Resellers selected for £550m Education Technology framework

Softcat, XMA, Stone, Centerprise and SBL among successful bidders

A host of resellers are among the first suppliers named on a government framework worth £550m.

The Education Technology Framework is worth almost double its predecessor, ICT Services for Education, and is expected to go live on 9 July.

The framework is split into five Lots and covers hardware, software, services and solutions for education institutions including schools, trusts and training centres.

Only Lot 1 has been awarded so far, with Lots 2 to 5 expected to be awarded later in the month.

Lot 1 is for end-to-end solutions and the "complete fit-out" of a new or existing education establishment and is expected to be worth £150m.

Crown Commercial Service said that Lot 1 has been awarded first so that the Department for Education can continue to trade, now that ICT Services for Education has expired.

Resellers awarded a spot on the framework so far include Softcat, XMA, Stone, Centerprise and SBL (A full list of suppliers can be found at the bottom of this article).

Chris Hykin, technical services director at successful bidder Stone, said: "The education market is moving at pace, with over 250 new free schools in the process of opening and over 400 in existence.

"Stone will be able to provide new customers with our full complement of software, services and innovative hardware.

"Standards in Free Schools are high. Thirty-one per cent of them are rated Outstanding by Ofsted, as opposed to 21 per cent of other school types, so the quality of technology innovation for pupils and the teaching cohort needs to match their ambition."

Jon Elliott, sales director at Centerprise, said that the firm saw considerable success through the ICT Services for Education framework.

"We're a long-standing supplier on the predecessor which allowed the Department for Education to spend capital grant, predominately on the Free School Programme," he said.

"That was significant business for us for the acquisition of customers, including some significantly sized multi-academy trusts.

"It was a must-win for us to get on the framework and we look forward to winning a place on the next Lots as well."

Elliott added that he believes Lot 1 has been announced ahead of the remaining four Lots so that the Department of Education can launch tenders quickly.

"I think CCS got a larger response than they were anticipating and so it has taken them longer to moderate," he said.

"The most significant customer on the predecessor, I think it is fair to say, was the Department of Education - so much so that they have their own Lot (Lot 1).

"I don't think they could delay the award of that Lot because the predecessor has already expired and clearly they have schools coming through in the pipeline, and so we are expecting some tenders fairly rapidly."

A full description of the five Lots, published by CCS, can be found below:

Lot 1: ICT Solutions: The provision of a technology fit-out of a new school, existing and other educational establishments. This is a continuation of the existing scope and services from ICT Services for Education (RM1050).

Lot 2: Broadband Fibre Infrastructure: The provision of a design and installation of broadband fibre infrastructure.

Lot 3: Broadband Services: The provision of connectivity services.

Lot 4: Hardware: The provision of ICT hardware and peripherals (close-to-the-box services) cabling and some networking equipment as a standalone requirement.

Lot 5: Audiovisual: The provision and installation of interactive whiteboard solutions, screens and audio equipment. It does not cover videoconferencing services.

The full Lot 1 line-up is:

Capita Business Services Limited

Centerprise International Ltd

Circle IT Solutions Ltd

Computeam Ltd

CSE Education Systems Ltd

Dataspire Solutions Ltd

Ergo Computing UK Ltd

European Electronique Ltd

Gaia Technologies plc

Joskos Solutions Ltd

Nexus Associates (ICT) Limited

NS Optimum Limited

Oasis IT Services Ltd

Probrand Limited

RM Education Ltd

Softcat plc

Software Box Limited

Stone Computers Ltd

Talk Straight Ltd t/a Schools Broadband

Turn IT on Ltd

XMA Limited