Sopra Steria Awarded £454k Step Up to Social Work Contract

The Department for Education has awarded Sopra Steria Limited a £454,485 contract to support recruitment for Cohort 10 of the Step Up to Social Work programme.

Step Up to Social Work is a specialist 14-month programme in child and family social work combining academic learning with work placements. The contract will cover marketing and attraction, recruitment and support for the application process, working with Regional Partnerships to fill all 700 funded places.

Sopra Steria’s responsibilities will include managing the candidate web portal and application process, marketing the programme, providing a candidate helpline, conducting eligibility checks, supporting assessment centres and managing candidate information and data analytics.

The contract is expected to run from 1 October 2026 to 29 February 2028, with options covering up to two additional cohorts and a potential end date of 29 February 2032.

Five tenders were received and assessed, with Sopra Steria selected as the successful supplier. The award decision was made on 3 September 2026.

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