The Tendering Academy

Major changes to the UK's tendering rules come into force from 24th February 2025. Our courses will help you to understand these changes and ensure your future  tendering success. The Tendering Hub serves as a centralised source of information on the latest rules as they are rolled out.

Tendering for Services Contracts in 2025 and Beyond...

What is Tendering?

Tendering is the formal process by which public bodies, councils, the NHS, and other organisations enter into contracts with companies to provide services that they are unable or unwilling to provide themselves. These services can vary from residential care and housing support for homeless individuals to software development, recruitment, transportation, and cleaning services. Securing public sector contracts can offer a stable source of income, benefiting both small companies and charitable organisations.

How Does it work?

In the realm of procurement, there exists a standard set of rules that govern the process, alongside a specific set tailored for Health and Social Care services (H&SC). When engaging in any tendering process, it is imperative that you provide evidence of your financial stability, good standing, qualifications, and relevant experience relating to the services being bought. You will also be required to outline your proposed approach to fulfilling the contract at hand.

The general rules are outlined through a series of established procedures, with H&SC buyers granted some flexibility to define their own protocols. However, it is important to note that from 24th February 2025, the landscape will shift with the implementation of the Procurement Act 2023, bringing about significant changes to the current system.

What is Changing?

Prior to BREXIT, procurement and tendering processes in the UK were governed by Directives agreed upon by the EU and adopted by the UK Parliament. With the newfound freedom post-BREXIT, the government now has the authority to establish a new set of rules for procurement in the UK. The Procurement Act, which received Royal Assent on 26th October 2023, will be implemented from 28th October 2024.

Specifically for the NHS, separate Regulations have been approved and took effect on 1st January 2024. These new rules bring significant changes to the tendering and contracting processes, particularly within the services, health, and social care sectors.

Our courses are specifically designed to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of these changes and their implications for your organisation.

What is needed for tendering success?

In the past, the process of tendering was closely associated with marketing efforts. Companies would typically include their logo, customer testimonials, and colourful images to make their offer stand out. However, times have changed. Tenders are now evaluated based on evidence and outcome performance, rather than flashy presentations.

Providers will be required to gather data and evidence to support their offer, a process that may take up to two years for certain measures.

 By adapting to these new standards, providers  can position themselves for success in the evolving tendering landscape.
Tendering success under the new regulations requires a deep understanding of the requirements and new processes; what evidence is needed; and how to present that evidence to meet the new appraisal guidelines.

The Tendering Hub

Your single point of information and guidance on the new Act for services, health and care providers.

What will the new Act and NHS Tendering Regulations mean for you and your organisation?

A subscription to The Tendering Hub will give you 24/7 access to the legislation, guidance, explanatory articles and everything you need to plan and prepare for the changes before they happen. 
Click on the courses link at the top of this page to navigate to the Hub.
What is The Tendering Academy?

We are a well-established learning and tendering support company with over 40 years of experience in assisting health and social care providers secure public sector contracts through the tendering process.

Our Mission
To equip governance, management, and staff with the essential knowledge and skills needed  succeed in the new tendering environment.

A Changing Environment
With significant changes to NHS tendering procedures  effective from 1st January 2024,  and the implementation of the Procurement Act from 24th February 2025, it is imperative for providers to remain informed and compliant with the latest legislation if they wish to contract with public sector authorities.

Flexibility

We offer a flexible approach: our courses may be accessed on a "one-off"  basis to meet immediate needs or by subscription  allowing for unlimited usage, making them ideal for in-house training, internal presentations, and senior management sessions.


Resources
Each of our courses provides a unique and valuable set of resources that cannot be found elsewhere. These resources are accessible for revisiting and downloading at your convenience. They include:
  • an e-book or e-notes to complement the presentation;
  • relevant government publications;
  • guidance and checklists from specialised organisations; and
  • all the necessary tools to begin preparing for the future immediately.


  • We offer providers reduced price packages covering existing and new courses as they are developed. Please click on this link to contact us by email for details.

  • Our courses provide a course completion certificate which can be downloaded if required.
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Our Courses

Choose the learning which best meets your needs

For: Managers, Directors and Trustees

Tendering Essentials is a series of short courses for those with management responsibilities related to aspects of tendering. They also provide updates on the latest changes in procurement regulations post-BREXIT.
If you are unfamiliar with tendering and procurement practices, these short courses will equip you with the essential knowledge required to effectively manage tendering and public sector contracts. You have the flexibility to navigate through the courses at your own pace, and find answers to any immediate questions or concerns.

For: Business Development

The tendering landscape is evolving rapidly, making traditional approaches ineffective. Staying abreast of these changes is crucial in order to secure contracts. The basis for these changes is the procurement Act which comes into force on 24th February 2025. Whilst new NHS tendering regulations have been in place since 1st January 2024.
The Way Ahead courses will provide you with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand these changes and successfully tender for contracts, demonstrating your organisation's compliance with the new standards.

The Social Care Tendering (2024) courses will help you to prepare for full compliance with the new requirements.
Stay ahead of the curve and position your organisation for success in the rapidly changing landscape of health and care tendering.

For: Tendering Professionals

Designed for individuals who are preparing tenders either independently or as part of a team. Our courses consist of 5 hours of learning. They are divided into two parts: Part 1 covers The Basics, while Part 2 delves deeper into the subject matter, helping you refine your tender preparation skills.

Courses are supported by a downloadable e-book providing you with and guidance notes, such as structuring your social value offer. Whether you are just starting out or looking to enhance your skills, these courses will assist you in developing a practical approach to tendering which is crucial for achieving success..

Comprehensive Tender Ready Support

This is a powerful learning programme with a proven record of success for tendering professionals at all levels.  Whether you new to the process or experienced; working independently or as part of a team, we will use our extensive experience to provide guidance and support throughout the tendering process.

 We will base the sessions on a live or previous tender. We will  show you how to approach a tendering process by building an understanding of  tender appraisal;  review your drafts in detail and provide feedback on how to enhance your submission.

 We will show you how the appraisal and evaluation process works, offer strategies for dealing with tight word counts, and provide tips  on how to increase your score. It is important to understand that in the world of tendering, high scores during appraisal are crucial to winning contracts. We will help you to identify areas where you can  improve your chances and tender successfully.

If you are keen to enhance your tendering skills and increase your chances of winning public sector contracts, our programme is the perfect solution.

Our students love us

Janet is a fantastic coach and in her training takes time to explain not just what needs to be done, but how and why.  This approach leads to a confident learner and in my experience, a great deal of additional knowledge gained too. 
I have enjoyed the online work and the interactive sessions.  Both are an excellent experience, and Janet has an encyclopedic knowledge which seems infinite.
John P.
The  different categories and options for learning new skills, refreshing old ones or dealing with the new challenges are superb. Great to have very short courses for the non-professional to dip into as needed as well as the more structured programmes and briefings for tendering specialists.
Catherine V.
We have taken advantage of the complete range of learning options: very short "Bite size" responses help us answer with confidence questions our Trustees have asked; the "Way Ahead Briefings" sessions  have enabled us to keep up with changes before they happen; new members of our tendering team follow both of the "Tendering Professional" courses so they are able integrate with team from the start. An excellent service provided over many years.
Jenny S.

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Frequently asked questions

What courses will I take?

We offer courses and individual sessions which cover the UK government's approach to post-BREXIT tendering for public sector contracts across the whole services sector. Courses have been developed and tested with experienced practitioners and are designed to help provider organisations achieve tendering success.

What can you offer that I cannot get at other online schools?

With us you will have the opportunity to learn at your own pace, at your own time and with Bite Size creating your own course to meet your specific needs. You will work with with one of the UK's leading providers of learning and support for tending success across the services sector. Our students have succeeded in securing substantial contracts for their organisations, and also in progressing along their own career path in Business Development and procurement. Our outstanding record of success over the past 45 years underpins all of the learning we offer.

How can I choose my courses?

We offer three types of courses: Bite Size "Tendering Essentials" courses each lasting 15/20 are minutes designed for the non- specialist decision makers to dip into to to obtain  information which is crucial for successful tendering; Tendering for Professionals Courses of 10 hours tuition and 10 hours study individuals learning to become a tendering professional; "The Way Ahead" series of courses each lasting just over an hour ( with 3 hours study to gain the course completion certificate), designed  for Senior managers, Business Development Professionals and Governance. These courses are intended to help individuals learn about the changes to procurement and tendering being introduced by the UK government post-Bexit; Online mentoring live sessions to work with you to review live or past tenders designed to help you improve the scores you are awarded during tender appraisal. You are invited to choose the course that best meets your needs as a one-off or sessions to improve your tendering success. If you need any advice or clarifications, please contact us at any time.

For questions or further information please
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