting parents at scale through regional partnerships before deciding on any future wider rollout. It will complement, not replace, existing local parenting provision, including face-to-face support through Best Start Family Hubs. The pilot aims to widen access to high-quality parenting support, strengthening parenting skills and confidence, and achieve measurable improvements in outcomes for parents and children. The programme must focus on supporting children's personal, social and emotional development (PSED) and/or speech, language and communication. Health-focused programmes are outside the scope of this proposed procurement. The provision should be entirely online. It should be accessible and inclusive, including for disadvantaged families and those facing barriers to accessing support. This pilot will help DfE understand: • Whether parents take up, use, value and benefit from digital parenting programmes • What is required to reach families, sustain participation and implement digital support for parenting successfully at regional scale. • How this digital programme complements existing family and parenting services. • Whether digital programmes designed to support parenting can be delivered equitably and at scale in England. • Whether digital support for parenting represents good value for public money and provide a case for future investment. Through the Best Start Family Hubs programme, the Department already funds local authorities to procure evidence-based parenting interventions delivered in person and digitally. The pilot will build an understanding of how a centrally procured digital programme can complement this local offer.

Timeline

Completed: Pre-tender published6 November 2026
Current notice

About the buyer

The Department for Education is a ministerial department responsible for children's services and education policy in England, procuring both for itself and its executive agencies. Framework purchases follow the matching Crown Commercial Service terms. Many contracts are let on standard government terms, such as Cabinet Office short-form or model services agreements. Schools and academy trusts buy separately, using framework options the department reviews and approves in advance.

Over the past 5 years, most of the Department for Education's contract awards have been in business services, construction work and education and training.

Decision makers

Connect with the people behind this procurement.

Job title	Phone number	Work email
Head of Procurement	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-education.gov
Commercial Director	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-education.gov
Procurement Manager	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-education.gov
Category Lead	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-education.gov
Senior Buyer	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-education.gov
Contracts Manager	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-education.gov