The Department for Education (DfE) has launched a market engagement exercise seeking supply chain interest in the planned procurement of its schools flood resilence programme with an estimated total value of £68.4 million (inc VAT).

Photo: Courtesy Sebastiandoe5 -  Creative Commons

The DfE’s Schools Water Strategy is an "invest to save" strategy aimed at reducing the risk of flooding in schools. The planned procurement is to enable the expansion of the current Property Flood Resilience (PFR) installations across the school estate, specifically targeting members of the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) for schools in high-risk flood areas and schools that have suffered repeated flooding disruption.

The works are anticipated to include design and build requirements of grey, green (nature-based) and blue property flood resilience solutions, with installation expected to be predominantly aligned to the school summer holiday period, subject to school access arrangements and the nature of the works.

The DforE's SWS Team is now seeking further engagement with suppliers in the specialist PFR and construction design and build markets related to the planned PFR procurement for Schools Property Flood Resilience: Regional Providers (Design and Build) - SWS - 2026-2030

The DfE will be hosting an online market engagement session on 4th February 2026 from 10:00am to 11:00 to share further details on the scope of works and seek feedback on the DfE's approach. The DfE is inviting interested suppliers to register their interest in attending the market engagement.

Current estimated start and end contract dates are 1 September 2026 to 31 March 2030, with a further possible extension to 31 March 2032.

Suppliers interested in attending the market engagement event are asked to register their interest via the Department for Education Jaggaer e-tendering portal by 15:00 on 30th January 2026.Once registered, the supplier event area can be accessed by clicking "View Opportunities" on the main page.

Suppliers registering for the event acknowledge that the information shared through the market engagement is provided in confidence, must not be disclosed outside their own organisation and ensure that all attendees from their organisation are aware of and comply with the requirement.

Following registration, suppliers will receive a message via the Jaggaer portal asking them to confirm the acknowledgement before an event invitation will be issued. Participants who have registered an expression of interest will receive a link to join the session via Microsoft Teams.

Suppliers who do not receive the invite at least 24hrs before the event, are also asked to email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to ensure they receive joining instructions in time.

The event will help attendees to:

• gain a better understanding of fee mechanisms and expectations around delivery timelines
• offer feedback around the feasibility of the requirements
• discuss constraints and pressures that may impact supply chain capacity or capability to deliver the PFR requirements
• gain a better understanding of deliverables and assurance requirements
• gain a better understanding of Cabinet Office requirements around Modern Slavery and the planned Social Value criteria

DfE are inviting organisations who have experience in delivering PFR within schools including grey, green and blue solutions to mitigate all types of flood risk, as well as those with experience in:

• Design and Optioneering of flood resilience solutions
• Construction and Installation of Property Flood Resilience Measures
• Project Management of construction projects

The Department says it is aiming to develop the PFR market and is actively encouraging engagement from SME organisations either directly or through subcontracting arrangements as part of the procurement process.

DfE is highlighting that final scope of its requirements have not yet been confirmed and that if any procurement activity does arise, the requirements will be refined pending the results of the market research. Current estimated publication date of a formal tender notice is 27 February 2026.

The Department also reserves the right not to enter a formal procurement process and not proceed with contract award – and is flagging up that it will not be liable for any bid cost, expenditure, work, or effort incurred by any organisation.

Suppliers who have any questions about suitability for the event are invited to contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it