Public sector training contracts, without the tender headache
Councils, housing associations, NHS trusts and emergency services buy leadership development, safeguarding, compliance and CPD through frameworks, dynamic purchasing systems and competitive tenders. If you're not on the lists, you're not invited to compete. We help specialist training providers get on them and win the work.
How it works
Four steps, from first conversation to a submitted tender. We handle the parts of public sector buying you have no reason to be good at.
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1
We connect with you
We approach training and L&D providers whose track record suggests they'd hold their own in the public sector, and providers often come to us. Either way, it starts with a short conversation about what you deliver, who you deliver it for, and how you deliver it: bespoke programmes or set curriculum, face to face or online, cohort size, trainers.
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2
We run a free qualification check
Before any onboarding, we run your details through our matching tool, built around the frameworks and tenders this sector actually buys through. We work out what you can credibly win: which buyers, which contract sizes, which categories. That is usually narrower than providers expect, and more winnable than they fear.
You get an honest read, including the places you are not competitive yet (an accreditation, an insurance level, a public sector reference) and what would change that.
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3
Anton watches the market
Anton is our own bid intelligence engine, focused on training and L&D opportunities. It scans the UK procurement portals for leadership and management programmes, statutory and compliance training, coaching, workforce development and CPD, and scores each one against your business, not a generic keyword list.
We're not trying to send you fifty tenders a month. Plenty of what's published is too big, too specialised, or already wired for an incumbent, and we'd rather say so. You get the short list worth your time.
A handful you can win, not a firehose -
4
We go to tender on your behalf
We write the submission in your name: method statement, delivery model, trainer CVs and evidence of accreditation, safeguarding and DBS arrangements, social value response, pricing narrative. Evaluators score quality, price and social value against set weightings, and we write to the marking criteria, not around them. You supply the expertise and the evidence, and you deliver the programme.
More detail on what the writing covers is on our tender support page.
New to government work?
No worries if you've never held a public sector contract. A great many excellent training providers haven't.
Buyers in this sector often purchase through frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems. You apply once, are approved, and are then invited to compete for individual contracts. Some have much lighter entry requirements than others, so there's a sensible place to start, and we'll help you find it. From there we build a path with you:
Get on the list
We identify the frameworks and DPSs that suit a provider at your stage, and help you through the application. You apply in your own name.
Close the gaps
Insurance levels, financial standing, accreditation, and a couple of referenceable public sector contracts. We show you what to put in place and in what order.
Win your first contract
Once you're approved and visible, we help you respond to the further competitions and tenders that fit you: realistic work, not a stretch.
Build from there
Each delivered contract strengthens what you can bid for next, from a council workshop series to a multi-cohort leadership programme.
Not sure where you stand? Get your free qualification check →
If frameworks are new to you, our guide to
what a framework agreement is
explains how they work and how suppliers get onto one.
Who we work with
Specialist training and L&D providers, from sole-trader coaches to established small consultancies.
What our providers deliver
Delivering something else specialist? Get in touch and we'll tell you straight whether there's a public sector market for it.
For suppliers
What you get from working with us, and what we need from you.
What you get
- A straight answer on where you fit. Which frameworks you could realistically join, and which upcoming tenders suit you.
- A roadmap if you're new to government work. What to put in place, in what order, so you're ready for bigger contracts over time.
- Help with what trips small providers up. Insurance levels, financial checks, evidence of experience and accreditation.
- Tenders written with you. Your expertise and your evidence, turned into a response that scores.
- A way onto buyers' lists you would otherwise never be invited from.
- Public sector references that change what you can bid for on your own afterwards.
What we look for
- A genuine specialism in training or L&D, with trainers who can evidence what they say.
- At least two verifiable case studies or references. Public sector is a bonus, not a requirement.
- Insurance appropriate to your work. Requirements vary by framework and buyer.
- The accreditations and safeguarding arrangements your programmes need, such as awarding body recognition and DBS checks for trainers.
- An honest view of your delivery capacity. Overcommitting is the fastest way to lose a buyer.
Credentials
Where we are today, stated plainly.
Professional Indemnity
£1M — in progressPublic Liability
£2M — in progressCyber Liability
£1M — in progressCyber Essentials
Planned — IASMEICO Registration
PlannedLentora is a new company and we are not going to claim otherwise. Insurance, Cyber Essentials and ICO registration are being put in place ahead of our first contract award — they are standard requirements on public sector tenders and no bid goes in without them. ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 are on the roadmap for year two.
How UK procurement actually works
Written for suppliers rather than buyers, and free. If you would rather bid yourself than have us do it, start here.
What Is a Framework Agreement?
What frameworks are, how call-offs work, and how suppliers actually get appointed to one.
Who runs themUK Public Sector Buying Frameworks
The organisations that run UK frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems, and how a supplier gets appointed.
Routes to marketWhat Is a Dynamic Market?
Dynamic purchasing systems, what the Procurement Act renamed them to, and how suppliers join one.
Writing the bidHow to Write a Tender Response
How evaluators read what you submit, and what separates a scoring answer from a merely competent one.
Winning workHow to Win Government Contracts as a Small Business
Registering on the Central Digital Platform, finding the right opportunities, and the SME spend targets working in your favour.
Getting startedThe Central Digital Platform
The single supplier registration behind UK public procurement — what it replaces, and how to get registered.
Talk to us
Tell us what you deliver. We'll tell you honestly whether frameworks or tenders are worth your time.
Direct
Response time
We reply to every enquiry within two working days.
Where we work
England and Wales, with Scottish and Welsh opportunities monitored alongside.
New to public sector bidding?
Our guides explain how UK procurement actually works — free, no sign-up, written for suppliers.