Awarded 2 October 2026
Mentoring Provision for Aspiring Pathways Students
North East Combined Authority · North East
Alternative provision tenders and contracts
UK public sector, covering 600+ buyer sites
76 contracts awarded in the 24 months to 12 October 2026
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Updated 12 October 2026 · compiled by BidSkim Limited · How we count
Alternative provision contracts ,
76 contracts across the UK, of any size
Recently awarded
The latest alternative provision contracts awarded
Awarded 1 October 2026
W5221 Alternative Education - Star Light
Walsall Council e-Tendering · West Midlands
Awarded 17 September 2026
W845 - SEND Education - Learners Specialist and Complex AP
DERBY CITY COUNCIL · East Midlands
Awarded 10 September 2026
Ofsted-Registered Provision
London Borough of Havering · London
Awarded 10 September 2026
Proc-26-84 Heritage and Traditional Skills Project
Wrexham County Borough Council · Wales
Who wins · 24 months to October 2026
170 contractors won alternative provision contracts
Each dot is one contract, coloured by who bought it.
CouncilsSchools and collegesOther public bodies
| Rank | Contractor | Contracts won, by buyer | Contracts | Value won | Buyers | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1joint | Academix Learning Limited Yorkshire and the Humber · See every contract | 4 | Not published | 1 | ||
| 1joint | Burngreave Learning Ltd Yorkshire and the Humber · See every contract | 4 | Not published | 1 | ||
| 1joint | Fuse Alternative Provision Yorkshire and the Humber · See every contract | 4 | Not published | 1 | ||
| 4joint | The Progress Group North East · SME · See every contract | 3 | £3.1m | 3 | ||
| 4joint | Sophia High School East Midlands · SME · See every contract | 3 | £1.4m | 1 | ||
| 4joint | CAST Angling Projects East Midlands · SME · See every contract | 3 | £723k | 2 | ||
| 4joint | Baby T Workshops East Midlands · SME · See every contract | 3 | £523k | 2 | ||
| 4joint | Pony Partnerships East Midlands · SME · See every contract | 3 | £16k | 2 | ||
| 4joint | Kojikojo Limited West Midlands · SME · See every contract | 3 | £2k | 2 | ||
| 4joint | Equal Education West Midlands · SME · See every contract | 3 | £70 | 3 |
160 more alternative provision contractors ranked. See the full ranking →
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Who buys
Councils award 80% of alternative provision contracts
Contracts with a published value in the last 24 months, from the type of buyer to the size of the contract.
11 buyers bought alternative provision more than once in the last 24 months
Each dot is a buyer, by how many alternative provision contracts it awarded in the last 24 months.
See who they are and when they usually buy →
Few and big, or many and small
Each dot is a buyer: how many alternative provision contracts it awarded against what they were worth. The busiest and biggest are named.
CouncilsSchools and collegesOther public bodies
Top buyers by contracts awarded
| Rank | Buyer | Contracts | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Respect Collaboration Trust | 12 | £3.4m |
| 2 | Sheffield City Council | 10 | £4.1m |
| 3 | City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council | 7 | £33.2m |
| 4 | Lincolnshire County Council | 5 | £7.4m |
| 5 | Staffordshire County Council | 5 | £17k |
| 6 | DERBY CITY COUNCIL | 4 | £611k |
| 7 | Stoke-on-Trent City Council | 3 | £132m |
| 8 | Bristol City Council | 3 | £1.9m |
| 9 | Norfolk County Council | 3 | £200k |
| 10 | South Gloucestershire Council | 2 | £1.1m |
Prices
Half of alternative provision contracts are worth less than £300k
Every contract with a published value, on a log scale, coloured by who bought it.
CouncilsSchools and collegesOther public bodies
The 10 biggest contracts hold 91% of the money
Coloured by who bought it.
- Dudley Metropolitan Borough CouncilDudley College of Technology, Halesowen College, Royal Mencap Society, Randstad, Pilot IMS, Prospero Group, Remedy Recruitment Group Ltd, New Dawn School Limited, The Progress Group, Targeted Provision Ltd, Be My Tutor, EDCLASS LTD, SCL EDUCATION & TRAINING LIMITED, Dragon Football Academy Ltd, Clear Links Support Ltd, Hales Valley Trust, ANTA Education Ltd, Aspire People Limited, Equal Education, Fresh Start in Education Ltd, National Teaching & Advisory Service, Nisai Learning, Open Lens Media CIC, Power2 Ltd, Sport 4 Life UK, Winchmore Tutors, Empowering Futures Academy Ltd, ICE Inclusive Curriculum Education, Learn Solutions Limited, Positive Impact Group, SMART Education Recruitment, Work N Learn Limited, Keys PCE Limited, Brook Young People, Kojikojo Limited, Pathfinder Education Limited, Pathwaynexusgroup Ltd, Advance Beyond Community Interest Company, CHALLENGE ACADEMY CIC, THE CAVALIER CENTRE, CHARLOTTE SIRESHUK CHILDREN’S SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY, CREATIVE ACTIVE LIVES CIC, Elevate Community CIC, EVERY CHILD NEEDS A MENTOR LIMITED, EXCEL EDUCATION PROVISION LTD, LD TRAINING SERVICES LIMITED, LUCY BATES CHILDREN’S OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY LTD, MINDFUL LIFE COUNSELLING CIC, NINA PEARCE HOUSE OF TRAINING LTD, OUTCOMES FIRST 4 LIMITED, PJD Training Academy Ltd, Sedgley Kids Club, SKY Tuition, Think Education Partners Ltd, BEE WELL TOGETHER CIC · 20 May 2026
- Stoke-on-Trent City CouncilIntuition Holistic Education · 16 Jan 2025
- Stoke-on-Trent City CouncilYMCA North Staffordshire, Kindre Unites Ltd · 18 Dec 2025
- Stoke-on-Trent City CouncilRandstad · 27 Apr 2026
- City of Bradford Metropolitan District CouncilBradford College · 19 Jan 2026
- Cheshire East CouncilGamma, ICS.AI Ltd · 8 Jul 2025
- Lincolnshire County CouncilStudy Mind Ltd, Illuminate Care Group Limited, Academy21 Limited, Sophia High School, Equal Education, First Class Tailored Solutions, Learning Hive, Lincoln Inclusive Tutoring Limited, Pegasus Men's Wellbeing Centre, Standup International, Sugarman Health and Wellbeing, Teaching Personnel, Alt-Ed Lincs, Certus Education Ltd, Footsteps to Futures Education, Holden Knight Education, Land and Leaf Collective, Let's Kick It Group Ltd, Remedy Independent Services, The £2 Tuition Hub, Top Notch Tutors, Young Technicians CIC, Keys PCE Limited · 16 Jul 2025
- Bolton CouncilBolton Impact Trust · 13 Aug 2026
- West Berkshire CouncilWinner not published · 21 Feb 2025
- Knowsley CouncilThe Progress Group · 24 Dec 2025
Where and when
The East Midlands awards the most alternative provision contracts. July and September are the busiest months.
Contracts by region and by month awarded. Click a region to filter the page.
FewerMore contracts
See the regions as a table
| Region | Contracts | Value |
|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 21 | £5.4m |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 18 | £37.5m |
| West Midlands | 11 | £214m |
| North East | 6 | £1.9m |
| East of England | 4 | £1.7m |
| South West | 4 | £3.1m |
| North West | 3 | £13.4m |
| South East | 3 | £6.2m |
| London | 2 | £2.5m |
| Wales | 1 | £112k |
| Scotland | 0 | Not published |
| Northern Ireland | 0 | Not published |
Often bought with alternative provision
Related services
Deadlines
Half of alternative provision tenders close within 31 days of being published
Each dot is a alternative provision tender published across the UK in the last 24 months, by how many days it was open. 45% closed within a month. Spot one a week late and 23% of the time to respond has gone.
Hear about new alternative provision tenders the moment they're published →
Key findings
- 31 days
is how long the typical alternative provision tender is open, from publication to deadline.
Median of 44 UK alternative provision tenders published in the last 24 months. - 3
new alternative provision tenders are published across the UK in a typical month.
64 in the last 24 months. - 91%
of the money is in the 10 biggest alternative provision contracts.
Of 67 contracts with a published value. - 48%
of alternative provision contracts are won by SMEs.
As recorded by the buyer, on 63 award notices. - 30%
of alternative provision contracts are awarded in July and September.
23 of 76 contracts.
Questions
How many alternative provision contracts does the UK public sector award?
76 in the 24 months to 12 October 2026, from 31 public buyers.
How long are alternative provision tenders open for?
The median alternative provision tender is open for 31 days from publication to deadline.
How much is a typical public sector alternative provision contract worth?
The median is £300k, and 45% are worth less than £250k.
Which buyers award the most alternative provision contracts?
Councils award 80% of them.
What is included
Full-time, part-time or complementary education at registered or unregistered alternative providers for pupils who are excluded, at risk of exclusion or otherwise out of mainstream school.
- Full-time and part-time AP placements
- Complementary provision alongside mainstream school
- AP assessment places
- Post-16 AP for young people with EHCPs
- SEMH provision for pupils at risk of exclusion
- AP mentoring placements
- AP frameworks and DPSs
- Online alternative provision and live online lessons
- Therapeutic alternative provision such as animal-assisted sessions
What is not included
- Independent special school and specialist college places (edu.pupil.independent-special-school-places)
- Reintegration and exclusion prevention support in schools (edu.sch.behaviour-inclusion-and-wellbeing-support)
- One-to-one tuition and EOTAS packages (edu.pupil.one-to-one-tuition-and-eotas)
- Vocational courses for pupils on a mainstream timetable (edu.pupil.vocational-courses-for-school-pupils)
- Youth justice and violence reduction interventions (soc.family.youth-justice-interventions)