Purchasing

  • Academy reviews of value for money
    Academies must include a review of value for money in their annual accounts. Read about the purpose and structure of the review, and see examples from other academy trusts.
  • Achieving value for money: guidance and resources
    Read our advice on getting value for money when paying for goods and services. Find useful links to resources to help you manage your finances effectively.
  • Contracts register: template
    Use our template contracts register to keep a record of all of your school's contracts and service level agreements in 1 place.
  • Deciding who should manage procurement in your trust
    You need to set the right level of delegation when it comes to procurement, based on what’s right for your trust. Use this guidance to help you decide how centralised your procurement should be, and how to delegate key tasks.
    For Trust Leaders
  • How to buy goods, works or services
    As a maintained school or academy, you have a duty to get the best value for money from contracts you enter into. Follow our step-by-step procurement guide and use our downloadable flowchart to make sure you're buying in the right way.
  • How to review contracts coming up for renewal
    Read advice on managing and renewing your school's contracts, including setting up a contracts register. See tips on streamlining and scrutinising services to get the best value.
  • Invitations to tender: templates and examples
    See guidance on invitations to tender (ITT), including when you do and don't need to use them, along with examples from LAs and a school.
  • Procurement framework agreements and G-Cloud
    Get to grips with the benefits of using a framework agreement when buying goods and services for your school, including the government's G-cloud service.
  • Service level agreements: template and examples
    Download and adapt our service level agreement template. See examples of SLAs used by schools and get guidance on determining the responsibilities of each party.