DfE prepares £800m SEND training framework for schools and further education

The planned procurement will cover national SEND professional development, training delivery, learning resources and digital learning services, with the tender expected in September

The Department for Education is preparing a new SEND and inclusion CPD framework with a maximum potential value of £800 million

The Department for Education is preparing a new SEND and inclusion training framework worth up to £800 million, creating a route for schools and further education providers to access professional development services over as many as six years.

The planned multi-lot framework will cover Continuing Professional Development for teachers and leaders in schools and further education, alongside school teaching assistants and FE support staff.

A procurement pipeline notice published on August 18 puts the maximum potential lifetime value at £800 million including VAT, or £640 million excluding VAT. The DfE stresses that this is the ceiling for the framework rather than a commitment to spend the full amount.

The tender process is expected to launch in September 2026, with potential contracts awarded by March 2027.

Services could range from the design of national SEND CPD programs and training delivery to learning resources, quality assurance and digital learning and hosting solutions.

The framework is intended to support both immediate and future SEND workforce development requirements, including the government’s £200 million investment in SEND teacher training announced in January 2026.

Framework could run until 2033

The initial framework term is expected to run for four years, from March 1, 2027 to February 28, 2031, with the option of extending it for another two years to February 2033.

Rather than appointing a single provider for one defined program, the DfE plans to establish multiple lots covering different audiences and types of SEND professional development.

The final lot structure has not yet been published.

The department says the framework could support national program design, training delivery and the development of learning materials, alongside quality assurance and technology-based delivery.

Digital learning is specifically included within the proposed scope, with the notice listing digital learning and hosting solutions among the services that may be commissioned.

The procurement is being run under a competitive flexible procedure using the light-touch regime.

Small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises are identified as particularly suitable participants.

September tender expected

The current timetable gives September 8, 2026 as the estimated publication date for the tender notice.

Several parts of the procurement remain provisional. The department says the scope, value, procurement approach, lot structure, timetable, contract term and requirements may all change as its plans develop.

The framework could also be amended or withdrawn following the government’s consultation on SEND.

If it proceeds on the current timetable, the framework would begin in March 2027 and give the DfE a single procurement structure through which a range of SEND and inclusion workforce development programs could be commissioned across schools and further education.