Procurement in schools – How to make it work for you
How smart procurement in schools can save time, improve resources and deliver real benefits for pupils…
- by Teachwire
- Classroom expertise and free resources for teachers
Procurement is not the most exciting part of school leadership, but right now it is one of the most important.
With primary budgets under increasing strain, every purchase carries weight. Leaders are expected to meet legal requirements, secure the best value and free up staff time. This is all while managing complex contracts that can be far bigger than they first appear.
For many primary schools this can feel daunting, especially when only a few people in the building are responsible for navigating the rules.
For many schools, having trust-wide support can make the process feel more manageable. At Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust (BDAT), the ability to buy at scale, centralise workload and bring schools into shared decision making has improved value for money and strengthened compliance.
Those benefits are significant, but they are not automatic. They’ve come from learning what works, putting clear processes in place and planning ahead.
Start with clarity
Effective procurement starts with understanding the value of what is being bought and how that determines the next steps.
Some primary schools underestimate the value of a contract. A service that looks like £25,000 a year becomes a £125,000 procurement once it runs across a five-year contract. It is the total value that ultimately matters, not the annual figure.
Therefore, a clear scheme of delegation prevents mistakes. Schools should know:
- which approvals are needed at different thresholds
- which routes are required
- when a tender or framework becomes necessary
Once the total value of a contract reaches around £75,000, a formal tender with competitive bids is usually required.
“It is the total value that ultimately matters, not the annual figure”
Higher values, or procurements involving several schools, often move onto a framework, where pre-approved suppliers meet legal and compliance standards.
This helps schools avoid running a full tender from scratch and reduces risk. Understanding these differences helps leaders choose the right route early.
When and how to use frameworks
The Procurement Act 2023, which came into force this year, prompted many schools to revisit their processes. The change that matters most in practice is the move towards identifying the most advantageous tender rather than simply the cheapest.
That shift encourages schools to consider quality as well as price, and is something that we, as a trust, have long worked on the basis of.
Frameworks remain a valuable tool. They provide compliant, pre-checked suppliers and reduce the administrative burden on schools.
Crown Commercial Service and Department for Education recommended frameworks feature heavily in BDAT’s major procurements.
However, the trust avoids single supplier frameworks where possible as they make it harder to demonstrate value.
Competition is still essential, even within a framework. A recent trust-wide IT procurement reflects this. By using a recommended framework, setting a detailed scope and shortlisting carefully, BDAT secured a managed service that has delivered savings of around £250,000 for our primary schools over the life of the contract.
Those savings can be redirected into teaching, support and resources that directly benefit pupils and staff, and the process remained transparent with schools having a strong say in what the final service needed to deliver.
Bring schools into the procurement process
We have seen that procurement works best when it is collaborative. Schools know their communities, and should not feel that decisions are imposed on them.
For that reason, we ensure headteachers and school business managers sit on tender panels, with trustees involved for transparency and oversight.
This approach has helped us make better decisions for our primaries and has strengthened buy-in. Staff also learn the process through being involved.
The same approach supported a major centralisation project last year that brought together all statutory maintenance contracts across our 21 schools.
“Schools know their communities, and should not feel that decisions are imposed on them”
Fourteen mandatory checks per school once meant 21 different sets of suppliers and deadlines. Centralising this has delivered significant savings, reduced duplication and released staff capacity, with smaller primaries seeing the greatest benefit.
Plan ahead
Procurement mistakes often stem from pressure rather than poor judgement. Tight budgets can push leaders to focus on immediate cost. Limited time encourages reliance on familiar suppliers or automatic contract rollovers.
Subsequently, forward planning offers better protection. Knowing when contracts end, reviewing whether they still meet the school’s needs in good time and checking whether the multi-year value triggers a different procurement route all help schools stay ahead of the process rather than react to it.
One key piece of advice is to know your thresholds and ask for guidance early. If there is any uncertainty, it is better to seek advice before starting the process than to discover too late that a limit has been exceeded or a step missed.
Build confidence
Procurement can feel like a specialist field, especially for leaders whose expertise lies in teaching or pastoral care.
We have therefore found that investing in communication and shared practice can upskill and support our headteachers.
Our school business managers also meet regularly through professional learning communities, and headteachers and local governing boards are kept updated as policies evolve.
The trust also directs schools to government training where relevant to best support colleagues. This emphasis on support helps schools feel less isolated and more confident in their role within the overall process.
“This emphasis on support helps schools feel less isolated”
The full picture
While the financial picture is central to procurement, for us, value is not only about savings. Procurement affects workload, school culture, consistency and the quality of services children receive.
Good procurement delivers reliability and long-term benefits, making life easier for staff. It strengthens compliance and helps scarce resources stretch further without compromising standards.
For primary schools facing intense financial pressures, that wider definition of value is more important now than ever.
Procurement may not be glamorous, but when done well, it becomes one of the most powerful tools leaders have to protect the quality of education they offer.
Mark Dowson is head of corporate projects at Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust.
Summary of the Maximising Value for Pupils programme
In December 2025, the DfE announced its ‘Maximising Value for Pupils’ (MVP) programme, which aims to ‘maximise value from the investment in the school system, so every pound delivers for children’.
Below is a summary of the key points from the four pillars of the programme: commercial, assets, workforce, and developing capability (including digital and technology).
Commerical
We are harnessing the collective buying power of around 22,000 state-funded schools, taking on key areas of spending and helping secure better deals and maximise value from budgets.
Schools and trusts, on average, spend 20 per cent of their budgets on non-staff costs. We believe more can be done to help schools and trusts achieve better value in this area.
This means schools and trusts can invest more in frontline provision that makes the greatest difference for children.
Assets
Investing in new technology, for example, can help tackle staff workload and increase productivity. Where it is legitimate for schools and trusts to hold cash to manage financial risks, these funds should be invested in accounts that offer a strong return on investment – and our new banking tool can help to do this.
Workforce
We know schools and trusts undertake spending in some costly areas that are not optimal for pupils’ outcomes – for example, national expenditure on agency supply teachers reached £1.4bn in 2023/24.
We will crack down on unacceptable practices and excessive supplier margins within the teacher supply market, to help reduce school spend on agency supply teachers.
Developing capability
We are committed to building capability by, for example, supporting schools and trusts to improve their commercial expertise, meet digital standards and share what works across the sector.
We encourage schools and trusts to make use of the opportunities available, including:
- virtual and in-person training
- qualification bursaries
- mentoring
- advisers who can provide peer-to-peer advice on using revenue and capital resources effectively
What is the Public Procurement Act, and what does it mean for primary schools?
Nearly three quarters (70.6 per cent) of school procurement leaders said there are gaps in the training and resources needed to support implementation of the new Public Procurement Act 2023, which came into force this year.
A new survey of over 500 senior executives and procurement leaders, commissioned by Commercial Services Group, a provider of public sector procurement and education services, reveals a mix of cautious optimism and concern.
More than one in 10 (12.4 per cent) of school procurement leaders believe the Act will fail to strengthen workforce capacity or capability, despite this being a central objective of the reforms.
Nearly a third (27.9 per cent) also reveal that they do not believe that the ambitions of the National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) are a priority at board or senior leadership level, with 25.8 per cent viewing the Act primarily as a compliance exercise.
Confidence and concerns in education
While education respondents broadly welcome the Act, with nearly half (49.3 per cent) believing it will deliver social and economic value to local communities, more than two in five (42.2 per cent) working in schools are unfamiliar with how it will help achieve the objectives of the NPPS, which will impact new contracts.
The education sector faces increasingly squeezed budgets and limited resources. Although the new Procurement Act represents an opportunity to unlock improved resource capacity and efficiencies, support is clearly needed to harness these for the benefit of the next generation.
Tools to unlock the benefits
Organisations need practical tools like easy-to-use frameworks, such as those provided by procurement services, that enable compliant procurement and unlock the full benefits the Act has been introduced to deliver.
This will be key to ensure meaningful change across the sector, rather than engaging with it purely as a compliance exercise.
More broadly across the public sector, confidence in the direction of the new Act remains high. Although the education sector is more sceptical, 84 per cent of total survey respondents stated they are confident in their ability to deliver on the NPPS priorities, and over three-quarters (76 per cent) view the Act as a genuine opportunity for change.
Acting swiftly is key
For primary schools to fully harness the benefits of the Procurement Act, leaders must act swiftly. Research shows that school staff continue to feel unprepared and unfamiliar with its requirements, underscoring the need for change.
Prioritising the ambitions of the NPPS at a senior leadership level is key to driving progress. Tailored training sessions as well as thorough audits of existing processes can empower teams with the confidence to capitalise on the Act’s strategic opportunities.
By adopting clear frameworks, such as those offered by Procurement Services, schools can ensure compliance while enhancing resource efficiency and positioning themselves for long-term success
Matt Selwyn-Smith is managing director at The Education People.
