School catering services

Description

New College Pontefract (NCP) is an Ofsted ‘outstanding’ college with over 2300, 16-19 co-educational students on a single campus in West Yorkshire. Currently under construction, September 2017 will see the opening of New College Doncaster (NCD), with both Colleges operated by the NEW Collaborative Learning Trust. The Colleges will share talented staff, expertise, leadership, systems and best practice across locations. The Trust are seeking to procure the services of a suitably experienced and resourced catering organisation to deliver exceptional catering services to students, staff and visitors under a single contract opportunity. In accordance with the Trust's own ethos, the services will be sector-leading in terms of quality and innovation and will ensure that the student experience is enriched and learning supported by a popular and affordable retail led food offer, to be provided within attractive and socially inclusive dining spaces. It is envisaged that the contract will operate on a guaranteed performance/concession basis with capital investment, as currently experienced. Bidders will be required to design and provisionally cost a branded ground floor retail outlet/coffee shop at NCD to complement a principal dining and servery area that will be provided by the Trust. Development of the shop and possibly additional outlets will support planned expansion of student numbers on site from an initial 400 in September 2017 to 1 000+ by September 2019. In addition at NCD, it is anticipated that catering organisation will provide all light equipment required to enable efficient preparation, storage, display and service of food in accordance with the service specification. Plans of the kitchen, dining and servery area will be available to those bidders selected to submit a tender. At NCP the Trust anticipate that the catering organisation will make an initial capital contribution to a significant project to be managed by the Trust that will extend the current student social/dining area, in addition to reviewing the facilities and purpose of all four current food outlets on campus. Relevant plans, proposals and a further site briefing will be provided to bidders accordingly. The selected partner will have opportunity to recruit and develop a new catering team at NCD and it is anticipated that the provisions of Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) 1981 legislation will apply to the eligible staff currently employed by the catering contractor at NCP. A consistent and robust management approach between the locations will be a key requirement and bidders will be invited to propose how this can best be supported. We are advised that no staff to be considered for transfer have Local Government Pension Scheme membership. For both locations there will be opportunity for bidders to review the scope of facilities and to propose a phased development plan to ensure that food concepts suitable for this aspirational and brand conscious consumer sector are continually met throughout the intended contract tenure, which will be 5 years with the option to extend by 2 periods of 1-year thereafter. In September 2019, the Trust will open a third College within West Yorkshire, which will provide similar education provision for a further 1 200+ FE students. Subject to satisfactory performance of the contract in Year 1, and assuming the catering organisation's wish to participate, it would be the Trust's intention to undertake a first point negotiation with the caterer for the additional college catering contract. This will be a 2-stage procurement process in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, to commence with interested parties registering their interest and returning pre-qualification information in questionnaire format to the contact as nominated in 1.1 above. Selected bidders will receive a stage two, invitation to visit sites early in 2017 together with a tender pack. The Trust's intention is to conclude the procurement by March 2017 in order to ensure a suitable period for pre-contract mobilisation, recruitment, facilities design and installation and crucially, to establish an effective working partnership.