Northern Star Academies Trust Framework Agreement Catering Tender

Description

Northern Star Academies Trust wish to be at the forefront of School catering and as such
require a modern, branded offer that reflects the leading trends in the industry.
At this time, the Trust's wish is to commence a catering contract, with a partner who shares
their vision for a customer-focused service that attracts the maximum number of students
while driving for some radical environmental aspirations. The meals that are to be provided
must be appealing to customers, imaginative, provide good value for money and comply with
the national Standards for School Lunches. 
Beyond this however, the Trust are looking to provide a consistent Trust wide narrative to
promote healthy and sustainable practices, while developing ways to engage stakeholders in
the vision of greener attitudes, local provenance and food that looks fresh and has a story.
The Trust has collaborated through a series of workshops, to create a Food and Catering
Charter which collates the vision for catering within the Trust.
Pupil and staff feedback has focused on speed of service, single use plastics and removing
unhealthy options. For full feedback please see the included survey responses from Primary,
Secondary and Staff stakeholders.
Therefore, the aim of this tender is to find a commercially realistic partner, who is forward
thinking and collaborative in their approach. The Trust have determined to utilise the charter
below which incorporates this feedback, when measuring the prospective partners for this
Contract.
The Contractor shall acknowledge that TUPE will apply to this contract. 
It is requirement of the Contractor that an on-site area management support function is
available from the start of the contract for a minimum of one month. The Contractor shall
ensure that the current catering team's strengths and weaknesses are assessed immediately
at the start of the contract and provide tailored training to address their development needs.
The Contractor will provide regular management support on an on-going basis including
training, marketing and HR for the duration of the contract.
It is a requirement that the Contractor must provide an ABS pension for the contract, which
will allow staff who TUPE to retain access to their LGPS pension.
The Contractor must ensure that equality of service provision is provided through menu
choice ensuring particular requirements are met for religious and dietary requirements e.g.,
Halal, vegetarian, vegan, medical diets.
Skipton Girls, Harrogate High and New Park Schools have a requirement for an HFA Halal
provision. They would not like HFA meat to be the basis of the menu, but simply an additional
choice. Consideration of food separation and preparation will need to be shown.
Eastwood and Holycroft Primaries both have a requirement for HMC Halal provision for the
majority of pupils. 
The Contractor should ensure that their purchasing for all produce, which is to be used in
Halal meals, conforms to the HMC requirements for these sites and that this can be easily
and readily demonstrated to the students and their parents and guardians. Food preparation
and delivery must also conform to Halal requirements.
Where HMC cannot be provided at these Schools, the Trust will require some detail for
alternative solutions.