Kent Test (11+) Examination Services

Kent County Council (The Council) wishes to appoint a suitable provider to deliver Kent wide 11+ Examination Services. The Council currently runs a process which aims, principally through testing, to identify candidates in the top 25% of the ability range as eligible for admission to Year 7 of any of the county’s grammar schools at age 11. Entry to the process is voluntary, with approximately 67% of the local cohort opting to take part, plus a significant number of external candidates. Provision is currently made for approximately 19,000 candidates.
Summary of key areas of service delivery (please reference Specification for full details)
•Production of generic test familiarisation materials - for annual use by schools and parents
•Bespoke confidential test papers and multiple-choice answer sheets (which can be read accurately and quickly by consumer grade scanners)
•Administration instructions
•Printable, bar-coded, double-sided scannable answer sheets with pupil data
Software (and related) requirements to include: -
•Marking software (alongside a small quantity of printed marking manuals)
•Standardisation software and printable standardisation tables
•Support for the Council’s employees in the use of the materials and software through the cycle of the testing process.
The opportunity is being tendered using competitive flexible procedure under Procurement Act 2023 and will follow a process that will include: -
-Stage One – Conditions of Participation using the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) (Selection)
-Stage Two – Tender Questionnaire Submissions (Quality)
-Stage Three – Price Evaluation
To minimise the risk of service failure and any consequent impact to secondary school placement allocations, a down select process is to be carried out at the PSQ stage. Providers that cannot demonstrate their ability to deliver the core competencies, will not be down selected to proceed to the tender stage.
For transparency, and to make potential bidders...