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Putting a Tender together


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I have done four. They will all be slightly different depending on the authority and the terms on which the setting is being offered. There is usually a requirement to complete a compliance statement. If the tender document is non-compliant, it cannot be assessed. For each of the settings I bid for, I had to complete an eligibility statement, produce a grid showing compliance and then complete an application which was divided into sections relating to knowledge & experience, ability, how we would meet the requirements of the tender, capacity and sustainability. There were also some detailed scenario questions relating to safeguarding. We had to include a business plan and a three year budget. Questions were marked and weighted and then the LA sent assessors to observe practice and carry out a leadership interview. It was all quite tiring and a bit stressful but I'm glad I did it. The process will be different for all authorities but will all have to meet the EU procurement rules. I still have all my bid documents, if you decide to go ahead and you want to share some of the questions with me and they are similar, I would be happy to share some of our answers/statements etc. 

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  • 2 months later...

Ok, I have the chance to bid for a new setting...............but there is a requirement for whoever wins the tender to pay for toilets and fencing, security keypads and a contribution towards the solicitor's cost of the LA. Comes to about £20,000 all in. Any ides of available grants to cover this? The successful bidder must also use Council approved contractors, so no chance to get my local friendly person to help out ! ( I have been advised to tread carefully as it's risky to pay for alterations (toilets etc) to a building that isn't mine. The initial lease is 10 years and the space is a large room within a community centre))

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Yes it is. We don't have the money to spend on the alterations ( we were originally told the LEA was going to have the work done themselves, so hadn't looked for grants.Now we have a very short time period to sort it out

 

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ok if short of time have you considered the bank? a business loan may be a good option you could use your experience and history of success to 'sell' it to them. Do you have any existing parents who have contacts in businesses (banks/phone companies /energy companies any large organisations) these may have a charitable arm that might help you out quickly (Are you going to run as a private company or charity etc??)

most funding streams have time frames that may not fit a quick turnaround. Local trusts may be able to help out (google!) another idea might be to contact your local school and see if the headteacher has any contacts too

We paid for half of the cost of heating system when we took over the building , our accountant uses it as depreciation on the accounts ...we were lucky to have some assets as we had been planning for a long time....you can get this written on to the lease that if you leave earlier than full lease term you can be paid back for the investment.

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Have been reading the legal pack for this and it's a potential nightmare. One clause states that your opening hours will be 8-6 ( fine, that's what we do already), BUT if the Landlord requires you to open for longer or more hours, you must................then there's the clause that says you must pay 2.18% of all the running costs ( plant, maintenance, repairs, utilities etc) to the whole complex (sports centre/swimming pool/cafe/library etc), rent is subject to Vat,so presumably the 2.18% is too.........but no mention of what the current running costs are..............Have to redecorate the room every five years in colours/paint approved by council....................nothing allowed to obscure windows etc ( so no art?? Blinds??)

So, with all this ( and more..........much more!)..................I wonder who actually runs the preschool.....the owner of it, or the council?  Looks like a no go for us. All these things to factor in on top of paying for fixtures and fittings................

 

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Always good to know when to walk away ...even though it may be a disappointment. I have had to do this twice and it hurts! BUT much better to not get into these things (well done for reading the legal pack so thoroughly ^_^) You could send a message to the council to explain your decision they may look favourably on you as an existing 'known' quantity and change the lease. We had this when going for a house which was being sold by the church...some very odd codicils that were removed as soon as we mentioned them!!!!:D Is it running as pre-school now then?

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No, this would be a brand new provision, in response to need in the are........and the fact that  our group and another locally, are closing due to no new leases. Potentially that's 50 places a day 9 at least). There is also a clause to say NO under two's will be permitted, so there can be no growth in that area

 

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19 minutes ago, narnia said:

No, this would be a brand new provision, in response to need in the are........and the fact that  our group and another locally, are closing due to no new leases. Potentially that's 50 places a day 9 at least). There is also a clause to say NO under two's will be permitted, so there can be no growth in that area

 

Did I just read that right?  Are you closing? :o:(

 

19 minutes ago, narnia said:

No, this would be a brand new provision, in response to need in the are........and the fact that  our group and another locally, are closing due to no new leases. Potentially that's 50 places a day 9 at least). There is also a clause to say NO under two's will be permitted, so there can be no growth in that area

 

 

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2 hours ago, narnia said:

No, this would be a brand new provision, in response to need in the are........and the fact that  our group and another locally, are closing due to no new leases. Potentially that's 50 places a day 9 at least). There is also a clause to say NO under two's will be permitted, so there can be no growth in that area

 

:o Oh no Narnia :(

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Yes louby lou..................very sadly, we are. Our landlords won't renew our lease, after 15 years. They won't tell us why and we've been searching extensively since we found out, no stone left unturned. Heart is very broken, we can't even find anywhere to store our furniture while we carry onlooking. 

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On 6/28/2018 at 19:50, finleysmaid said:

ok if short of time have you considered the bank? a business loan may be a good option you could use your experience and history of success to 'sell' it to them. Do you have any existing parents who have contacts in businesses (banks/phone companies /energy companies any large organisations) these may have a charitable arm that might help you out quickly (Are you going to run as a private company or charity etc??)

most funding streams have time frames that may not fit a quick turnaround. Local trusts may be able to help out (google!) another idea might be to contact your local school and see if the headteacher has any contacts too

We paid for half of the cost of heating system when we took over the building , our accountant uses it as depreciation on the accounts ...we were lucky to have some assets as we had been planning for a long time....you can get this written on to the lease that if you leave earlier than full lease term you can be paid back for the investment.

No, it's written in that you can't be paid back for anything if you end the lease early..and hey can claim costs against you if you do!

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1 hour ago, narnia said:

Yes louby lou..................very sadly, we are. Our landlords won't renew our lease, after 15 years. They won't tell us why and we've been searching extensively since we found out, no stone left unturned. Heart is very broken, we can't even find anywhere to store our furniture while we carry onlooking. 

Oh blimey - I am so sorry to be reading this.....

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5 hours ago, narnia said:

Yes louby lou..................very sadly, we are. Our landlords won't renew our lease, after 15 years. They won't tell us why and we've been searching extensively since we found out, no stone left unturned. Heart is very broken, we can't even find anywhere to store our furniture while we carry onlooking. 

This is really sad to hear.

Sounds like the community centre place wants to run their own provision with their own rules and regulations, and are just looking for someone to fund it!

Shed in garden? Not helping by suggesting things sorry :( 

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im horrified by all this...so sorry for you and your team. One of my colleagues  in this area closes at the end of term  a really good setting been going for some time. We've just done our sufficiency survey for the borough. I will be interested to see how many gaps we have. :( Lease issues are a massive problem (we only have 15 years and have done 7already!) I suspect even with all the funding issues that the lack of property is the biggest issue all preschool provision faces.

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Sad to read this Narnia :-( Is there any room for further negotiations with the community centre as presumably if the space you could use is currently empty they be better off getting something from you rather than nothing, is the potentional or space there to amalgamate the 2 local settings?  I know that would bring another set of negotiations and would probably only work if both either Charity run, private owned etc but your bargaining power would be greater there would be increased income and shared costs to carry out initial works...I’d be looking for a longer lease to start with.....best wishes

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Sounds like you're in a very difficult situation. 

I have a fair amount of experience of both delivering in a community provision and of the tendering process - three of our current settings are in local authority provision and were taken on as a result of bidding. I have tendered with four different LA's since 2009 and believe me, they present as knowing what they are doing, but often clearly do not. The terms you have described are absolutely unacceptable and I wouldn't even consider them. All of the ones I have were negotiated from the original terms before I would take them and there are two more that I have won, but then refused to take on. If the LA want to meet the DOE requirements for sufficiency, they will negotiate terms. 

 

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Thank you all. I had a phone call on Friday from our EY officer, 'just to let you know we forgot to add business rates to the legal pack'................I'm rather afraid that I slightly lots my temper at this point.I then sent an email to the officer who is accepting the expressions of interest to say why we wouldn't, or rather, couldn't put in a bid.Gave all the reasons and why it's not a well put together pack..................  she wrote back to say she was sorry, but if anything changes, she'll let us know.

THEN............another email from our temporary CDO, advising there are some training opportunities in Septemeber..............and we're advised to book now as they fill up very quickly. I simply replied........'you ARE kidding me, right??'

I must admit to a great sense  of despondency right now

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Everything put into perspective this weekend.........................my husband was rushed into A& E, he'd been suffering major headaches all week, with sensitivity to light, painful to touch his scalp, pain all down his face......I honed 111 for advice as to what I could give him and they told me to take him to A&E without delay..............he was seen immediately, taken straight through ahead of everyone else. Seems he might have something called Giant Cell Artritis (GCA).a horrible condition that can lead to sudden, irreversible blindness , strokes etc. He will see a specialist within the next 48 hours and have a biopsy. 

Everything else can wait........

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5 hours ago, narnia said:

Everything put into perspective this weekend.........................my husband was rushed into A& E, he'd been suffering major headaches all week, with sensitivity to light, painful to touch his scalp, pain all down his face......I honed 111 for advice as to what I could give him and they told me to take him to A&E without delay..............he was seen immediately, taken straight through ahead of everyone else. Seems he might have something called Giant Cell Artritis (GCA).a horrible condition that can lead to sudden, irreversible blindness , strokes etc. He will see a specialist within the next 48 hours and have a biopsy. 

Everything else can wait........

Oh no Narnia, I am so, so sorry to read this, I am sending the kindest thoughts to you and your husband

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