Market opportunity: Pupil and School Performance Data – Matching and Production Services

One of the Department for Education’s (DfE) goals is to drive educational excellence – to ensure that every child and young person achieves to the best of his or her ability regardless of prior attainment, location or background. A key enabler behind the delivery of this goal is the timely production of high quality, robust data relating to pupil and school attainment – this data is used by officials in the Department to deliver other key services e.g. the National Pupil Database, Statistical First Releases, the School Performance Tables Website and RAISEonline.

Production of the data is a complex annual process and is currently delivered under a contract agreement with a single organisation. The existing contract agreement is due to expire in the near future, and the DfE is undertaking some research to explore how best to provide these services in the future.

Considering the future In considering a preferred approach, whilst securing a single organisation to deliver the service does remain a viable commercial option, the DfE would like to develop a wider market view of potential capabilities and alternative delivery options. For example, is there any merit in separating out component parts of the service?

Can different approaches drive efficiencies and continuous improvement? What are the associated benefits and risks?

The DfE also wants to understand issues associated with taking on such a service (or parts of it) and how these can be de-risked. The DfE would like to invite organisations to help shape and inform its current thinking and provide some further market insight on this matter.

This can be done by completing the following survey: http://goo.gl/forms/Y6E3wQ9XhC The survey will close at 17:00 on Monday 8th February. In advance of, and to help inform completion of the survey, organisations can register to have a ‘scene setting’ telephone meeting with the DfE (see 'Attachments' for further information).